Yakovlev Yak-3
| Yakovlev Yak-3 | |
|---|---|
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| Type: | Fighter plane |
| Design country: | |
| Manufacturer: | |
| First flight: |
April 1943 |
| Commissioning: |
Summer 1944 |
| Production time: |
1944 to 1946 |
| Number of pieces: |
4,848 |
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Jakowlew Jak-3 ( Russian Яковлев Як-3 ) was the name of a single-seat Soviet fighter aircraft from the Second World War .
The first Jak-3 (1941)
The first aircraft to be named Jak-3 was an all-metal fighter that was created in 1940 as a parallel development to the Jak-1 . The biggest difference to this was the all-metal construction used for the first time in OKB Jakowlew , while the Jak-1 was a wood-metal mixed construction. Other differences were a stronger positive V-position of the outer wings and the use of automatic slats . A 775 kW M-105P motor with an E-100 compressor was used to maintain performance at greater heights. Two prototypes, initially designated as I-30s, were created and had unusually heavy armament. The first was equipped with three 20 mm SchWAK automatic cannons - one in the motor shaft, the other in the inside of the wings - and two 7.62 mm SchKAS machine guns in the outer surfaces. The second received two additional SchKAS-MG. Furthermore, the fuselage cooler was moved a little to the rear and the oil cooler was relocated to the inside of the fuselage, as in the later Jak-3.
The testing took place in the spring of 1941 by P. Fjodorow, during which the name was changed to Jak-3. In the course of the tests, a maximum speed of 490 km / h was achieved near the ground and 584 km / h at 4750 meters, the climb time at 5000 meters was seven minutes. Compared to the Jak-1, these were poorer performance data, as the engine used proved to be too weak due to its higher weight - the takeoff mass was 3130 kilograms. Because of this and also because of the prevailing metal shortage, there was no series production.
Development and use
At the end of 1942, when the new Bf 109 G and Fw 190 A-4 were first used on the German side during the Battle of Stalingrad , the Yakovlev development office began planning work to lighten and improve the Yak series. This machine was a further development of the Jak-1M with a weight reduced by 300 kg and a wing area reduced by 3.00 m². Chief designer Jakowlew, at the time also Deputy People's Commissar (Minister) for the aviation industry, writes in his memoir that he had been driven by the idea of creating the perfect fighter aircraft since the end of 1942. The key was the uncompromising reduction in the aircraft's mass. Since the beginning of military aircraft development, the fighters have become faster, carried radios and more powerful armament, but at the same time they became increasingly heavier and therefore needed ever more powerful engines, which in turn were heavier than their predecessors and consumed more fuel. In order to break out of this vicious circle, taking into account the tense situation of Soviet mass production in times of war, which did not allow time for production changes or retraining of work collectives, the Jak-1 was revised as a starting model with regard to its weight and aerodynamics. The wing area was reduced to 14.5 m² (Jak-1: 17.5 m²). The aerodynamics could be improved by moving the water and oil cooler inside or in the wing roots, a completely retractable landing gear and aerodynamic cabin glazing. All aircraft parts were examined for a possible weight reduction. By using spars made of duraluminium in the wings, it was finally possible to achieve that the Jak-3 with a takeoff weight of 2650 kg became the lightest fighter aircraft on the European theater of war.
Flight tests began in April 1943 and in spring 1944 the first aircraft were built at the Saratow Plant 292. The Jak-3 was delivered to the armed forces from the summer of 1944. The Jak-3 reached a top speed of 646 km / h at an altitude of 4650 m. The information for the speed near the ground fluctuates between 570 km / h and 590 km / h.
When the mission began, the Jak-3 of the Messerschmitt Bf 109 G, which was also in use at the time, proved to have grown or superior in terms of maneuverability and climbing ability up to a height of 4000 m, but the range left a lot to be desired. The impression of the new fighter became most clear at the end of 1944, when the German Air Force High Command issued the order to avoid aerial battles with the Jak-3 ("Jak without oil cooler)" below 5000 m altitude. The main task of the Jak-3 was to interact with the ground forces. As an escort fighter, it protected the large numbers of Ilyushin Il-2 and Petlyakov Pe-2 attack and bombing aircraft from enemy fighters, and served as a light bomber itself and as a fast and steep take off interceptor for low and medium altitudes. All Jak-3s have been given a thick layer of wax polish at the factory to increase speed. After comparing Flying for a successor model for the Yak-9 with Supermarine Spitfire and US fighter planes from decided the French pilots formed fighter regiment Normandie-Niemen for the Jak-3, which it received in October 1944th In addition, the model was flown in the 1st Polish fighter wing "Warszawa". A few Jak-3s were captured or made airworthy again by the Air Force . They were tested in the 2./Versuchsverband Ob.dL.
A total of 4848 machines of this type were built. After the end of the war, the Jak-3 was also given to Eastern European countries in the Soviet sphere of influence.
At the end of 1944, an all-metal version called Jak-3A appeared with the WK-107A engine. It reached a speed of 720 km / h with a takeoff weight of 2984 kg. However, this version was only built in a small series that did not exceed 100 units. In the second half of 1944 a test machine with additional propulsion by a rocket engine RD-1ChS (300kp thrust) was built, with which the machine called Jak-3RD should be used as an object protection interceptor. This drive reached 780 km / h, but work on this mixed drive concept stopped in mid-1945.
The Jak-3 today
Production ended in 1946, but this was not the end of this type. In 1991, the Museum of Flight in asking Santa Monica ( California ) Yakovlev to a new series of Yak-third Production began in Orenburg with the original plans and tools. The only difference was that the new version of the Jak-3 now got American Allison engines and the designation Yak-3UA . The Yak-3UA was designed for the civil market. In 2010 five airworthy machines were available.
variants
- Jak-3
- Main variant; Supplied from 1944, engine WK-105PF-2.
- Jak-3A (WK-107A)
- Version with Klimow WK 107A engine with 1,230 kW (1,650 PS) and two 20 mm automatic cannons Beresin B-20 . The testing took place in October 1944 by A. B. Jumaschew. Only 48 (about 100) copies were made between 1944 and 1946. The type impressed with its excellent performance (720 km / h at 5,750 m), but the engine in this aircraft tended to overheat and was therefore reserved for the more suitable Jak-9 .
- Jak-3 (WK-108)
- Prototype with a WK-108 with 1,380 kW (1,850 PS) power, armed with a 23 mm Nudelman-Suranow NS-23 machine gun with 60 rounds. During the tests, a maximum speed of 745 km / h at 6,290 m altitude and a climb time of 3.5 minutes at 5000 meters could be achieved, but the engine overheated too much. A second test configuration with two 20 mm Beresin B-20 automatic cannons from the Jak-3A suffered from the same problems. The first flight took place on December 19, 1944 by W. L. Rastorgujew. The WK-108 was the fastest pure piston engine version of the Jak-3.
- Jak-3K
- Panzerknacker armed with a 45 mm NS-45 cannon. Since the Jak-9K harmonized better with this weapon, only a few copies were built.
- Jak-3P
- Armed with three 20-mm automatic cannons Beresin B-20, the combat rate was 120 rounds for the middle and 130 rounds each for the two side cannons. This armament variant was - with full combat set - surprisingly 11 kg lighter than that of the normal Jak-3, and the projectile mass of a one-second burst of fire, at 3.52 kg, exceeded that of most other fighter planes of the Second World War. Between March 23 and April 4, 1945 the NII-WWS test pilot WG Ivanov completed extensive test flights with the prototype. By evaluating the serious defects in the aircraft, a standardized series model could be produced from August 1945. Series production lasted until mid-1946 and comprised a total of 596 pieces.
- Jak-3PD
- High altitude fighter with the Klimow WK-105PD (1,170 hp), armed with a NS-23 automatic cannon with 60 rounds. The Jak-3PD reached a summit height of 13,300 m. No series production because the more powerful WK-105PD did not achieve the required reliability.
- Jak-3RD ( Jak-3D )
- Experimental machine with additional drive by a liquid rocket engine of the Gluschko RD-1ChS (РД-1ХЗ) or SchRD-1 (ЖРД-1) type with 2.9 kN thrust. The engine name stands for Khimitscheskije Saschiganije (Химические Зажигание, chemical ignition) or Schidkostny Raketny Dwigatel (Жидкостный Ракетный Двигатель, liquid rocket engine). The rocket engine was built into the appropriately modified stern; the fuel and nitric acid containers required for this were placed in the wings. She was armed with a NS-23 with 60 rounds. Testing began in December 1944. On May 11, 1945, the Jak-3RD reached 782 km / h at an altitude of 7800 m with the auxiliary drive burning for three to four minutes. For unknown reasons, the test pilot W. L. Rastorguyev crashed on the 21st test flight on August 16, 1945 and lost his life. Since the development of jet-powered fighter aircraft had progressed further, the project was abandoned.
- Jak-3T
- Panzerknacker, armed with a 37 mm Nudelman N-37 cannon with 25 rounds of ammunition and two 20 mm Beresin B-20S automatic cannons with 100 rounds each. The wood-metal wings were replaced by all-metal ones. It was tested from the beginning of the spring of 1945. The installation of the N-37 made the aircraft top-heavy; To compensate for this, the cockpit was moved 40 cm backwards. In order to enable the installation of the N-37, major changes had to be made to the engine and the ancillary components, which led to cooling problems. These problems could not be solved satisfactorily and the Jak-3T remained a prototype.
- Jak-3T-57
- Jak-3T with a 57mm OKB16-57 cannon instead of the N-37. The OKB16-57 was also referred to as the N-57, as Nudelman worked in the OKB16, and was an enlarged version of the N-37.
- Jak-3TK
- WK-107A engine with exhaust gas turbocharger. 1945.
- Jak-3U
- Jak-3 all-metal version with the air-cooled radial engine ASch-82FN with 1,380 kW (1,850 PS) already used in the La-5FN , in order to increase the output and avoid the cooling problems of the WK-107 and WK-108. The wingspan was increased by 20 cm and the wings moved forward by 22 cm to compensate for the changed center of gravity. In addition, the cockpit was raised by eight centimeters in order to give the pilot a good view during takeoff and landing despite the beefy radial engine. It was armed with two 20 mm Beresin B-20 automatic cannons, each with 120 rounds. The prototype reached 710 km / h at an altitude of 6,100 m during testing, which was carried out by P. Fyodorov from May 12, 1945. The Jak-3U came too late to be able to intervene in the war; consequently, the series production was canceled.
- Jak-3UTI
- At the end of 1945 developed two-seat school version of the Jak-3U; to save operating costs with the 520 HP 7 cylinder radial engine Schwezow ASch-21 (a "half" ASch-82). The armament consisted of a 12.7 mm MG UBS and two bombs (max. 100 kg). The first flight took place on November 10, 1945 by PMStefanowski . Later went from the Yak-3UTI Yak-11 produced.
- Jak-3W
- High altitude hunter about whom nothing is known.
- Jak-3UA (Jak-3M)
- Engine: Allison V-1710 with 911 kW (1,240 PS); modernized avionics. Built from 1991.
Military users
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- Lotnictwo Wojska Polskiego (Soviet-controlled Polish Air Force )
Nicknames
Like some other planes, this one was nicknamed:
- Ubiza (убийца) - killer
- Ostronosyi (остроносый) - pointed or sharp-nosed
Technical specifications
| Parameter | Data |
|---|---|
| crew | 1 |
| length | 8.49 m |
| span | 9.20 m |
| height | 2.42 m |
| Wing area | 14.83 m² |
| Empty mass | 2,105 kg |
| Max. Takeoff mass | 2,660 kg |
| Top speed | near the ground 570 km / h at an altitude of 3,100 m 655 km / h |
| Ascent time to 5,000 m altitude | 4.1 min |
| Service ceiling | 10,700 m |
| Range | 900 km |
| Engines | a water-cooled twelve-cylinder V-engine Klimow WK-105PF-2 |
| power | 1,360 PS (1,000 kW) takeoff power |
| Armament | a 20-mm automatic cannon shvak cannon or a 23-mm MK MP 23WW, two 12.7-mm MG UBS |
See also
literature
- Manfred Jurleit: Legendary aircraft: Jakowlew Jak-3 . In: Wolfgang Sellenthin (Ed.): Fliegerkalender der DDR 1985 . Military Publishing House of the GDR, Berlin 1984, p. 145-151 .
- Wilfried Copenhagen : Soviet fighters . Transpress, Berlin 1985, p. 164/165 .
- Olaf Groehler : History of the Air War 1910 to 1980 . Military Publishing House of the GDR, Berlin 1981, p. 370/371 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Aircraft types - Jak-3 (I-30) in Flieger Revue 3/81, p. 142.
- ↑ a b c types of aircraft in the world . Bechtermünz, Augsburg 1997, ISBN 3-86047-593-2 .
- ↑ Jefim Gordon : Yakovlev's Piston Engined Fighters . ISBN 1-85780-140-7 , pp. 121 .
- ↑ Who? When? What? - Jakowlew Jak-3RD in Flieger Revue 9/84, p. 287
- ↑ Archive link ( Memento from February 5, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Archive link ( Memento from August 20, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ http://www.suchoj.com/andere/index.htm?http://www.suchoj.com/andere/Jak-3/home.shtml