Yak-9 fighter: characteristics and comparison with analogues

Yak-9 is a fighter-bomber, produced by the Soviet Union from 1942 to 1948. It was developed by the staff of the Tupolev Design Bureau and became the most massive Soviet fighter on the battlefield of the Second World War. For six years of production, almost 17 thousand copies were built. Today we will know, thanks to what characteristics this model has become so successful.

The history of the Yak-9 fighter

This aircraft was the result of the modernization of the Yak-7 model and the more outdated Yak-1. In terms of design, it is an improved version of the Yak-7 fighter. Externally, the Yak-9 is practically no different from its predecessor, but in all other respects it is more perfect. When the aircraft was designed, the designers operated with almost two years of experience in the production and combat operation of the Yak-1 model. In addition, at the time of the creation of the new aircraft designers had the opportunity to make more extensive use of duraluminum than at the beginning of the war, when the industry of the USSR was experiencing a shortage of this material. The use of duralumin allowed a significant reduction in the weight of the structure. The engineers could use the kilograms to increase the fuel reserve, install more powerful weapons or more diverse special equipment.

The Yak-9 fighter aircraft was a loyal assistant to the USSR Air Force during the Second World War. In 1944 this machine was used in several modifications and ahead of all the fighters that were at the time in the arsenal of the Soviet Union. Just imagine: at the Novosibirsk plant No. 153 a day, 20 such aircraft were produced! In addition to this enterprise, the fighter was produced at the Moscow plant No. 82 and the Omsk plant No. 166.

The aircraft took part in all operations of the Soviet Air Force, beginning with the Battle of Stalingrad. All versions of the fighter (and there were a lot of them) had excellent flight and technical characteristics and were deprived of any operational defects causing accidents. At the same time, the design of the aircraft was extremely simple and adapted to the rapid production in wartime conditions. Virtually all materials for manufacturing were made directly at the assembly site.

Design

The first Yak-9 fighter received the M-105PF engine and the VISH-61P propeller. The prototype for this model was the Yak-7DI aircraft. The main differences of the new model from the predecessor were: fuel stock, reduced from 500 to 320 kg; The number of petrol tanks, reduced from 4 to 2; Oil reserve, reduced from 50 to 30 kg; The absence of bomb holders for external suspension of bombs.

From the point of view of weapons, the Yak-9 did not differ from its predecessor: one SHVAK gun and one UBS gun. Due to low production culture and less stringent control of the serial production of aircraft, compared with the pilot production, the flight mass of the model increased to 2870-2875 kg.

The Soviet Yak-9 fighter aircraft maneuvered well and was easy to fly . In the battle on the verticals, he could go into the tail of the enemy Mu-109F literally after the first reversal. In the battle on the horizontals for a similar maneuver was enough 3-4 turns.

In the summer of 1943, due to the lack of mastery of the production technology, a few wooden cars in the flight broke off the wooden lining of the wing during the flight. Such defects were eliminated as engineers came up with special brigades. In the production of later modifications of the Yak-9 fighter, whose review will be given below, the problem was completely eliminated.

Combat operation

The first Yak-9 fighters were delivered to the front in late 1942 and took part in the Battle of Stalingrad. In 1943, during the first mass deliveries, a number of defects were discovered, which were eliminated by the repair teams before the Battle of Kursk, the first in which the fighters of this model were used in considerable quantities. At the time of the Yak-9 battle, along with Yak-1 and Yak-7, 5 fighter air divisions, one of which was Guards, were used. At the end of July 1943, the 11th Air Corps arrived in the Kursk Bulge, which included three Yak-9 regiments.

Already in the first air battles it became clear that the Yak-9 was well controlled and maneuvered, but in terms of speed and armament it was inferior to the Bf 109G and Fw 190A aircraft.

The Yak-9T version received a qualitative superiority over the base from the point of view of armament. As the statistics show, the Yak-9 spent an average of 147 projectiles with a 20-mm caliber to defeat one enemy aircraft, and the Yak-9T had a total of 31 37-millimeter rounds. One of the first regiments that received the Yak-9T was the 133rd GIAP. The aircraft, armed with 37-millimeter guns, were successfully used even against enemy armored vehicles and ships.

The operation of the Yak-9 fighter aircraft in real combat showed that an increase in the fuel reserve is in most cases impractical. Excess fuel is ballast, which is bad for the survivability of the car. Therefore, the cantilever tanks were often closed with plugs. Nevertheless, in some episodes of the war, there was a need to increase the range of the flight. So, in August 1944 a group of 12 Yak-9DD aircraft accompanied cargo planes from Italy to Yugoslavia. In addition, Yak-9DD was involved in escorting bombers during Operation Frantik in 1944.

Since December 1944, the Yak-9B fighter aircraft fought in the 130th Fighter Aviation Division operating within the framework of the Third Byelorussian Front. A high-altitude Yak-9PD aircraft were transferred to the armament of the air defense units in Moscow. In October 1944, the Yak-9U fighter debuted on the battlefield - he entered the arsenal of the 163rd Fighter Aviation Regiment operating in the Baltics. The aircraft illustrated the sharp growth of the combat potential of the Yak-9 model. During two months of testing, he took part in 18 battles, knocking down 28 Fw 190A fighters and one Bf 109G fighter. At the same time, only two Soviet cars were lost .

When the Great Patriotic War passed into the final phase, the Yak-9 fighter aircraft, whose characteristics regularly improved, became one of the main Soviet fighters. This status he retained in the first post-war years. In September 1946, the Yak-9 aircraft accounted for 31% of the USSR fighter aircraft. After the war, various modifications of the aircraft were used until the early 1960s. In addition to the Air Force and naval aviation of the USSR, they were used by Allied forces. In the summer of 1943, the Yak-9 and Yak-9D fighters entered service with the French regiment Normandy. In September of the following year, a batch of fighters was transferred to Bulgaria, which went over to the side of the anti-Hitler coalition. In the fall of 1945, the Yak-9M and Yak-9T models were used by Polish aircraft in Poland and Northern Germany. In addition, the aircraft of this model were in service with China, Hungary, Yugoslavia, North Korea and Albania.

Yak-9 fighter: specifications

The basic version of the aircraft in 1942 had such characteristics:

1. The length is 8.5 m.
2. The wing span is 9.74 m.
3. The area of the wing is 17.15 m ² .
4. The specific load on the wing is 167 kg / m ² .
5. The weight of the empty aircraft is 2277 kg.
6. The take-off weight is 2873 kg.
7. Engine power - 1180 liters. from.
8. Specific load on capacity - 2,43 kg / l. from.
9. The maximum speed at the ground is 520 km / h.
10. The maximum speed at the altitude is 599 km / h.
11. The climbing time is 5 km - 5.1 minutes.
12. The turnaround time is 15-17 seconds.
13. The practical ceiling is 11 100 m.
14. The practical range is 875 km.
15. Armament - 1х20-mm SHVAK, 1х12,7-mm UBS.

Modifications

For its history, the Yak-9 fighter received a large number of modifications. The ability to be modified into a variety of the type and combat purpose of the machine has become its main feature. The aircraft had 22 major modifications, 15 of which went into the series. During the operation, the fighter was equipped with five types of power plant, six variants of the layout of petrol tanks, seven variants of weapons and two types of special equipment. The fighter had two fundamentally different versions of the wing: mixed and all-metal. All versions, with the exception of the Yak-9 basic fighter, the description of which we have already considered, had their own special index. Let's get acquainted with the basic modifications of the legendary fighter.

Yak-9D

The modification is distinguished by a fuel reserve increased to 480 kilograms. Instead of two fuel tanks, the aircraft was equipped with four: two root and two cantilevers. Thanks to this decision, its range has increased to 1,400 km. The modification was issued from March 1943 to May 1944. During this time, 3068 copies left the assembly line.

Yak-9T

In this modification, the 20-mm cannon was replaced with a 37-mm cannon with 30 rounds of ammunition. Due to the fact that the new cannon has a long length, the cockpit of the pilot had to be moved 40 cm back. The model was produced from the spring of 1943 to the summer of 1945. During this time, 2,748 copies were produced.

Yak-9K

This version received a 45 mm gun NS-45. In order to reduce the recoil force of 7ts, a muzzle brake was placed on the barrel . Nevertheless, when the fire was fired at high speeds, the airplane unfolded, and the pilot experienced strong shocks. Designers recommended to shoot short bursts to three shots. The second volley of the Yak-9K fighter had a mass of 5.53 kg. Between April and June 1944, 53 aircraft of this version were created. As part of the military trials, they conducted 51 fights, striking 8 FW-190A-8 aircraft and 4 BF-109G aircraft. At the same time, the losses were only one fighter. On one downed plane, on average, there were 10 cartridges of a 45-mm cannon. Due to the lack of reliability of weapons, mass production was not established.

Yak-9TK

The aircraft of this version received an enhanced design of some units, as well as a unified system for the installation of a central cannon, which allows for the replacement of guns in the field. The fighter was manufactured in the second half of 1943.

Yak-9M

The aircraft represents the development of the Yak-9D model with a fuselage from the Yak-9T model. In addition, this version has received a number of improvements. On flight and flight characteristics, it was practically no different from the Yak-9D. But at the end of 1944, a more powerful VK-105PF-2 engine was installed on the plane, thanks to which it became much faster and faster. Yak-9M became one of the most massive cars in the model line of Yak-9 fighters. Everyone who passed the Great Patriotic War could recognize this aircraft photo. A total of 4239 copies were produced.

Yak-9S

The plane was built on the Yak-9M base and got the same engine. The difference from the basic version was the armament, which includes a 23-millimeter gun NS-23 and a pair of synchronous 20-millimeter guns BS-20S. Due to the unsatisfactory results of the state tests of 1945, the model was never launched into mass production.

Yak-9DD

In 1944, a Tu-2 bomber was built, for the maintenance of which the resource was not enough even for the Yak-9D fighter. In addition, the Soviet Union needed an airplane whose range of flight would enable it to conduct combat operations jointly with the aircraft of the anti-Hitler coalition states. A suitable model was the Yak-9DD fighter. Installation of 8 wing tanks allowed to increase the fuel reserve of this model to 630 kg. In addition, to ensure the safety of flights over long distances and in adverse weather conditions, instrumentation and radio communication equipment was improved.

The maximum range of the Yak-9DD flight was 1800 km. At the same time, its mass was a record for this class of aircraft - 3390 kilograms. The fighter's armament was standard for the Yak family - a 20 mm cannon and a 12.7 mm caliber machine gun. Yak-9DD was used quite widely.

At the end of the summer of 1944, a group of 20 aircraft headed for the Allied base near the Italian city of Bari in order to escort Su-47 transport aircraft delivering cargo to Yugoslavia. As part of the relocation, a flight of 1,300 km was carried out, most of the distance passing through the territory of the enemy. The group made 150 sorties, which, despite the absence of meetings with enemy aircraft, were very tense. It is noteworthy that while the Su-47s were landing and unloading, the escort fighters were waiting for them in the air to be sent back. During the entire operation of the aircraft, there was not a single breakdown.

Yak-9R

It is a near-by scout, different from the basic version of the Yak-9 fighter, whose characteristics we already know well, by the presence of an aerial camera in a free compartment. This device allowed to shoot from a height of 300 to 3000 meters. The second version of this modification was based on the Yak-9D. He not only had equipment for reconnaissance, but he was also more technically equipped in general. The Yak-9R aircraft were produced in small quantities and were used where reconnaissance with the help of other aircraft was difficult or associated with a serious risk.

Я-9Б

The fighter-bomber Yak-9B was built on the basis of the model 9D. In the space behind the cockpit of the pilot was equipped with a bomb bay, consisting of four pipes, in which you can place four 100-kilogram bombs or four cassettes containing 32 cumulative anti-tank bombs. Tests of the bomber began in March 1944. According to the results of combat sorties, the Yak-9B destroyed 29 tanks, 22 armored vehicles, 1014 vehicles, 161 railway cars, 20 railroad station buildings, 7 guns, 18 steam locomotives and 4 fuel depots. In total, Soviet companies produced 109 such bombers.

Yak-9PD

It is a fighter-interceptor with an M-105PD motor, a supercharger and a wing span increased by half a meter. The practical ceiling of this version reached 13,100 km. In 1943, on the basis of the Yak-9, five such cars were manufactured, and in 1944, based on the Yak-9U-30.

Yak-9U

At the end of 1943, two fighter aircraft were created, which received the designation Yak-9U: one was equipped with an M-107A engine and the other with an M-105PF-2 engine. In addition, the design and aerodynamics of the basic version have been improved. Armament of both models was represented by a central cannon (23 mm caliber for a fighter with an M-105PF-2 engine and a caliber of 20 mm for a version with an M-107A motor) and a pair of 12.7-mm machine guns. According to the results of tests at the Air Force Research Institute, the variant with the M-107A motor was recognized as the best of the fighters that were tested there ever. In April 1944, serial production of the aircraft was established. In the autumn of 1944, during the two-month tests, in 18 battles the pilots shot down 27 FW-190A and 1 Bf-109G. At the same time, only two fighter planes were lost. The only significant drawback of the machine was the small resource of the power plant.

Yak-9UT

It is a Yak-9U with enhanced armament. The aircraft was equipped with three guns: a central 37-millimeter and two 20-millimeter. The mass of a second salvo of this fighter was at that time a record for the USSR - 6 kg. The place under the central cannon was unified. Having installed on it a 45-mm cannon, it was possible to increase the weight of a second volley to 9.3 kg. The rest of the aircraft was little different from the Yak-9U. For 3 months of serial release 282 copies came off the assembly line. A small number of fighters managed to take part in the last battles of the war.

Yak-9 "Courier"

It is a transport aircraft that can transport one passenger in front conditions. The model became a kind of synthesis between the long-range fighter and Yak-9DD and the training aircraft Yak-9V. In the back cabin, instead of the dashboard and controls, floor and covering were installed. The aircraft was released in a single copy in the summer of 1944. He did not go to the series.

Yak-9P

The upgraded version of the Yak-9U, featuring more modern communication devices and auxiliary equipment. Production of the model began in 1946, and ended in 1948. A total of 801 aircraft were produced. Yak-9P fighters were in service with the USSR, Poland, Hungary, China and Yugoslavia.

Conclusion

Today we looked at the legendary Yak-9 fighter jet, a photo of which is well known to many aviation enthusiasts. Despite the fact that the model was only six years old, she managed to become famous all over the world, protecting more than a dozen Soviet cities from enemy invaders. This technological and attractive aircraft will be for many fans of aviation business for more than one year as wallpaper for the desktop. The Yak-9 fighter, which in able hands could turn into an ideal air weapon, made a huge contribution to the outcome of the Great Patriotic War.