Yakovlev Yak - 9 The Yakovlev Yak - 9 was a single - engine fighter aircraft used by the Soviet Union in World War II and after . Fundamentally a lighter development of the Yak - 7 with the same armament , it arrived at the front at the end of 1942 . The Yak - 9 had a lowered rear fuselage decking and all - around vision canopy . Its lighter airframe gave the new fighter a flexibility that previous models had lacked . The pilots who flew it regarded its performance as comparable to or better than that of the Messerschmitt Bf 109 G and Focke - Wulf Fw 190 A - 3 / A - 4 . The Yak - 9 was the most mass - produced Soviet fighter of all time . It remained in production from 1942 to 1948 , with 16 , 769 built ( 14 , 579 during the war ) . The Yak - 9 was the first Soviet aircraft to shoot down a Messerschmitt Me 262 jet . Following World War II it was used by the North Korean Air Force during the Korean War . Design and development . The Yak - 9 represented further development of the successful Yakovlev Yak - 7 fighter , a production version of the lightened Yak - 7DI , taking full advantage of the combat experience with its predecessor . Greater availability of duralumin allowed for lighter construction which in turn permitted a number of modifications to the basic design . Yak - 9 variants carried two different wings , five different engines , six different fuel tank combinations and seven types of armament configurations . In December 1943 , it became possible to install the more powerful M - 107 engine on a new Yak - 9U airframe : the engine mounting was new with individual faired exhaust pipes ; fuselage structure and wings were made of metal and the whole aircraft was covered with a Bakelite skin . Fuel capacity was increased to . In order to re - balance the model , the wing was repositioned four inches forward and in order to improve pitch control , the horizontal tail surfaces were slightly reduced . The rear part of the canopy was lengthened and the antenna cable was moved inside it . Usual armament was a ShVAK cannon with 120 rounds firing through a hollow propeller shaft and a UBS machine gun with 170 rounds . The State trials took place from January to April 1944 . They revealed a clear superiority in top speed over all other fighters in service on the Eastern front , up to . The aircraft was simple to fly and stable . Unfortunately , the problems with the M - 107A engine and moreover all the M - 105 variants from which it derived , persisted : power plant overheating , oil leaks , loss of pressure in climbs , intense vibrations , burning out sparkplugs and a short engine life . Despite these defects , the Yak . 9U / VK - 107 was ordered into production in April 1944 , with 1 , 134 machines produced by December 1944 . Operational history . World War II . The first Yak - 9 entered service in October 1942 and first saw combat in late 1942 during the Battle of Stalingrad . The versatile Yak - 9 operated with a wide variety of armament for use in anti - tank , light bomber and long - range escort role . At low altitude in which it operated predominately , the Yak - 9 was faster and more maneuverable than its main foe , the Bf 109 , but was far less well - armed . A series of continual improvements in performance and armament did not hamper the superb handling characteristics that allowed its pilots to excel at dog - fighting . Soviet pilots regarded the Yak - 9 ' s performance as on the same level as the Bf 109G and Fw 190A - 3 / A - 4 . After the Battle of Smolensk , in the second half of 1943 , the famed Free French Normandie - Niémen unit became a " Groupe " and was equipped with the Yak - 9 . The four flights were named for the towns of Rouen , Le Havre , Cherbourg and Caen . In June 1944 , at the beginning of the great summer offensive , the French Yak - 9s achieved their first air victories , but suffered their first losses as well , in the Borisov region . On 15 July 1944 , the Group was moved to Mikountani , in Lithuania , while German armies were pushed back about . The French pilots took their Soviet chief air crews in the fuselage of the fighters , but during the trip , Lieutenant Maurice de Seynes ' Yak suffered a mechanical failure . The French pilot refused to bail out and thus abandon his Soviet mechanic Biezoloub , who had no parachute . De Seynes attempted an emergency landing instead , but both airmen were killed in the crash . The first unit to use the Yak - 9U , between 25 October and 25 December 1944 was 163 . IAP . Pilots were ordered not to use the engine at combat speed since this reduced its life to two or three flights only . Nevertheless , in the course of 398 sorties , the unit claimed 27 Focke - Wulf Fw 190As and one Bf 109G - 2 , for the loss of two Yaks in dogfights , one to flak and four in accidents . The Yak - 9U contributed greatly to Soviet air superiority , and the Germans avoided the Yaks “ without antenna mast ” . A large formation of the Yak - 9DD version was transferred to Bari ( Puglia , Italy ) to help Yugoslav partisans in the Balkans . One of the top - scoring Yak - 9 pilots was First Lieutenant A . I . Vybornov . Flying a type – T ( equipped with a cannon in the nose ) he achieved 19 air victories , plus nine shared . He was awarded the Gold Star Medal of the Hero of the Soviet Union in June 1945 . At the end of the war , on 22 March 1945 , L . I . Sivko from 812 . IAP achieved the first VVS air victory against a Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighter , but he was killed soon afterward by another Me 262 , probably piloted by Franz Schall , a top scoring Me 262 pilot . Postwar . During 1949 , the Soviet Union provided surplus Yak - 9P ( VK - 107 ) aircraft to some satellite states in the Soviet bloc in order to help them rebuild their air forces in the wake of the West Berlin blockade . A section of the aircraft ' s operating manual was accidentally omitted from the translation from Russian into some languages : before starting the Yak - 9 , it was necessary to hand - crank a small cockpit - mounted oil pump 25 times to provide initial lubrication to the Klimov V12 engine , unlike World War II German and Western fighters equipped with forced closed - cycle lubrication systems . Skipping this unusual but vital step resulted in frequent engine seizure s during the takeoff roll and initial climb , causing several fatalities during 1950 . Variants . Yakovlev OKB created 22 modifications of the Yak - 9 , of which 15 saw mass production . The most notable of these include : First production version , Klimov M - 105 PF engine with 880 kW ( 1 , 180 hp ) , 1 × 20 mm ShVAK cannon with 120 rounds and 1 × 12 . 7 mm UBS machine gun with 200 rounds . Prototype with Klimov M - 106 - 1SK engine with 1 , 007 kW ( 1 , 350 hp ) , did not advance to production because of problems with the engine . Yak - 9 armed with a 37 mm Nudelman - Suranov NS - 37 cannon with 30 rounds instead of the 20 mm ShVAK , cockpit moved 0 . 4 m ( 1 ft 3 in ) back to compensate for the heavier nose . Initially poor quality control led to multiple oil and coolant leaks from cannon recoil . Recoil and limited supply of ammunition required accurate aiming and two - three round bursts . Yak - 9T was widely used against enemy shipping on the Black Sea and against tanks , but was also successful against aircraft with a single cannon hit usually sufficient to tear apart the target . Time to turn a complete circle : around 21 seconds , however in minimal turbulence the aircraft tends to range from 23 - 26 second turn circles , but dependent mostly on the aircraft ' s weight in combat . Yak - 9T with the ability to install either the 20 mm ShVAK , the 23 mm VYa , the 37 mm NS - 37 , or the 45 mm NS - 45 cannon in the " vee " of the engine block . Did not enter production because the difference between 20 mm and 23 mm cannon was insignificant and the 45 mm cannon was unreliable . Yak - 9T modified with a 45 mm NS - 45 cannon with 29 rounds and a distinctive muzzle brake to deal with the massive recoil . Firing the cannon at speeds below 350 km / h ( 220 mph ) caused dramatic loss of control and tossed the pilot back and forth in the cockpit ; however , accurate shooting was possible at higher speeds and in 2 – 3 round bursts . The recoil also caused numerous oil and coolant leaks . The heavy cannon installation degraded performance sufficiently to require fighter escort . Yak - 9K saw only limited use due to unreliability of the NS - 45 . Long - range version of Yak - 9 , fuel capacity increased from 440 l ( 115 US gal ) to 650 l ( 170 US gal ) giving a maximum range of 1 , 360 km ( 845 mi ) . Combat usefulness at full range was limited by lack of radio navigation equipment , and a number of aircraft were used as short - range fighters with fuel carried only in inner wing tanks . Circle time : 19 – 20 sec . Weight of fire : 2 kg ( 4 . 4 lb ) / sec . Yak - 9D with NS - 37 cannon and provision for 4 × 50 kg ( 110 lb ) FAB - 50 bombs under the wings . Fighter - bomber version of Yak - 9D ( factory designation Yak - 9L ) with four vertical tube bomb bays aft of the cockpit with capacity for up to 4 × 100 kg ( 220 lb ) FAB - 100 bombs or 4 PTAB cassettes with 32 × 1 . 5 kg ( 3 . 3 lb ) bomblets each , although normally only 200 kg ( 440 lb ) of weapons were carried in the front bomb bays . Poor handling with a full bomb and fuel load and lack of special aiming equipment limited combat usefulness . Yak - 9D and Yak - 9T modified to further increase the range , fuel capacity increased to 845 l ( 220 US gal ) giving a maximum range of 2 , 285 km ( 1 , 420 mi ) , radio navigation equipment for night and poor weather flying . Yak - 9DD were used primarily to escort Petlyakov Pe - 2 and Tupolev Tu - 2 bombers although they proved less than ideal for this role due to insufficient speed advantage over the bombers . In 1944 , several Yak - 9DD were used to escort B - 17 Flying Fortress and B - 24 Liberator bombers attacking targets in Romania using the Ukraine - Romania - Italy routes . Yak - 9D with the cockpit moved 0 . 4 m ( 1 ft 4 in ) to the rear like on Yak - 9T , numerous fixes and improvements based on experience with previous versions . Yak - 9M with slightly reduced fuel capacity , Klimov VK - 105 PF2 engine with 925 kW ( 1 , 240 hp ) , and radio and navigational equipment for night and adverse weather flying for PVO Strany . Single - seat night fighter aircraft , equipped with a searchlight and an RPK - 10 radio compass . Yak - 9M with Klimov VK - 105 PF engine , new propeller , and armament consisting of 1 × 23 mm Nudelman - Suranov NS - 23 cannon with 60 rounds , and 2 × 20 mm Berezin B - 20 cannons with 120 rpg . Did not enter production due to poor performance compared to Yak - 3 and Yak - 9U . Single - seat tactical reconnaissance aircraft . UBS machine gun replaced with a second 20 mm ShVAK with 175 rounds , did not enter production due to the decision to use larger caliber cannons . Yak - 9U with an all - metal wing , Yak - 9P in this case was a factory designation different from Yak - 9P with two ShVAKs ( see above ) . High - altitude interceptor ( unrelated to the two other Yak - 9P above ) with Klimov M - 105 PD engine designed specifically to intercept Luftwaffe Junkers Ju 86 R high - altitude reconnaissance aircraft overflying Moscow in 1942 – 1943 . Initially poor performance due to unreliable engine dramatically improved with adoption of Klimov M - 106 PV with water injection , with the aircraft reaching 13 , 500 m ( 44 , 300 ft ) during testing . Armament reduced to the ShVAK cannon only to save weight . Yak - 9T with Klimov VK - 105 PF2 engine and numerous aerodynamic and structural improvements introduced on Yak - 3 . Main visual difference from Yak - 9T was in the oil coolers in the wing roots like on Yak - 3 and in plywood covering of the fuselage instead of fabric . Visually differed from Yak - 3 only by main landing gear covers . Armament increased to 1 × 23 mm VYa with 60 rounds and 2 × 12 . 7 mm UBSs with 170 rpg . The VYa cannon could be replaced by a ShVAK , B - 20 , or NS - 37 , the latter requiring removal of the starboard UBS machine gun . Did not enter production because the VYa cannon was considered unsatisfactory and because the one cannon , one machine gun armament seen on previous models offered a significant increase in range . The definitive Yak - 9 variant , Yak - 9U ( VK - 105 ) equipped with the new Klimov VK - 107 A engine with 1 , 230 kW ( 1 , 650 hp ) , and the 20 mm ShVAK with 120 rounds replacing the VYa . Weight of fire : 2 . 72 kg ( 5 . 98 lb ) / sec . Early test flights in 1943 indicated that the only comparable Soviet fighter was Polikarpov I - 185 prototype which was more difficult to fly and less agile due to higher weight . The prototype ' s top speed of 700 km / h ( 435 mph ) at 5 , 600 m ( 18 , 370 ft ) was faster than any other production fighter aircraft in the world at the time . Early problems with overheating were fixed by enlarging the radiators and production aircraft had further improved aerodynamics . Turning ability to complete a circle : 20 sec , best Soviet fighter at altitude . Two - seat trainer version of Yak - 9U ( VK - 107 ) , armament reduced to a single Berezin B - 20 cannon with 100 rounds . Did not enter production due to introduction of jet aircraft . Yak - 9U ( VK - 107 ) armed with 1 × 37 mm Nudelman N - 37 cannon with 30 rounds and 2 20 mm Berezin B - 20 cannons with 120 rpg , giving a one - second burst mass of 6 kg ( 13 . 2 lb ) . Similarly to Yak - 9TK could be converted to replace the N - 37 with a 20 mm B - 20 , 23 mm NS - 23 , or 45 mm N - 45 . Production aircraft carried NS - 23 instead of the N - 37 cannon as the default armament . Two - seat trainer version of Yak - 9M and Yak - 9T , Klimov VK - 105 PF2 engine , armament reduced to 1 × 20 mm ShVAK with 90 rounds . In the early 1990s , Yakovlev started limited production for the warbird market of Yak - 9 and Yak - 3 replica aircraft using original World War II equipment and Allison V - 1710 engines . These modern - built replicas using the Allison engines , have counterclockwise - rotation props , unlike the originals which strictly used clockwise - rotation Soviet V12 powerplants . Cultural references . The Yakovlev Yak - 9 was the attack plane for Soviet Forces in the computer game " " .