Training Fighter First flight: 1945 Yakovlev

This is another training modification, urgently designed at the Yakovlev Design Bureau. On this plane, the annoying shortcomings of his predecessors were eliminated, and he became a full member of the family of "sevens" and "nines", and not a poor relative who got scraps. Already equipping the training modification with the VK-105PF2 engine testifies to that. that they wanted to bring its characteristics as close as possible to the parameters of combat vehicles.

Indeed, only the maximum speed was 4 km/h less than that of the Yak-9T. and the rest of the characteristics turned out to be identical.

Yak-9V, had a well-equipped rear cockpit, which fully provided flight control with its own throttle sector, compass, etc.

Almost all Yaks had a tendency to stumble on the nose during braking. And since the cadets did not sin with special training, a switch was installed in the instructor's cabin, which made it impossible to brake from the front cabin. The cockpits themselves were finally separated by a transparent partition, and now the instructor was not blown by the wind when the front light was open.

The armor plate behind the pilot's seat, bulletproof glass, gas tank protectors and a system for filling them with inert gas were dismantled. The armament was limited by a ShVAK cannon with an ammunition capacity of 90 rounds.

The instrumental equipment has significantly expanded in comparison with the Yak-7V (not to mention the UTI). The RSI-6MU radio station, the RPK-10M radio semi-compass, the artificial horizon and the RAU-22 photo-machine gun (in the right wing) were installed.

The pilots received an SPU intercom, and the instructor no longer had to shout engine noise and wind whistle from the rear cockpit. Radio transmission was possible from both booths, as was radio reception.

Yak-9V, which served as a standard for mass production, passed state tests at the Air Force Research Institute, in the period from April 10 to 17, 1945. Upon their completion, this very successful trainer aircraft was put into mass production and was produced from August 1945 to August 1947. A total of 793 copies were produced; 456 Yak-9V were made anew, and 337 were converted from the "M" modification.

Evaluation of an aircraft, especially a fighter, is a very difficult issue, since in addition to such obvious characteristics as speed or range, it is necessary to take into account such parameters as. for example, tactics of use or combat training of pilots ... There were days when Soviet fighters literally fell to the ground in hundreds. There were skirmishes, described by the most famous ases of the Luftwaffe, when they thanked God for that. that they managed to get out alive from the fights with the Yaks.

Let's give the floor to the heroes of the bloody battles of the Great Patriotic War.

Arseny Vorozheikin "Soldiers of the Sky".

“Four FW-190s glittered in the sunlight. Suspiciously white, they were walking at the same altitude with us - 7000 m. Attack as soon as possible! But they went up. Eyes can see, but they have no teeth: the Fokkers had higher speed and maneuverability at this altitude. Our Yaks (Yak-9D) are good up to five thousand meters "

And also from the same book:

"We are spinning in a dance of death with the" fockers ". Enemy aircraft are better than ours in vertical maneuver. Yaks overloaded with gasoline slowly gain altitude (...). In the end, the enemy, sensing our superiority in the horizontal maneuver, leaves with a dive. We are not following him. (...) Enemy fighters surrounded the lonely Yak-9 and will now finish it off. I use my only advantage - the bend "

Vladimir Lavrinenkov "Return to Heaven".

“On the territory of the plant there were several ready-made Yak-9 (from the context it follows that these were Yak-9T). Outwardly, they resembled their predecessors, but the design changes were significant (...). I did not want to change the plane (Yak-1), because although the new Yak-9 had a more powerful cannon and a larger supply of fuel, it was inferior in maneuverability to its younger brother, the Yak-1. The premonition did not deceive me: a few days later, during the first flight, the Yak-9 was shot down in an air battle. An experienced pilot, Levchenko (...), was at the helm. In vertical combat, the heavy Yak-9 went into the tail of the Bf-109 and shot it down. ”

Boris Eremin "Air Fighters"

“The Yak-7, in general, was no different from its predecessor, the Yak-1. In any case, having flown on it, I did not see any advantages in it. If I had to choose between the Yak-1 and the Yak-7, I would have chosen the first one, since I am more accustomed to it (...). On our Yak-1 there was practically no communication in the air (...), while on the Yak-7, as the leader, I had a receiver and transmitter, and the pilots of my group had receivers. On the whole, this equipment worked tolerably well. ”

Ivan Fedorov "They Left a Trace in the Sky" (conversation with E. Savitsky).

“- Fedorov, your plane is not the best. Heavy to drive and the engine is a bit weak. - Any plane with heavy control - I answer - it seems to me more sensitive. And the engine? Now only the second resource is depleting. On this Yak-9 with number 31 shot down fifteen aircraft, mostly fighters "

“On August 20, 1944, an unpleasant message came from the 274th IAP, a fraternal division of our corps. Yak-9, armed with a 45 mm cannon, passed frontline tests, was not accepted into service due to the shortcomings of the new cannon.

The author asked the corps commander to transfer four Yak-9s to his 812th IAP. The request was granted. On August 27, 1944, they flew in pairs to intercept two FW-190s.

“(...) I decided to give two short lines just in case to get there for sure. I pull the trigger. The plane shakes from the queue of the "magpie", it seems that you are sitting on a roar. The left wing of the Focke-Wulf scatters from the explosions, falls off and the plane flies headlong towards the ground. "

Georgy Zakharov "I am a Fighter".

“The attitude to the aircraft is always very subjective. Therefore, it will not be surprising if many of my friends, former fighter pilots, find my assessment of the Yak-3 overstated. The pilots of the 139th Guards Regiment, who flew at that time on the Yak-9U, recognized the merits of the Yak-3, but did not at all consider them absolute. In any case, many found that the powerful Yak-9U engine and its cannon were worth the ease and maneuverability of the Yak-3. Well, the patriots of the Lavochkin, especially its latest modifications - La-7 and La-9 - will never agree anywhere that the Lavochkin was in some way inferior to the Yak. It's all about the personal affection of the pilot, sometimes even the character of the pilot himself. ”

Noteworthy is the information from the textbook on air combat published in 1943: “Our pilots, who conducted air battles on the Yak-7 with the FW-190 and repeatedly shot them down, came to the conclusion that the Yak-7 could fight with FW-190 in all conditions and even lighter than with the Bf-109G. In none of the battles was the FW-190 seen trying to climb when the battle started at the same altitude. This confirms its lower rate of climb compared to the Yak-7, as well as the Bf-109G. In the right bend, the Yak-7 entered the tail of the FW-190 very easily, in the left bend the battle was on an equal footing. In a dive, the Yak-7 easily caught up with the Fokker. On the Yak-1 and La-5, the fight with the FW-190 is even easier. "

Photo	Description
	Drawing Yak-9V
	Double Yak-9UTI with extended fuselage and yellow rudder. The instructor's seat on this aircraft is equipped with a complete set of instrumentation and controls.

• War in the Air # 34. / Fighters Yak-1, 3, 7, 9 /