Yakovlev Yak-3

       Yakovlev Design Bureau's Yak-3 was designed as an urgent upgrade and replacement to the previous Yak-1. Designed in 1943 after the Battle of Stalingrad, the Yak-3 was intended to increase engine power and maneuverability while improving the survivability. They served primarily with the Soviet Air Forces, but also armed the Normandie-Niemen Fighter Regiment, a group of Free French pilots that flew with the Soviets on the Eastern Front! Between the introduction of the Yak-3 to service in 1944 and the end of production in 1946, 4,848 Yak-3s were constructed.

    Yakovlev's Yak-1 was a lightweight and maneuverable fighter constructed mostly of wood. It was intended to escort Il-2 formations to and from their targets, engaging enemy fighters when attempted to attack the ground strike aircraft. While the Yak-1 had better performance than German fighters at low altitude, it suffered at altitudes above 3,000 meters. Yakovlev had several projects vying to create an effective replacement. The Yak-3, Yak-7, and Yak-9 were all iterations on top of the Yak-1. The Yak-3 aimed to improve power, maneuverability, and durability. The 1,260 horsepower Klimov M-105P engine was replaced with a 12-cylinder 1,300 horsepower Klimov VK-105PF2, tuned for low-altitude performance. The central fuselage was mostly made of metal, providing the pilot and sensitive internals of the aircraft more protection against enemy fire, but the wings were still made of wood with some metal reinforcement. Combining the engine power with the light weight of the aircraft, the Yak-3 flew responsively, and was gentle to newer pilots. The Yak-3 was a strong fighter, and the German Luftwaffe agreed. The Luftwaffe issued an order to "avoid combat below five thousand metres with Yakovlev fighters lacking an oil cooler intake beneath the nose!"

    Another goal of the Yakovlev projects was to increase the firepower of the Yak-1. While the Yak-1b variant had already solved the firepower question of the Yak-1 by replacing the pair of 7.62x54mmR ShKAS guns on the nose with a single 12.7x108mm Berezin UBS heavy machine gun, Yakovlev sought to standardize that level of firepower for future fighters. Initial production models of the Yak-3 were equipped with a single 20mm ShVAK cannon in the nose, as well as the single 12.7x108mm UBS gun. Later models increased the firepower further by including a second UBS gun.

    The Yak-3 continued to serve the Soviet Air Forces even after production stopped in 1946. In fact, the Yak-3 served as the basis for the Yak-15, Yakovlev's first jet powered fighter, one of only two aircraft in history to successfully enter production after being converted from a piston-powered aircraft. Below is a picture I retrieved of a Yak-3. I also retrieved a recording of a Yakovlev reproduction Yak-3 from 1991 starting its engine at an event in 2016. Unfortunately, no modern Yak-3s are still flying with the original Klimov engines.

Yak-3M at the Classic Fighters 2015 Airshow in New Zealand



Comments

  1. Júlia SitjasApril 17, 2025 at 5:58 AM

    This is my first time seeing your blog and wow, so interesting! Even though I knew nothing about the Yak-3 before, you explained it so clearly. Great job!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Jack HoulihanApril 23, 2025 at 4:07 PM

    I do not like riding on planes, but I think they are fascinating! One of my friends is going to be a pilot, so I will have to ask him if he knows about the Yak-3.

    ReplyDelete

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