Jakovlev Jak-9D – the USSR fighter

In the middle of 1942 a new Messerschmitt modification appeared on the USSR-German front - the Bf-109G with a powerful engine, the flight characteristics of which significantly exceeded the characteristics of all Soviet fighters, including the well-recommended Yak-7B. The industry could not quickly produce a new engine with even greater power, so Yakovlev CB decided to reduce the weight of the plane. Aluminum was no longer a deficit material at that time. The new fighter, named Yak-7DI, received a metal spar instead of a wooden one. One Berezin machine gun was also dismantled. A drop-shaped cockpit hood is installed. After the tests, the fighter was put into serial production and named Yak-9. Fuel (from 500 to 320 kg) and oil (from 50 to 30 kg) reserves were also reduced. During the winter offensive of 1943, when huge territories from Stalingrad to Donbass and Kharkiv were cleared from the Germans, the short range of these fighters became apparent. Therefore, from March 1943, instead of the Yak-9, the production of the Yak-9D began. It returns to the installation of 4 fuel tanks in the wing - the flight range of the plane has increased to 1400 km. But the maneuverability decreased a little, especially in the vertical plane. For 1943, the characteristics of the Yak-9 were not the best anyway. Often, pilots and mechanics arbitrarily plugged the external tanks and flew with an incomplete fuel supply. Production of the Yak-9D ended in May 1944, with 3,068 fighters produced. It was replaced by the Yak-9M modification. The Yak-9 was the most massive Soviet fighter of World War II. It was simple in production, easy to control and adequately responded to actions on the steering wheel. Thanks to the low-altitude engine, it had good flight characteristics at altitudes up to 5000 m. A total of 16,769 airplanes were produced from October 1942 to December 1948.

A moderately complex, well-designed and well-detailed model for modelers of all experience. From the publication it is possible to make a model of an ordinary Yak-9D plane, produced in the autumn of 1943 with a full cockpit and excellent undercarriage detailing. For advanced beginners and modelers with little experience, we advise to glue this model under the supervision of a more experienced colleague, to make a simplified (no cockpit interior, with an opaque cockpit hood, landing gear included) model in the flight phase, and it should not be one of the first more complex models.