Design and development

2008-02-07T05:52:00.000-08:00

The origins of the Yak-3 went back to 1941 when the 1-30 prototype was offered along with the I-26 as an alternate design to the Yak-1. The I-30, powered by a Klimov M-105P engine, was of all-metal construction, using a wing with dihedral on the outer panels. Like the early Yak-1, it had a ShVAK 20 millimeter cannon firing through the prop spinner and twin ShKAS 7.62 millimeter machine guns in the nose, but was also fitted with a ShVAK cannon in each wing. The first of two prototypes was fitted with a slatted wing to improve handling and short-field performance while the second prototype had a wooden wing without slats, in order to simplify production. The second prototype crashed during flight tests and was written off. Although there were plans to put the Yak-3 into production, the scarcity of aviation aluminum and the pressure of the Nazi invasion led to abandoning work on the first Yak-3 in the late fall of 1941.

In 1943, Yakovlev designed the Yak-1M which was a smaller and lighter version of the Yak-1. A second Yak-1M prototype was constructed later that year, differing from the first aircraft in plywood instead of fabric covering of the rear fuselage, mastless radio antenna, reflector gunsight and improved armor and engine cooling. The chief test pilot for the project Piotr Mikhailovich Stefanovskiy was so impressed with the new aircraft that he recommended that it should completely replace Yak-1 and Yak-7 with only the Yak-9 retained in production for further work with the Klimov VK-107 engine. The new fighter, designated theYak-3 entered service in 1944, later than the Yak-9 in spite of the lower designation number. A total of 4,848 aircraft were produced.

The designation Yak-3 was also used for other Yakovlev projects - a proposed but never built, heavy twin-engine fighter and the Yakovlev Yak-7A.

Yakovlev Yak-3

2008-01-07T08:28:00.001-08:00

History: During the final two years of the Second World War, the Yak-3 proved itself a powerful dogfighter. Tough and agile below an altitude of 13,000 feet, the Yak-3 dominated the skies over the battlefields of the Eastern Front during the closing years of the war.

The first attempt to build a fighter called the Yak-3 was shelved in 1941 due to a lack of building materials and an unreliable engine. The second attempt used the Yak-1M, already in production, to maintain the high number of planes being built. The Yak-3 had a new, smaller wing and smaller dimensions then its predecessor. Its light weight gave the Yak-3 more agility. The Yak-3 completed its trials in October 1943 and began equipping the 91st IAP in July of 1944. In August, small numbers of Yak-3s were built with an improved engine generating 1,700-hp, and the aircraft saw limited combat action in 1945. Production continued until 1946, by which time 4,848 had been built.

The story of the Yak-3 did not end with the Second World War. In 1991, the Museum of Flying, in Santa Monica, California, asked Yakovlev to produce a new series of Yak-3s to be built at Orenburg, Russia. The new Yak-3s were built using the plans, tools, dies and fixtures of the original. They were powered by American Allison engines, and given the designation Yak-3UA. These aircraft are now available on the civilian market. [History by David MacGillivray]

Nicknames: Ubiytsa ("Killer"); Ostronosyi ("Sharp-Nose" -- Generic term for all inline-engine powered Yak fighters).

Specifications:
Engine: One 1,300-hp Klimov VK-105PF-2 V-12 piston engine
Weight: Empty 4,641 lbs., Max Takeoff 5,864 lbs.
Wing Span: 30ft. 2.25in.
Length: 27ft. 10.25in.
Height: 7ft. 11.25in.
Performance:
Maximum Speed: 407 mph
Ceiling: 35,105 ft.
Range: 559 miles
Armament:
One engine-mounted 20-mm ShVAK cannon
Two 12.7-mm (0.5-inch) UBS machine guns

Number Built: 4,848 (Original 1940s-era models)

Number Still Airworthy: At least 5 newly-manufactured aircraft.