Yak-9

Description

The Yakovlev Yak-9 is the first variant of the Yak-9 fighter aircraft family. Inspired by the Yak-7, the Yak-9 family remains a combination of wood and metal alloy construction. Designed around the same time as the Yak-3, the Yak-9 would prove to be the most important Soviet fighter aircraft family, seeing massive production and evolving into many variants. Alexander Sergeevich Yakovlev built the Yak-9 around a powerful set of Klimov engines that would serve as the foundation of later Yak-9 variants in the lineage. A single 20 mm ShVAK cannon with 120 rounds and a 12.7 mm Berezin UB heavy machine gun with 200 rounds were standard armaments. This weaponry combination made it a formidable opponent, capable of defeating almost anything in the skies. The visibility was excellent throughout, and the airframe proved to be sturdy and configurable to some extent. Some airframes were modified to become night fighters, long-range, and "pure" interceptors, as well as anti-tank and bomber escort variants. The combat experiences gained by Soviet pilots in the Yak-7 influenced the creation of the Yak-9. The aircraft entered service in October 1942 and were manufactured from 1942 to 1946.

Introduced in Update 1.43, the Yak-9 was the workhorse of the Soviet Air Force during World War II, and it is the standard base variant that gives rise to a huge family of variants. The Yak-9 is a well-rounded plane that is proficient in all areas. However, steep dives should still be avoided because the wings are still constructed of wood rather than metal alloy. Despite its decent turn-fighting capabilities, prolonged turning engagements or other manoeuvres will progressively drain the Yak-9's energy. Since the plane has a limited ammunition load, it is important to use trigger discipline during engagements. Given their centre alignment on the nose of the Yak-9, there is no need to adjust for gun convergence, making hitting enemies much easier for players.

General info

Flight performance

Details

Engine performance

Survivability and armour

• 64 mm Bulletproof glass in cockpit front and rear.
• 8 mm Steel plate behind the pilot.

Modifications and economy

Focus on cooling and engine modifications first! Once the coolant systems and engine is upgraded, flying at 90% power will never overheat the engine! Then focusing on ammo belts can benefit greatly, since the default ammo belt is rather lacklustre. After that, the modifications for new guns should also be considered for firing the guns longer without jamming. Past that, it is pilot preference.

Armaments

Offensive armament

The Yak-9 is armed with:

• 1 x 20 mm ShVAK cannon, nose-mounted (120 rpg)
• 1 x 12.7 mm Berezin UB machine gun, nose-mounted (200 rpg)

Usage in battles

Both "Universal" and "Stealth" ammo belts for the cannon are effective against all planes, and the "Ground Targets" belt gives the most HE rounds for most targets. The cannon's "Ground Targets" belt is also capable of penetrating light tanks if the player hits them in the rear. Low gun ammo along with no other ordnance of any kind (no rockets and bombs of any kind) make this plane weak against even soft unarmoured ground targets.

Arcade battles

In Arcade Battles, the basics of Yak fighting from the previous iterations continue. Unlike Realistic or Simulator battle modes, there is no need to worry about the wooden wings ripping off, engine overheating, or being in the air without ammunition for long, which gives the Yak more liberty in its mode of attack.

It is recommended to climb to 3,000 m as this will allow the Yak to have a altitude advantage over many opponents who will head towards the ground while playing into the Yak's preference for low-altitude fighting. Mind your engine temperature and use WEP sparingly while doing this.

Though a full liberty of targets can be chosen from anything below the Yak, try to pick opponents that are unaware of the Yak's presence. Dive down and gain speed while conducting a Boom-N-Zoom attack. The center-mounted 20 mm and 12.7 mm guns acting together when fired is good enough to sufficiently damage most aircraft with a single a pass. The Yak is free to climb again and regain the altitude advantage, or turn and re-engage the enemy with another pass as the Yak's turning ability is quite good in high energy, at the expense of the pilot's G-force resistance and stamina.

Use trigger discipline when firing the 20 mm and 12.7 mm guns as there is a relatively small ammunition load for the two. However, due to their center-alignment on the Yak's nose, there is no need to adjust for convergence, making fire adjustments much easier for the pilot. Once the crosshair is sighted right onto target, most shots on an fully upgraded gun will hit the mark. It is recommended to hit for the weaker structural parts of enemy aircraft such as the wings, as the ammunition can rip them apart in a good burst.

However, all these require the Yak to have an energy advantage over an opponent. Prolonged turning engagements or other manoeuvres will gradually drain the Yak of its energy and slow it to a crawl. In this state, the Yak is in its most vulnerable to enemy fighters. Once this lower speed is noticed, quickly withdraw from the combat and try to gain speed and altitude, the former especially if an enemy fighter suddenly starts to attack. Where previous Yaks were good multipurpose turn-fighters, the Yak-9 also makes excellent use of energy-fighting tactics, so keep this in mind.

Realistic/Simulator battles

Stay low, watch your ammo, and watch your engine temperature. Avoid excessive diving, since the wings are still made of wood!

Very accurate center-mounted guns are easy to master for the player compared to planes with wing mounted armament. Sadly this benefit is overshadowed by the low ammo load that most of the time enforces strict trigger discipline (especially for the cannon). Long range attempts can be carried out by the 12.7 mm HMG, but rather as a means of luring fleeing enemies into evasive manoeuvres rather than taking it out.

Specific enemies worth noting

The Yak-9 has some vehicles it needs to consider when engaging.

• Japanese turn fighters - Japanese fighters like their Zeroes and Ki-43 can possess a threat as these planes can turn faster than the Yak could ever dream, so don't get suckered into turning against a Zero. Not to mention, Japanese planes are typically slower than most of its contemporaries, so a Yak trying to get a bead on one after passing through will often try to turn constantly around for another pass at these slow aircraft. Continued turns and passes will cause the Yak to lose energy and sacrifice aerial performance. This can lead other enemy aircraft or the very same Japanese aircraft the Yak was trying to strafe to coming around the slow Yak and shoot it out of the air. It is best to simply pass by a Japanese aircraft with a Boom-&-Zoom and then just climbing away to altitude away from the fighter so it couldn't try to attack. Once in a sufficient altitude, dive back down again to regain the energy during the next pass.
• Biplanes - Sure, if able to destroy them in the first pass, the biplane is not really the biggest threat out there. However, it is the indicator of an easy, slow target that are biplanes like the Swordfish that can cost the Yak pilot the plane. If missed, there may be an urge to quickly turn back for another quick pass against the biplane for another chance, while the biplane continues evasive manoeuvres. If this continues on as the Yak keeps turning for an "easy" kill, it would sacrifice much of its energy against a rather nonthreatening target. As emphasized previously, a slow Yak is an easier target to enemies and even if the biplane won't be able to dent the Yak, another enemy may swoop down an annihilate the Yak with ease. Don't waste energy trying to manoeuvre against a biplane, simply attack in a Boom-&-Zoom fashion.

Manual Engine Control

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Centre-mounted armament that is very accurate even at longer distances.
• 20 mm supplemented with a 12.7 mm can do decent damage against enemy planes.
• Relatively small aircraft profile makes it a small target.
• Fast and agile at altitudes up to 3 km.
• Great turning ability when in high energy.
• Experience with the Yak-1 and Yak-1B carry over to this plane.
• Slightly better engine than predecessors.

Cons:

• Armaments have limited ammunition, stresses on firing accuracy and discipline to make the most out of a belt.
• Low maximum dive speed.
• Very bad high alt performance.
• Once speed and energy is lost, the Yak-9 performance drops significantly.
• Engine overheats sometimes in RB/SB.
• No WEP in RB/SB.

History

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the Yak-9 from live.warthunder.com.

Videos

See also

Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:

• reference to the series of the aircraft;
• links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.

External links

• Official data sheet - more details about the performance