Yak-7

Soviet fighter plane Yakovlev Yak-7 of the Second World War (1942-43).
History, development, service, specifications, pictures and 3D model.

Yakovlev Yak fighters of WW2

During World War II, the Yakovlev Design Bureau of the Soviet Union produced several fighter aircraft that played a significant role in the conflict.

Overview of the most notable Yak fighters from this period

Yak-1: A single-seat monoplane fighter introduced in 1940, it was well-armed and maneuverable, proving to be a match for early German fighters like the Me 109 Emil.

Yak-7: Developed from the Yak-1 in 1942, the Yak-7 had improved armament and performance. It was used extensively as a fighter and fighter-bomber.

Yak-9: Introduced in late 1942, the Yak-9 was a major improvement over its predecessors. It had better performance, a more powerful engine, and could carry heavier armament. The Yak-9 became the most produced Soviet fighter of the war.

Yak-3: Entering service in 1944, the Yak-3 was a lighter, more agile version of the Yak-9. It was considered one of the best fighters of the war due to its excellent performance and maneuverability.

These Yak fighters were used by the Soviet Air Force throughout World War II and played a crucial role in the defense of the Soviet Union against the German Luftwaffe. They were also used by other Allied nations, such as France, Poland, and Yugoslavia. The Yak fighters were known for their robustness, simplicity, and ease of maintenance, which made them well-suited for the harsh conditions of the Eastern Front.

Yakovlev Yak-7

Yakovlev Yak-7
Type: fighter plane.

History

The Yak-7 is an excellent example of how the demands of a war situation can alter the development of an aircraft. In late 1939 Aleksandr Yakovlev initiated the study of a two-seat trainer variant of his Yak-1 fighter. Feeling that a pupil should graduate from the low powered UT-2 trainer to a UTI-26 tow-seat trainer and then into a combat aircraft, which after allowing for sufficient familiarization time at each level, should keep the number of training accidents comparatively low.
The only differences from the single seat fighter was the installation of a second cockpit with full dual controls for the instructor, an enlarged vertical tail, installation of a landing light, an increased wing span to 33 ft 7.5 inches (c.10.25 m), a single hub mounted 20-mm cannon as the sole weapon. The undercarriage was not retractable. The prototype flew for the first time during late summer of 1940 with State Acceptance trials of the UTI-26 trainer proceeding in parallel with the fighter type, with production also being at the GAZ 115 factory (Moscow).

The surprise attack by Germany forced the Yakovlev Design Bureau to convert the UTI-26 into a combat aircraft. Since fighters were so desperately needed at the front, any available aircraft that could be used as a fighter were ordered armed and into combat. The designation of the Yakovlev trainer was changed from UTI-26 to Yak-7.

Under the designation Yak-7A the first two-seat fighters reached front line units during late 1941. Armed with a 20-mm ShVAK cannon and two 12,7-mm Berezin UB machine guns with 300 rounds each. Provision was also made for six RS-82 rockets or a pair of 220lb (ca. 100 kg) Type FAB 100 bombs.

Newly completed Yak-1 fighters outside the original Yakovlev factory at Klimki, near Moscow, which was hurriedly evacuated in October 1941. Originally intended as the two seat trainer for these fighters, the war situation quickly turned the Yak-7 variant into a fighter which had both better endurance and firepower then the Yak-1.

This standard Yak-7B was completed at Novosibirsk during the summer of 1942.

Air victory of two Yak-7, which have shot down a German twin-engine plane.

State Aircraft Factory at Novosibirsk built more than 15,000 fighters during WW2, mostly Yak-9s. On this picture nearly complete Yak-7Bs of batch no 22 (left) will soon be pulled out of the assembly hall for acceptance flight. Aircraft of batch 23 (right) are in the final assembly stage.

Frontline pilots considered the rate of fire, endurance and handling characteristics of the Yak-7 to be superior to the Yakovlev 1. The addition of a 22 Imperial gallon fuel tank replacing the instructor’s seat, provided the Yakovlev 7A with an endurance of 510 miles (ca. 821 km). The upper decking contours of the two-seat trainer were retained, endowing the single seat Yakovlev 7 with the same distinctive ‘humped’ appearance as the UTI-26. The 772 lb (ca. 350 kg) of additional weight resulted in a redesigned and strengthened undercarriage, which featured a one piece undercarriage cover.

Relatively few Yakovlev 7As had been built before production was switched to the Yak-7B with a wingspan reduced to 32ft 9.75 in, installation of an RSI-4 radio and a number of aerodynamically refinements which increased the normal load weight to 6,703 lb (ca. 3,040 kg). The Klimov M-105-PF engine replaced the M-105-PA power plant during the summer of 1942, along with the installation of new exhaust stubs, rudder trim tab, and the two machine gun cocking mechanism fairings in front of the windshield.

The Yak-7B fighter supplanted the Yakovlev 1 production from early 1942. The Yakovlev 7 production came in favor of the new Yak-9 to an end in early 1943, 6,399 examples had left the plants of Moscow, Novosibirsk, Omsk and Saratov.

Users: Red Air Force of Soviet Union (Russia).

Animated 3D model Yakovlev 7

Specifications Yakovlev Yak-7B

Specifications:

Armament:

Service statistics:

References and literature

The Encyclopedia of Weapons of World War II (Chris Bishop)
Combat Aircraft of World War II (Bill Gunston)
Technik und Einsatz der Kampfflugzeuge vom 1. Weltkrieg bis heute (Ian Parsons)
Das große Buch der Luftkämpfe (Ian Parsons)
Luftkrieg (Piekalkiewicz)
Flugzeuge des 2. Weltkrieges (Andrew Kershaw)
World Aircraft World War II (Enzo Angelucci, Paolo Matricardi)
Yak Fighter in action (Hans-Heiri Stapfer)