Yakovlev Yak-1
As war clouds loomed for Europe, the Soviet Union ordered the Yakovlev design bureau, headed by Alexander Yakovlev, to design a fighter capable of reaching 400 mph, with a ceiling of 33,000 feet, and a range of 370 miles; the intent was to match Germany's Messerschmitt Bf 109. Yakovlev was advised that his bureau wasn't the only one ordered to built a new fighter: Mikoyan-Gurevich (MiG) and Lavochkin-Gorbunov-Gudkov (LaGG) were also doing the same. The Soviet Air Force (V-VS) would choose one of them. Given that this was during the Stalin regime, the losing designers might lose more than just the competition.
Yakovlev, who had been famous for designing acrobatic sport aircraft in the 1930s, responded with the I-26 prototypes: the I-26-1 with three machine guns, and the I-26-2 with a turbocharger and two machine guns. This was later changed to two machine guns and a 20mm cannon firing through the propeller hub. In testing, the aircraft showed itself to be maneuverable and relatively fast, but the engine tended to overheat and one of the I-26 prototypes crashed. When the competition was held between the I-26--now named Yak-1--the MiG-3 and the LaGG-3, all three failed. By this time, it was 1940, and the threat of Nazi Germany and the debacle of the Winter War would lead the V-VS to accept all three aircraft, despite their problems.
The Yak-1 was considered the best of the three, and it was supposed to go into full production by early 1941. Production was delayed by no less than 20,000 changes to the design. The overwhelming majority of design changes were minor, but they still added up. Then the Germans invaded the USSR in June 1941, and production was severely disrupted--Yak-1s were produced in ruined factories in the open air, with some aircraft put together with whatever parts were available. Pilots reported some aircraft delivered with mismatched landing gear; mechanics found that parts were not interchangeable, as many Yak-1s were essentially produced as unique aircraft. Fuel leaks were common, the canopy occasionally wouldn't open (leading some pilots to fly without one), and many aircraft were painted with tractor paint, because that was all that was available; the tractor paint added weight to the Yak-1.
Despite all of this, the Yak-1 was a successful fighter. Pilots loved its quick turning, and concentrating the armament in the nose meant for easier shooting. Below 9000 feet, where much of the combat on the Eastern Front took place, the Yak-1 was the equal of the Bf 109F. German pilots tended to be superior to the majority of Russian pilots in 1941-1943, but at least the Yak-1 gave a pilot a chance, especially compared to the LaGG-3, known as the "Lacquered Coffin" to its pilots. (The MiG-3 turned out to be a good high-level interceptor.) Yakovlev later switched production to the Yak-1b, which cut down the rear fuselage for better vision, improved the engine, replaced the light 7.7mm machine guns with a single 12.7mm, and used a new gunsight design.
As the Luftwaffe began fielding the Bf 109G and the Focke-Wulf 190, the Yak-1 became obsolete. Yakovlev switched to the excellent Yak-3 design, while the inferior LaGGs were replaced by the much improved Lavochkin La-5. While the Soviets never quite achieved the same air superiority the Western Allies did, by 1944, the German pilots could no longer assume their aircraft and pilots were better. 8700 Yak-1s were built.
While shopping at Imperial Outpost Games in Phoenix, I spotted a game called Blood Red Skies. I noticed one of the box sets for the game had Lilya Litvyak on the cover, the top female ace in history, who scored between 12-14 kills before being shot down and killed on 1 August 1943. I've always been fascinated by the "White Rose of Stalingrad," as she was known, and as the game came with an unpainted 1/285th scale Yak-1 (approximately), I bought the box and painted the aircraft as Litvyak's "Yellow 44," the Yak-1 most associated with her. She was assigned to the all-female 586th Fighter Regiment--their Yak-1s were among the Soviet fighters forced to use tractor paint for their aircraft.
At that scale, I'm afraid my eyes weren't quite able to get the numbers on the side. It turned out all right, but it's so small I had a tough time getting a picture!
Yakovlev Yak-1
As war clouds loomed for Europe, the Soviet Union ordered the Yakovlev design bureau, headed by Alexander Yakovlev, to design a fighter capable of reaching 400 mph, with a ceiling of 33,000 feet, and a range of 370 miles; the intent was to match Germany's Messerschmitt Bf 109. Yakovlev was advised that his bureau wasn't the only one ordered to built a new fighter: Mikoyan-Gurevich (MiG) and Lavochkin-Gorbunov-Gudkov (LaGG) were also doing the same. The Soviet Air Force (V-VS) would choose one of them. Given that this was during the Stalin regime, the losing designers might lose more than just the competition.
Yakovlev, who had been famous for designing acrobatic sport aircraft in the 1930s, responded with the I-26 prototypes: the I-26-1 with three machine guns, and the I-26-2 with a turbocharger and two machine guns. This was later changed to two machine guns and a 20mm cannon firing through the propeller hub. In testing, the aircraft showed itself to be maneuverable and relatively fast, but the engine tended to overheat and one of the I-26 prototypes crashed. When the competition was held between the I-26--now named Yak-1--the MiG-3 and the LaGG-3, all three failed. By this time, it was 1940, and the threat of Nazi Germany and the debacle of the Winter War would lead the V-VS to accept all three aircraft, despite their problems.
The Yak-1 was considered the best of the three, and it was supposed to go into full production by early 1941. Production was delayed by no less than 20,000 changes to the design. The overwhelming majority of design changes were minor, but they still added up. Then the Germans invaded the USSR in June 1941, and production was severely disrupted--Yak-1s were produced in ruined factories in the open air, with some aircraft put together with whatever parts were available. Pilots reported some aircraft delivered with mismatched landing gear; mechanics found that parts were not interchangeable, as many Yak-1s were essentially produced as unique aircraft. Fuel leaks were common, the canopy occasionally wouldn't open (leading some pilots to fly without one), and many aircraft were painted with tractor paint, because that was all that was available; the tractor paint added weight to the Yak-1.
Despite all of this, the Yak-1 was a successful fighter. Pilots loved its quick turning, and concentrating the armament in the nose meant for easier shooting. Below 9000 feet, where much of the combat on the Eastern Front took place, the Yak-1 was the equal of the Bf 109F. German pilots tended to be superior to the majority of Russian pilots in 1941-1943, but at least the Yak-1 gave a pilot a chance, especially compared to the LaGG-3, known as the "Lacquered Coffin" to its pilots. (The MiG-3 turned out to be a good high-level interceptor.) Yakovlev later switched production to the Yak-1b, which cut down the rear fuselage for better vision, improved the engine, replaced the light 7.7mm machine guns with a single 12.7mm, and used a new gunsight design.
As the Luftwaffe began fielding the Bf 109G and the Focke-Wulf 190, the Yak-1 became obsolete. Yakovlev switched to the excellent Yak-3 design, while the inferior LaGGs were replaced by the much improved Lavochkin La-5. While the Soviets never quite achieved the same air superiority the Western Allies did, by 1944, the German pilots could no longer assume their aircraft and pilots were better. 8700 Yak-1s were built.
While shopping at Imperial Outpost Games in Phoenix, I spotted a game called Blood Red Skies. I noticed one of the box sets for the game had Lilya Litvyak on the cover, the top female ace in history, who scored between 12-14 kills before being shot down and killed on 1 August 1943. I've always been fascinated by the "White Rose of Stalingrad," as she was known, and as the game came with an unpainted 1/285th scale Yak-1 (approximately), I bought the box and painted the aircraft as Litvyak's "Yellow 44," the Yak-1 most associated with her. She was assigned to the all-female 586th Fighter Regiment--their Yak-1s were among the Soviet fighters forced to use tractor paint for their aircraft.
At that scale, I'm afraid my eyes weren't quite able to get the numbers on the side. It turned out all right, but it's so small I had a tough time getting a picture!