A single seat version of the Yak-30.
Yakolev Yak-32
Aircraft
Yakolev Yak-30 [1960]
In 1959 the VVS held a competition for a light jet trainer, able to be used for ab initio instruction. Such aircraft had never been developed in the Soviet Union, the only jet trainers being conversions of powerful military types. Yakolev produced a prototype, with the Service designation Yak-30. In parallel, funded by DOSAAF, the OKB produced a single-seat version, the Yak-32. Surprisingly, the only competitors came from outside the Soviet Union.
The contest for a jet trainer resolved itself in 1960 into a three-pronged evaluation, the rivals being the Czechoslovak L-29 Delfin and the Polish TS-11 Iskra. The TS-11 was soon eliminated and sent back to Poland, and a head-to- head developed in which the Yak-30 showed an edge in performance, but was marred by detail problems. In any case Czechoslovakia needed the work, and so the L-29 was chosen in August 1961 as the trainer for all Warsaw Pact air forces except Poland’s.
NATO code MANTIS.
Engine: 1 x Tumanskii TRD 29 turbojet, 1,764 2,315 lbs.t. (800 1050kgp)
Cruise, 350 mph (563 kph)
Service ceiling, 40,000 ft (12192 m)
Engine: 1 x turbo-jet RU-19, 8.8kN
Max take-off weight: 2250 kg / 4960 lb
Empty weight: 1555 kg / 3428 lb
Wingspan: 9.38 m / 31 ft 9 in
Length: 10.14 m / 33 ft 3 in
Wing area: 14.3 sq.m / 153.92 sq ft
Max. speed: 767 km/h / 477 mph
Ceiling: 16100 m / 52800 ft
Range: 965 km / 600 miles
Crew: 2
Yakolev Yak-30 [1948]
The Yakolev OKB’s response to the March 1946 requirement for a Rolls-Royce Derwent-powered Mach=0.9 “frontal” or general-purpose tactical fighter suitable for use from existing unpaved airfields was the Yak-30. Derived from the Yak-25 from which it differed primarily in having wings sweptback 35 degrees at quarter chord, the Yak-30 retained the fuselage, tail surfaces and undercarriage of the earlier fighter fundamentally unchanged, together with the three-NR-23 cannon armament. Powered by a 1590kg RD-500 turbojet, the first of two Yak-30 prototypes was flown on 4 September 1948. The second prototype, the Yak-30D, which joined the flight test programme early in 1949, had a 38cm section inserted in the aft fuselage, revised mainwheel doors forming a large section of the fuselage skinning, Fowler-type flaps in place of split flaps, increased fuel and ammunition capacity, and changes to the oxygen system and radio equipment. The Yak-30D was also fitted with air brakes on the aft fuselage. Normal loaded weight (without external fuel) was increased by 110kg. Although the modifications introduced by the Yak-30D eradicated several shortcomings displayed by the first prototype, the first production deliveries of the superior MiG-15 were already taking place by the time that the improved version of the Yakolev fighter entered flight test, and the results of NIl V-VS trials were, therefore, little more than academic.
Yak-30
Max take-off weight: 3330 kg / 7341 lb
Empty weight: 2415 kg / 5324 lb
Wingspan: 8.65 m / 28 ft 5 in
Length: 8.58 m / 28 ft 2 in
Wing area: 15.10 sq.m / 162.53 sq ft
Max. speed: 1010 km/h / 628 mph
Ceiling: 15000 m / 49200 ft
Range w/max.fuel: 1720 km / 1069 miles
Crew: 1
Yakolev Yak-28 / Yak-129
A light bomber and reconnaissance aircraft (NATO code name ‘Brewer’), and all weather fighter (NATO code name ‘Firebar’) and trainer (NATO code name ‘Maestro’). The Yakolev Yak-28P Firebar was a two-seater transonic all-weather twin-jet interceptor with a maximum speed of Mach 1.1 at 35,000 feet and a service ceiling of 55,000 feet. The Yak-28 first flew on 5 March 1958.
Possessing no more than a configurational similarity to preceding twin-engined Yakolev combat aircraft, the Yak-129 multi-role aircraft was first flown on 5 March 1958 in tactical attack bomber form. Powered by two Tumansky R-11AF-300 turbojets each rated at 5750kg with afterburning and 3880kg maximum military power, the Yak-129 had a shoulder-mounted wing swept back 63 degrees inboard of the engine nacelles and 44 degrees outboard. Although of zero-track arrangement as on the Yak-25 and -27, the undercarriage of the Yak-129 consisted of long-base twin-wheel units sharing aircraft weight almost equally.
Assigned the service designation Yak-28 and first shown publicly during the 1961 Aviation Day Display in Moscow, the first series version of the aircraft was the Yak-28B with an RBR-3 radar bombing system. This was followed by the Yak-28I and -28L tactical attack aircraft, differing in avionic equipment, which were joined under test during 1960 by the Yak-28P dedicated all-weather interceptor fighter. This featured tandem cockpits for the two crew members and was intended for low- and medium-altitude operation with an Orel-D radar and one beam-riding and one radar-homing R-30 (K-8M) AAM. The Yak-28P entered IA-PVO service during the winter of 1961-62.
The Yak 28 series, comprising the Brewer bomber in addition to the Firebar intercepter, was substantially larger and more powerful than its predecessor. Area ruling was adopted for the fuselage and the wing, of increased area, carried 50 degrees of sweepback on the inboard leading edge. Firebar is powered by a pair of Tumansky R 11 turbojets, the power of which has progressively been uprated since the aircraft entered service. Late production versions are powered by variants rated at an estimated 4600 kg (10140 lb) of dry thrust each, or 6200 kg (13670 lb) with afterburning.
The major differences from the Brewer, which was developed in parallel, lay in the forward fuselage. A radome replaced Brewer’s glazed nose, and the windscreen of the two crew cockpit was, along with the forward undercarriage leg, mounted some 76.2 cm (2.5 ft) further forward in the intercepter version. The internal weapons bay fitted to Brewer was deleted from the intercepter, and Firebar’s lengthened fuselage was later also adopted for the strike variant. A longer and more pointed radome was fitted to later production Firebars.
Firebar is fitted with an X band Skip Spin search and fire control radar operated by the rear crew member.
Standard armament comprises four AA 3 Anab air to air missiles, two of which use infrared guidance while the other pair employ semi active radar homing. A Yak 28P has been displayed with one Anab and one AA 2 Atoll under each wing, but this is thought to have been only an experimental installation. Firebar had by 1978 been mainly replaced by the Flagon E variant of the Sukhoi Su 15.
Progressive upgrading resulted in R-11AF-2-300 engines uprated to 3950kg and 6120kg with afterburning, and enclosed by forward-lengthened nacelles, a longer, sharply-pointed radome housing an upgraded radar and affording lower supersonic drag and reduced erosion, and an additional stores station beneath each wing permitting two short-range dogfight IR missiles to be carried. With all these changes incorporated the designation was changed to Yak-28PM. With further upgrading, the fighter was evaluated as the Yak-28PD, but this suffered high-speed aileron reversal during trials, and by the time that this problem had been overcome production of the Yak-28P was phasing out, terminating in 1967 with limited production of the Yak-28PP electronic warfare version. Production of the fighter totalled 437 aircraft.
Yak-28P
Span: 12.5 m (41 ft)
Length: 22 m (72 ft 2.25 in)
Gross weight: 18500 kg (40785 lb)
Maximum speed: Mach 1.15
(all figures estimated)
Yak-28PM
Max take-off weight: 15700 kg / 34613 lb
Wingspan: 11.64 m / 38 ft 2 in
Length: 20.65 m / 68 ft 9 in
Max. speed: 1890 km/h / 1174 mph
Ceiling: 16000 m / 52500 ft
Range: 2630 km / 1634 miles
Yakolev Yak-27
In 1955, the Yakolev OKB flew the prototype of a light tactical bomber, the Yak-26, which, evolved from the Yak-25, embodied aerodynamic refinement and was powered by two Tumansky RD-9AK turbojets each rated at 3250kg with afterburning. During test, the Yak-26 achieved 1235km/h at 3000m, or Mach = 1.05, but suffered from serious instability at high attack angles, development consequently being discontinued in favour of a tandem two-seat all-weather fighter, the Yak-27, as a potential successor to the Yak-25. Similarly powered to the Yak-26 and flown in 1956, the Yak-27 featured extended wing root leading edges increasing sweepback inboard of the engine nacelles to 62 degrees, and a sharply pointed nose radome to reduce drag and lessen rain erosion. Armament remained paired 37mm N-37L cannon, but provision was made to supplement this with two RS-2U beam-riding AAMs. Parallel development was undertaken of a tactical reconnaissance aircraft, the Yak-27R, which accommodated the navigator in a pointed, glazed nose. Recurrence of the instability problems that had afflicted the Yak-26 led to major redesign of the wing, broader-chord outer panels being introduced and the tips were extended beyond the outriggers which were enclosed by streamlined under-wing blisters.
The Yak 27P was dubbed Flashlight C on its appearance at the Tushino Soviet Aviation Day in 1956.
Series production of the Yak-27 fighter was not undertaken – although 180 examples of the Yak-27R were built – but a single-seat mixed-power development, the Yak-27V, underwent extensive evaluation. Intended as a high-altitude interceptor and first flown in May 1957, the Yak-27V was powered by two RD-9Ye turbojets with an afterburning thrust of 3800kg each and a tail-mounted Dushkin S-155 bi-fuel rocket motor of 1300kg. Basic armament remained two 37mm cannon. The Yak-27V attained zoom altitudes of up to 25000m during a test programme that continued for two years, but the disbandment of the Dushkin OKB and a loss of interest in rocket propulsion resulted in termination of the programme.
Max take-off weight: 11340 kg / 25001 lb
Wingspan: 11.90 m / 39 ft 1 in
Length: 16.76 m / 55 ft 0 in
Height: 4.05 m / 13 ft 3 in
Max. speed: 1150 km/h / 715 mph
Ceiling: 15250 m / 50050 ft
Range: 3000 km / 1864 miles
Yakolev Yak-26
In 1955, the Yakolev OKB flew the prototype of a light tactical bomber, the Yak-26, which, evolved from the Yak-25, embodied aerodynamic refinement and was powered by two Tumansky RD-9AK turbojets each rated at 3250kg with afterburning. During test, the Yak-26 achieved 1235km/h at 3000m, or Mach = 1.05, but suffered from serious instability at high attack angles, development consequently being discontinued in favour of a tandem two-seat all-weather fighter, the Yak-27
Engines: two Tumansky RD-9AK turbojets, 3250kg with afterburning
Yakolev Yak-25 / Yak-120 / Yak-125
In the summer of 1951, the NKAP issued a requirement for an all-weather interceptor fighter possessing sufficient internal fuel capacity to mount standing patrols of up to 2.5 hours duration and capable of accommodating a large, new radar. This supplanted an earlier requirement to which the Mikoyan-Gurevich I-320 and Lavochkin La-200 had been evolved. The new radar, known as the Sokol (Falcon), had a 80cm diameter dish, three different scan modes and an installed mass weight of almost 500kg. To meet this new requirement, the Lavochkin and Yakolev OKBs respectively developed the La-200B and Yak-120. The latter, an all-metal stressed-skin tandem two-seater, was powered by a pair of small-diameter Mikulin AM-5A turbojets each rated at 2200kg / 4850-lb and hung beneath a wing swept back 45 degrees at quarter chord and carrying some 3 degrees of anhedral, and mounted in full-mid position. The undercarriage was of zero-track type, with wingtip-housed outrigger stabilisers, and armament comprised two 37mm N-37L cannon with their barrels accommodated in external fairings beneath the fuselage.
From 1957 the Mikulin AM 5 turbojets were replaced in the definitive Yak 25F by Tumansky RD 9s of 2600 kg (5730 lb) thrust, increasing the maximum speed.
The first of three Yak-120 prototypes was flown on 19 June 1952, State acceptance testing paralleling construction of a pre-series of 20 aircraft for avionics development and, commencing late 1953, service evaluation. With ballast equivalent in weight to the Sokol radar – which did not attain service status until late 1955 – the Yak-120 had a loaded weight of 9220kg, series production commencing late 1953 as the Yak-25 with RD-9 turbojets each rated at 2630kg. Confusing repetition of the “Yak-25” designation resulted from its initial use as an OKB appellation and subsequent use by the NKAP as an official and sequential designation, the previous Yakolev service fighter having been the Yak-23. The Yak-25 was assigned primarily to defence sectors in the Far North of the USSR, production being completed in 1958 after the delivery of 480 aircraft and service phase-out taking place in the mid ‘sixties.
The production programme took the type right through toward the end of the 1960s in role-differentiated models designated Yak-25, Yak-26 and Yak-27 with swept wings and on the Yak-25RD high-altitude reconnaisance version with straight wings.
The intercepter was codenamed Flashlight-A by NATO’s Air Standards Coordinating Committee, Flashlight B being a reconnaissance variant developed concurrently for service with the Soviet air force’s frontal aviation or tactical air arm.
A tactical reconnaissance derivative with the navigator accommodated in a glazed nose was built in 1953 as the Yak-125, but was not produced in series owing to prior adoption of the IL-28R. Other derivatives of the basic design were the Yak-25L ejection-seat test bed with individual cockpits, and the Yak-25RV long-range high-altitude strategic reconnaissance aircraft.
The Yak 25R carried the second crew member in a pointed glazed nose instead of behind the pilot, and armament was reduced from the intercepter’s pair of 37 mm (1.46 in) NR 37 cannon to a single 23 mm (0.90 in) weapon in the right-hand side of the forward fuselage.
Engines: 2 x Klimov VK-5, 8820 lb thrust
Max take-off weight: 10900 kg / 24031 lb
Wingspan: 11.00 m / 36 ft 1 in
Length: 15.67 m / 51 ft 5 in
Height: 4.32 m / 14 ft 2 in
Wing area: 28.94 sq.m / 311.51 sq ft
Max speed: 1090 km/h / 677 mph
Cruise speed: 820 km/h / 510 mph
Ceiling: 13900 m / 45600 ft
Range: 2730 km / 1696 miles
Armament: 2 x 37m cannon
Yakolev Yak-25 (I)
Developed in parallel with the Yak-23, the similarly-powered Yak-25 was conceptually more advanced and derived from the Yak-19. By comparison with the earlier fighter, the Yak-25 employed the higher-speed TsAGI S-9S-9 laminar section at the wing root translating to a KV-4-9 section at the tip with a constant thickness of 9% throughout. Despite the greater diameter of the 1625kg RD-500 (Rolls-Royce Derwent) – similar to that installed in the Yak-23 prototypes – than the RD-10F of the Yak-19, the diameter of the fuselage of the Yak-25 was unchanged. Sweptback horizontal tail surfaces were adopted, provision was made for two 200-litre drop tanks under the wing tips and armament comprised three 23mm NR-23 cannon. The first of two prototypes was flown on 31 October 1947, but, although the subsequent flight test programme was allegedly successful, no production contract was issued for the Yak-25. One of the prototypes was utilised during 1948 for (fixed) tandem-wheel undercarriage trials as part of the Yak-50 development programme.
Max take-off weight: 3235 kg / 7132 lb
Empty weight: 2285 kg / 5038 lb
Wingspan: 8.88 m / 29 ft 2 in
Length: 8.65 m / 28 ft 5 in
Wing area: 14.00 sq.m / 150.69 sq ft
Max. speed: 972 km/h / 604 mph
Range: 1445 km / 898 miles
Yakolev Yak-23
This type resulted from an October 1946 requirement, and as one of the bureau’s first all-metal stressed-skin designs was based on a “stepped” fuselage with the RD-500 engine (in essence a British unit, the Rolls-Royce Derwent V centrifugal-flow turbojet, built in the USSR) located in the forward fuselage and ex¬hausting below the fuselage in line with the cockpit and trailing edges of the unswept wing. This kept the engine installation as short as possible, and so avoided the efficiency losses associated with a long jetpipe. The Yak-23 possessed wing and horizontal tail surfaces similar to those of the Yak-19, and was intended to fulfil a requirement for a lightweight day interceptor capable of operating from existing fields.
The first of three prototypes of the Yak-23, which were of all-metal stressed-skin construction and powered by imported Rolls-Royce Derwent turbojets, was flown on 17 June 1947. Seen as something of a back-up for the very much more advanced Nene-engined fighters with wing sweep-back then under development, the Yak-23 proved itself an outstandingly agile warplane. NATO code name Flora.
Manufacturer’s trials were completed on 12 September 1947. State Acceptance testing had been successfully completed before the year’s end and series production began in the late spring of 1948.
The series Yak-23 was powered by a Soviet copy of the Derwent known as the RD-500 – a designation derived from GAZ-500, the factory in which the engine was produced – and rated at 1590kg. Its armament consisted of two 23mm NS-23 (later NR-23) cannon.
Deliveries to the V-VS began early in 1949, by which time the first production examples of the MiG-15 had already flown. In consequence, only two V-VS regiments reportedly re-equipped (from the Yak-17) with the Yak-23, which was quickly released for export. Twelve were delivered to Czechoslovakia during 1950 (and there assigned the designation S101) and the supply of some 95 to Poland began late that year, while, in 1951, 12 each were delivered to Romania and Bulgaria. Both Czechoslovakia and Poland were to have licence-built the Yak-23 but, in the event, manufactured the MiG-15, and Soviet production of the Yakolev type terminated in 1950 with 310 built.
One example was converted by the OKB as a tandem two-seat conversion trainer (Yak-23UTI), this first being flown in the spring of 1949. One Yak-23 was rebuilt as a tandem two-seater in Romania, but the type had given place to the MiG-15 in all Warsaw Pact air forces by the mid ’50s.
Principal versions – Yak-23 (basic fighter model) and Yak-23UTI (two seat conversion trainer whose production is unconfirmed). Principal users – Czechoslovakia, Poland, Romania, USSR, and possibly other Warsaw Pact countries.
Engine: one 3,505-lb (1,590-kg) thrust RD-500 turbojet
Wing span 28 ft 7.75 in (8.37 m)
Length 26 ft 7.75 in (8.12 m)
Wing area 145.32 sq ft (13.50 sq.m)
Height: 10.827 ft / 3.31 m
Empty weight 4,409 lb (2,000 kg)
Maximum take-off weight 7,460 lb (3,384 kg)
Maximum speed 606 mph (975 kph)
Initial climb rate 9,252 ft (2,820 m) per minute
Service ceiling 48,555 ft (14,800 m)
Range 746 miles (1,200 km)
Armament: two 23-mm cannon
Bombload two 132-lb (60-kg)
Crew: 1
Yakolev Yak-19
Virtually simultaneously with redesign of the Yak-15 to produce the Yak-17, the Yakolev OKB embarked upon the design of a more advanced single-seat fighter, the Yak-19. Utilising a straight-through airflow arrangement, the Yak-19 employed a 12% thickness straight wing. The Yak-19 accommodated all fuel within the fuselage. Of all-metal stressed-skin construction with a semi-monocoque fuselage, the Yak-19 had a laminar-flow wing of TsAGI S-l-12 section, and armament of two 23mm cannon. Equipped with an ejection seat, it was the first Soviet fighter to be fitted with an afterburner, this boosting the thrust of its RD-10F turbojet to 1100kg. The design was tailored round the 2425-lb (1100-kg) afterburning thrust RD-10F located in a straight-through design with a nose inlet and tail exhaust.
Two prototypes were built, the first of these entering flight test in January 1947. The second prototype differed in having revised vertical tail surfaces, several degrees of anhedral applied to the horizontal tail and provision for a 200-litre drop tank beneath each wingtip. Difficulties were experienced with the afterburner, and as more powerful turbojets (eg, the RD-500) were by now available, the Yak-19 test programme was terminated on 21 August 1947.
Yak-19
Max take-off weight: 3050 kg / 6724 lb
Empty weight: 2200 kg / 4850 lb
Wingspan: 8.7 m / 29 ft 7 in
Length: 8.36 m / 27 ft 5 in
Wing area: 13.5 sq.m / 145.31 sq ft
Max. speed: 904 km/h / 562 mph
Ceiling: 15000 m / 49200 ft
Range: 550 km / 342 miles
All Aero 