Yakovlev Fighters 1/72 Scale Models

Soviet Yak-3 - This is a model of a fighter that flew against the German Luftwaffe on the Eastern Front in 1944. The first Yak fighter was the Yak-1. It was one of the three modern fighters the Soviets had secretly developed after their 1939 invasions of Poland and Finland, the other two being the the LaGG-3 and MiG-3. Originally called the I-26, the Yak-1 had the best performance of these three, and was easy to repair and maintain. In 1942 an improved version, the The Yak-1b, was introduced. Its rear fuselage was redesigned to facilitate the installation of a clear bubble canopy, and it had a more powerful engine. The Yak-3, an aerodynamically improved version of the Yak-1b, entered service in 1943 and first saw combat during the Battle of Kursk that summer. The Yak-3 "light" fighter was used in the fighter and interceptor role, and was the first Soviet-built fighter with performance superior to the Luftwaffe's Bf 109G and Fw 190A fighters.

More Photos: Left, Right, Top, Front, Front Angle Left, Front Angle Right, Rear Angle Left, Rear Angle Right, Rear, Above Right, Above Left

Soviet Yak-9 - This is a model of a fighter used against the Germans on the Eastern Front in 1944. The Yak-9, like the Yak-3, was developed from the Yak-1. There was a dire need in the Soviet air force in late 1941 for modern fighters so the two-seat trainer version of the Yak-1 was armed and pressed into emergency service as a combat plane and called the Yak-7. Soviets pilots liked it because it had heavier machine guns than the Yak-1, and a longer range due to the replacement of the instructor's seat with a fuel tank. The Yak-9 "heavy" fighter, an improved version of the Yak-7, entered service in late 1942, before the introduction of the Yak-3. The Yak-9 was a multi-purpose plane developed for several roles, especially the fighter-bomber role, and became the most important Soviet-built fighter of WWII, with production reaching about 15,000. More than 36,000 Yak fighters - of all versions - were produced by the end of WWII, accounting for almost 60% of overall Soviet fighter production. Yak fighters, along with Soviet-built Lavochkin fighters, were the mainstays of the Soviet Fighter Aviation Regiments in WWII.

More Photos: Left, Right, Top, Front, Rear, Front Angle Left, Front Angle Right, Rear Angle Left, Rear Angle Right, Above Left, Above Right