Yakovlev Yak-3

what is it?

The Yakovlev Yak-3 (Russian: Яковлев Як-3) is a single-engine, single-seat World War II Soviet fighter. Robust and easy to maintain, it was much liked by both pilots and ground crew. One of the smallest and lightest combat fighters fielded by any combatant during the war, its high power-to-weight ratio gave it excellent performance and it proved to be a formidable dogfighter.

🔎How to recognise it: 1 piston engine with propeller · low wing · 9.2 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 646 km/htop speed
• range 648 kmwithout refuelling
• size 2,697 kgmax take-off weight
• built 4,848made in total

Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).

fun facts

• 🎂First flew 83 years ago, in 1943.
• 🏎️Top speed is 5.0× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
• 🚗Wingspan of 9.2 m: about 2 cars parked nose to tail.
• 🏔️Can fly 1.2× higher than Mount Everest (8,849 m).

piston: A car-like piston engine turning a propeller: simple and cheap, the classic small plane.

spec sheet

first flight

1943-04

introduced

1944

retired

1952

status

retired

number built

4,848

role

fighter

origin

🇷🇺 Soviet Union

makers

Tbilisi Aircraft Manufacturing, Saratov Aviation Plant

engines

1× Klimov VK-105PF2 / Klimov M-105

crew

1

length

8.5 m

wingspan

9.2 m

height

2.4 m

max take-off weight

2,697 kg

top speed

646 km/h

range

648 km

ceiling

10,400 m

wings

low wing

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.