what is it?
The Yakovlev Yak-2 was a short-range Soviet light bomber/reconnaissance aircraft used during World War II. It was produced in small numbers, and most of them were destroyed during the opening stages of Operation Barbarossa.
How to recognise it: 2 piston engines with propellers · 14 m wingspan
base stats
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 87 years ago, in 1939.
- Top speed is 4.0× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
- Wingspan of 14 m: about 3 cars parked nose to tail.
- Can fly 1.0× 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
- 1939-01
- introduced
- 1940
- retired
- 1942
- status
- retired
- number built
- 111
- role
- light bomber
- makers
- Yakovlev
- engines
- 2× Klimov M-103
- crew
- 3
- length
- 9.3 m
- wingspan
- 14 m
- max take-off weight
- 5,380 kg
- top speed
- 515 km/h
- range
- 800 km
- ceiling
- 8,900 m
Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q2426578, Wikipedia: Yakovlev Yak-2 (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.