Yakovlev Yak-1
Encyclopedia

The Yakovlev Yak-1 was a World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

 fighter aircraft
Fighter aircraft
A fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat with other aircraft, as opposed to a bomber, which is designed primarily to attack ground targets...

. Produced from early 1940, it was a single-seat monoplane with a composite structure and wooden wings.

The Yak-1 was extremely manoeuvrable, fast and well armed, and, just as importantly, it was easy to maintain and reliable. It formed an excellent basis for subsequent developments from the Yakovlev bureau. In fact it was the founder of a family of aircraft, with some 37,000 being built.
As a reward, designer Alexander Yakovlev was awarded the Order of Lenin
Order of Lenin
The Order of Lenin , named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was the highest decoration bestowed by the Soviet Union...

(Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...

: Орден Ленина, Orden Lenina) - the highest decoration
Order (decoration)
An order or order of merit is a visible honour, awarded by a government, dynastic house or international organization to an individual, usually in recognition of distinguished service to a nation or to humanity. The distinction between orders and decorations is somewhat vague, except that most...

 bestowed by the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

 - a 100,000 rouble prize, plus a Zis
ZIL
ZIL and similar may refer to:*Zil, a village in the Tabasaran rayon of Dagestan, Russia*Zil stands for Zulfikar Industries Pvt. Ltd. Pakistan, a Chemical factory in Pakistan producting soaps and related chemical products since 1976...

  motor car.

Design and development

Prior to World War II Yakovlev
Yakovlev
The Yak Aircraft Corporation is a Russian aircraft designer and manufacturer...

 was best known for building light sports aircraft, his Yak-4
Yakovlev Yak-4
-Bibliography:* Gordon, Yefim. Soviet Airpower in World War 2. Hinckley, England: Midland Publishing, 2008 ISBN 978-1-85780-304-4* Gunston, Bill. The Osprey Encyclopaedia of Russian Aircraft 1875–1995. London, Osprey, 1995 ISBN 1-85532-405-9...

 light bomber
Bomber
A bomber is a military aircraft designed to attack ground and sea targets, by dropping bombs on them, or – in recent years – by launching cruise missiles at them.-Classifications of bombers:...

 impressed the Soviet government enough to order the OKB
OKB
OKB is a transliteration of the Russian acronym for "Опытное конструкторское бюро" - Opytnoe Konstructorskoe Byuro, meaning Experimental Design Bureau...

 to design a new fighter with a Klimov M-106 V-12 liquid-cooled engine. Formal specifications released on 29 July 1939, called for two prototypes - I-26-1 with a top speed of 620 km/h (385 mph) at 6,000 m (16,685 ft), combat range of 600 km (375 mi), a climb to 10,000 m (32,808 ft) of under 11 minutes, and armament of 2 × 7.62 mm ShKAS machine gun
Machine gun
A machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm, usually designed to fire rounds in quick succession from an ammunition belt or large-capacity magazine, typically at a rate of several hundred rounds per minute....

s and 1 × 12.7 mm (0.5 in) Berezin BS heavy machine gun, and I-26-2 with a turbocharged
Turbocharger
A turbocharger, or turbo , from the Greek "τύρβη" is a centrifugal compressor powered by a turbine that is driven by an engine's exhaust gases. Its benefit lies with the compressor increasing the mass of air entering the engine , thereby resulting in greater performance...

 M-106 engine with a top speed of 650 km/h (404 mph) at 10,000 m (32,808 ft) and armament of 2 × 7.62 mm (.3 in) ShKAS machine guns. The design took full advantage of Yakovlev OKB's experience with sports aircraft and promised agility as well as high top speed. Since the M-106 was delayed, the design was changed to incorporate the Klimov M-105
Klimov M-105
-See also:-External links:*...

P V-12 engine, with a 20 mm (.8 in) ShVAK cannon in the "vee" of the engine block.

I-26-I first flew on 13 January 1940. The prototype suffered from oil overheating problems which were never completely resolved resulting in 15 emergency landings during early testing. Then, on 27 April 1940, I-26-1 crashed, killing its test pilot Yu.I. Piontkovskiy. The investigation of the crash found that the pilot performed two consecutive barrel rolls at low altitude which was in violation of test flight plan. It was believed that during the first roll, the main landing gear
Undercarriage
The undercarriage or landing gear in aviation, is the structure that supports an aircraft on the ground and allows it to taxi, takeoff and land...

 became unlocked, causing it to crash through the wing during the second roll. It has been hypothesized that Piontkovskiy's deviation from the flight plan was caused by frustration that his aircraft was being used for engine testing while I-26-2, built with the lessons of I-26-1 in mind, was already performing aerobatics
Aerobatics
Aerobatics is the practice of flying maneuvers involving aircraft attitudes that are not used in normal flight. Aerobatics are performed in airplanes and gliders for training, recreation, entertainment and sport...

.

Technical issues with subassemblies provided by different suppliers raised the I-26-2's weight 400 kg (882 lb) above projected figures, which restricted the airframe to only 4.4 G while overheating oil was still a problem. The many defects caused I-26-2 to fail government testing in 1940. Fortunately for Yakovlev, its competitors I-200 (future Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-3
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-3
The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-3 was a Soviet fighter aircraft used during World War II. It was a development of the MiG-1 by the OKO of Zavod No. 1 to remedy problems that had been found during the MiG-1's development and operations. It replaced the MiG-1 on the production line at Factory No...

) and I-301 (future LaGG-3) also failed testing. Requested improvements were incorporated into I-26-3 which was delivered for testing on 13 October 1940. Although it passed on 9 December 1940, the aircraft was still very much unfinished with unresolved engine problems.

Troublesome and slow testing and development must have been quite worrisome for Soviet officials considering the fact that the I-26 was ordered into production under the name ``Yak-1 on 19 February 1940, a mere month after I-26-1 made its maiden flight. The goal of this gamble was to reduce lag time between prototype and production aircraft. As a backup, the I-200 and I-301 were also ordered into production. Although the Yak-1 was slower than the I-200 and less heavily armed than the I-301, it enjoyed the advantage of having been started earlier which gave it a consistent lead in testing and development over its competitors. Beginning of the Great Patriotic War on 22 June 1941 made development and implementation of several other upcoming promising designs like Polikarpov I-185
Polikarpov I-185
|-See also:-Bibliography:* Abanshin, Michael E. and Gut, Nina. Fighting Polikarpov, Eagles of the East No. 2. Lynnwood, WA: Aviation International, 1994. ISBN 1-884909-01-9....

 unfeasible. The fact that Yakovlev might have been Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...

's personal favorite may have also played in the Yak-1's favor.

Simultaneous manufacturing and testing of a design that required as many improvements as I-26 wreaked havoc on the production lines. Almost 8,000 changes were made to the aircraft's blueprints by 1941 with an additional 7,000 implemented the following year with 5,000 more changes coming in 1942. Production was further slowed by shortages of engines, propeller
Propeller (aircraft)
Aircraft propellers or airscrews convert rotary motion from piston engines or turboprops to provide propulsive force. They may be fixed or variable pitch. Early aircraft propellers were carved by hand from solid or laminated wood with later propellers being constructed from metal...

s, radiator
Radiator (engine cooling)
Radiators are used for cooling internal combustion engines, mainly in automobiles but also in piston-engined aircraft, railway locomotives, motorcycles, stationary generating plant or any similar use of such an engine....

s, wheels and cannons. Shortages of quality materials resulted in plywood
Plywood
Plywood is a type of manufactured timber made from thin sheets of wood veneer. It is one of the most widely used wood products. It is flexible, inexpensive, workable, re-usable, and can usually be locally manufactured...

 being torn off the wings on several aircraft. To make matters worse, Factory No.292 which was the main manufacturer of Yak-1s was bombed on 23 June 1943 and burned to the ground. Amazingly, production resumed among the ruins on 29 June. Due to loose tolerances, each aircraft was essentially unique with workers performing the final assembly having the unenviable task of mating what often proved to be somewhat dissimilar components. For example, left and right main landing gear could be of different lengths and different angles relative to the aircraft which required adjusting their attachments to ensure an even stance for the completed aircraft. Parts were often non-interchangeable between aircraft. Production of Yak-1 ended in July 1944 with somewhere around 8,700 built.

Operational history

At the onset of Great Patriotic War on 22 June 1941, 425 Yak-1 were built, although many of these were en route or still disassembled. Just 92 machines were fully operational in the Western Military Districts - but most were lost in the very first days of the war. Yak-1 was designed with the goal of providing direct coverage of the Il-2 attack planes from enemy fighters. Thus, most of the air combat took place below 4,000 m (13,123 ft), at low altitudes where Yak-1 performed the best. The Yak-1 proved to have a significant advantage over its Soviet competitors. A full circle turn took just 17 seconds in the Yak-1M. The MiG-3, which had the best high-altitude performance, did poorly at low and medium altitudes and its light armament made it unsuitable even for ground attack. The LaGG-3 experienced a significant degradation in performance (as much as 100 km/h/62 mph on some aircraft) compared to its prototypes due to the manufacturer's inexperience with its special wooden construction which suffered from warping and rotting when exposed to the elements. The Yak-1's plywood covering also suffered from the weather but the steel frame kept the aircraft largely intact.

The aircraft's major problem early in deployment was fuel leaks caused by failure of spot-welded fuel tanks from vibration. Also troublesome was the fact that the canopy could not be opened under certain conditions in earlier models, potentially trapping the pilot
Aviator
An aviator is a person who flies an aircraft. The first recorded use of the term was in 1887, as a variation of 'aviation', from the Latin avis , coined in 1863 by G. de la Landelle in Aviation Ou Navigation Aérienne...

 in a falling aircraft. As the result, some pilots had the sliding portion of the canopy removed altogether. The first 1,000 Yak-1 had no radios at all. Installation of radio equipment became common by spring 1942 and obligatory by August 1942. But Soviet radios were notoriously unreliable and short-ranged so they were frequently removed to save weight.

Like most early carburetor
Carburetor
A carburetor , carburettor, or carburetter is a device that blends air and fuel for an internal combustion engine. It is sometimes shortened to carb in North America and the United Kingdom....

-equipped engines, the M-105 could not tolerate negative G forces which starved it of fuel. Moreover, they suffered breakdowns of magnetos and speed governors, and emitted oil from the reduction shaft.

The Yak-1 was better than Bf 109E but inferior to Bf 109F - its main opponent - in rate of climb at all altitudes. And although it could complete a circle at the same speed (20–21 seconds at 1,000 meters ) as a Bf 109, its lack of agility made dogfights difficult, demanding high levels of concentration. In comparison, a Bf 109, with its automatic flaps, had a lower stall speed and was more stable in sharp turns and vertical aerobatic figures. A simulated combat between a Yak (with M-105PF engine) and a Bf 109F revealed that the Messerschmitt had only marginally superior manoeuvrability at 1,000 meters (3,300 ft), though the German fighter could gain substantial advantage over the Yak-1 within four or five nose-to-tail turns. At 3,000 meters (9,800 ft) the capabilities of the two fighters were nearly equal, combat essentially reduced to head-on attacks. At altitudes over 5,000 meters ( 16,400 ft) the Yak was more manoeuvrable. The engine’s nominal speed at low altitudes was lowered to 2,550 rpm and the superiority of the Bf 109F at these altitudes was reduced.

Its armament was too light but to reduce weight, modifications were made both on front line and on about thirty production aircraft: the 7,62 mm ShKAS machine-guns were removed, retaining only the single ShVAK cannon. Neverthesless, those lighter aircraft were popular with experienced pilots, for whom the reduction in armament was acceptable, and combat experience in November 1942 showed a much improved kill-to-loss ratio. Also, in the autumn of 1942 the Yak-1B appeared with the more powerful M-105P engine and a single 12,7 mm UBS machine gun instead of the two ShKAS. Although this did not increase the total weight of fire by much, the UBS machine-gun was much more effective than the two 7,62 mm ShKAS. Moreover, the simple VV ring sight replaced the PBP gun-sight, because of the very poor quality of the lenses of the latter.

The Yak-1 had a light tail and it was easy to tip over and to hit the ground with the propeller. Often technicians had to keep the tail down and that could lead to accidents, with aircraft taking off with technicians still on the rear fuselage.
Nonetheless, the Yak-1 was well liked by its pilots. For Soviet pilot Nikolai G. Golodnikov, overall, in its tactical and technical characteristic, the Yak-1B was equal to the Messerschmitt Bf 109G. French Normandie-Niemen
Normandie-Niemen
The Normandie-Niemen Regiment was a fighter squadron, later regiment of the French Air Force. It served on the Eastern Front of the European Theatre of World War II with the 1st Air Army...

 squadron selected the primitive model Yak-1M (that had a cut-down fuselage to allow all-round vision) when it was formed, in March 1943. Twenty-four of these aircraft were sent to the elite all-female 586 IAP whose pilots included the world's only female aces
Flying ace
A flying ace or fighter ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down several enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The actual number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an "ace" has varied, but is usually considered to be five or more...

: Katya Budanova
Katya Budanova
Yekaterina Vasylievna Budanova , also known as Katya Budanova , , was a fighter pilot in the Soviet Air Force during World War II...

, with 11, and Lydia Litvyak
Lydia Litvyak
Lydia Vladimirovna Litvyak Lydia Vladimirovna Litvyak Lydia Vladimirovna Litvyak (Лидия Владимировна Литвяк, (Moscow, August 18, 1921 – Krasnyi Luch August 1, 1943), also known as Lydia Litviak or Lilya Litviak, was a fighter pilot in the Soviet Air Force during World War II...

 (11 plus three shared). Litvyak, the most famous fighter pilot woman of all times, flew Yak-1 “Yellow 44”, with aerial mast, at first in 296.IAP and then with 73.Gv.IAP, until her death in combat, on 1 August 1943. Another fanous ace who flew the Yak-1 was Mikhail Baranov
Mikhail Baranov
Mikhail Dmitrievich Baranov was a WWII Soviet pilot, who during the early stages of the Battle of Stalingrad became the leading Soviet ace of 1942 with 21 aerial victories...

, who scored all his 24 victories on it, including five on a day (four Bf 109s and one Ju 87, on 6 August 1942). Yak-1s were also the first type operated by the 1 Pułk Lotnictwa Myśliwskiego "Warszawa" ("1st Polish Fighter Regiment 'Warsaw'").

The importance of this type in World War II is often underestimated. Soviet naming conventions obscure the fact that the Yak-1 and its successors — the Yak-7, Yak-9 and Yak-3 — are essentially the same design, comparable to the numerous Spitfire or Bf 109 variants. Were the Yaks considered as one type, the 37,000 built would constitute the most produced fighter in history.
That total would also make the Yak one of the most prolific aircraft in history, roughly equal to the best known Soviet ground attack type of Word War II, the IL-2 Shturmovik.
But losses were proportionally high, in fact the highest of all fighters type in service in USSR: in 1941-1945 VVS KA lost 3,336 Yak-1s; 325 in 1941, 1,301 the following year, 1,056 in 1943, 575 in 1944 and 79 in 1945.

Variants

  • I-26 (a.k.a. Ya-26) - The first prototype of the Yak-1 and progenitor of all Yakovlev's piston-engined fighters of World War II. Of mixed steel tube and wood construction the lightweight I-26 displayed promising performance and was produced as the Yak-1.
  • UTI-26 - The third and fourth I-26s were completed as dual control trainers, produced as a fighter as the Yak-7.
  • I-28 - High-altitude interceptor prototype with Klimov M-105
    Klimov M-105
    -See also:-External links:*...

    PD engine developed from I-26-2. Differed from I-26 in having an all-metal fuselage and tail and automatic, leading-edge slats on slightly smaller and reshaped wings. One aircraft was built, first flying on 1 December 1940. It did not enter production due to many deficiencies of the engine but served as the basis for high-altitude versions of Yak-7
    Yakovlev Yak-7
    The Soviet Yakovlev Yak-7 was developed from the earlier Yak-1 fighter, initially as a trainer but converted into a "heavy" fighter. As both a fighter and later reverting to its original training role, the Yak-7 proved to be a capable aircraft and was well liked by air crews. The Yak-7 was simpler,...

     and Yak-9
    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...

    .
  • I-30 (Yak-3) - Development of I-26 with an all-metal wing with leading-edge slats, weight and space savings were utilized for additional armament and greater fuel capacity. Two prototypes built - I-30-1 armed with 3 × 20 mm (0.8 in) ShVAK cannons and 2 × 7.62 mm (0.3 in) ShKAS machine guns, and I-30-2 with two additional ShKAS. It did not enter production. The name Yak-3 was re-used for a different fighter. See Yakovlev Yak-3
    Yakovlev Yak-3
    The Yakovlev Yak-3 was a World War II Soviet fighter aircraft.Robust and easy to maintain, it was much liked by pilots and ground crew alike....

    .
  • Yak-1 - Single-seat fighter aircraft. Initial production version.
  • Yak-1b - ("b" was an unofficial designation; after October 1942, all Yak-1s were built to this standard). New bubble canopy
    Bubble canopy
    A bubble canopy is a canopy made like a soap bubble, which attempts to provide 360° vision to the pilot.-History:Bubble canopies have been in use since World War II. The British had already developed the "Malcolm hood", which was a bulged canopy, but the British Miles M.20 was one of the first...

     with lowered rear fuselage, increased armor, ShKAS machine guns replaced with a single 12.7 mm (0.5 in) Berezin UBS, electrical and pneumatic firing of the weapons instead of the mechanical system, new control stick based on the Messerschmitt Bf 109
    Messerschmitt Bf 109
    The Messerschmitt Bf 109, often called Me 109, was a German World War II fighter aircraft designed by Willy Messerschmitt and Robert Lusser during the early to mid 1930s...

     design, new gunsight, airtight fuselage, retractable tailwheel, improved engine cooling, Klimov M-105
    Klimov M-105
    -See also:-External links:*...

    PF engine with better low-altitude performance. The first flight (aircraft No.3560) took place in June 1942, with aircraft entering production in August. A total of 4,188 were built.
  • Yak-1M - Yak-3
    Yakovlev Yak-3
    The Yakovlev Yak-3 was a World War II Soviet fighter aircraft.Robust and easy to maintain, it was much liked by pilots and ground crew alike....

     prototype with a smaller wing, revised cooling intakes, reduced overall weight and upgraded engine. Two were built.
  • Yak-7UTI - Initial production version of the UTI-26.
  • Yak-7 - Conversions of Yak-7UTI and new production of fighter version of Yak-7UTI.
  • Several other Yak-1 variants did not receive special designations. These include prototypes with Klimov VK-106
    Klimov VK-106
    -Bibliography:* Gunston, Bill. World Encyclopedia of Aero Engines. Cambridge, England. Patrick Stephens Limited, 1989. ISBN 1-85260-163-9* Kotelnikov, Vladimir. Russian Piston Aero Engines. Marlborough, Wiltshire. The Crowood Press Ltd. 2005. ISBN 1 86126 702 9....

     and Klimov VK-107
    Klimov VK-107
    |-See also:-Bibliography:* Gunston, Bill. World Encyclopedia of Aero Engines. Cambridge, England. Patrick Stephens Limited, 1989. ISBN 1-85260-163-9...

     engines, production aircraft capable of carrying external fuel tanks, production aircraft with the ability to carry 6 × RS-82 rockets or 2 × 100 kg (220 lb) bombs, and lightened versions for air defense.

Operators

  • Free French Air Force
    Free French Air Force
    The Free French Air Force was the air arm of the Free French Forces during the Second World War.-Fighting for Free France — the FAFL in French North Africa :...

    • Normandie-Niemen
      Normandie-Niemen
      The Normandie-Niemen Regiment was a fighter squadron, later regiment of the French Air Force. It served on the Eastern Front of the European Theatre of World War II with the 1st Air Army...

       Fighter Squadron

  • Air Force of the Polish Army
    Air Force of the Polish Army
    The Air Force of the Polish Army , unofficially known as the People's Polish Air Force was the name of the Soviet-controlled Polish Air Force in the USSR between 1943 and 1947 created alongside the Polish People's Army , a subordinate to the Red Army...

    • 1st Polish Fighter Regiment "Warsaw"

  • Soviet Air Force
    Soviet Air Force
    The Soviet Air Force, officially known in Russian as Военно-воздушные силы or Voenno-Vozdushnye Sily and often abbreviated VVS was the official designation of one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Soviet Air Defence Forces...


  • SFR Yugoslav Air Force
    SFR Yugoslav Air Force
    The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Yugoslav Air Force , was the air force of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia . Formed in 1945, it was preceded by the Yugoslav Royal Air Force which was disbanded in 1941, following the German occupation of Yugoslavia...

     - 103 aircraft in 1944-1950
    • 111th Fighter Aviation Regiment (1944–1948)
    • 113th Fighter Aviation Regiment (1944–1948)
    • 112th Fighter Aviation Regiment (1944–1945)
    • 2nd Training Aviation Regiment (1946–1948)
    • 101st Fighter-Training Aviation Regiment
      101st Fighter-Training Aviation Regiment
      The 101st Fighter-Training Aviation Regiment was an aviation regiment established in 1945 as 2nd Training Aviation Regiment The 101st Fighter-Training Aviation Regiment (Serbo-Croatian: 101. školski-lovački vazduhoplovni puk / 101. школски-ловачки ваздухопловни пук) was an aviation regiment...

       (1948–1950)
    • 104th Training Aviation Regiment
      104th Training Aviation Regiment
      The 104th Training Aviation Regiment was an aviation regiment established in 1945 as 1st Training Aviation Regiment The 104th Training Aviation Regiment (Serbo-Croatian: 104. vazduhoplovni školski puk / 104. ваздухопловни школски пук) was an aviation regiment established in 1945 as 1st Training...

       (1948–1950)

Specifications (Yak-1b)

See also

External links

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