Yak-9B

Description

The Yakovlev Yak-9B was a modified subvariant of the Yak-9D, which was the third variant of the Yak-9 fighter aircraft family. The Yak-9B was a fighter-bomber configuration of the Yak-9D (factory official designation Yak-9L) with four vertical tube bomb bays aft of the cockpit capable of carrying up to four 100 kg FAB-100 bombs or four PTAB cassettes with 32 1.5 kg bomblets each, though only 200 kg of weapons were normally carried. The Yak-9D was a longer-range variant of the standard Yak-9, with a fuel capacity increase from 440 to 650 litres and a maximum range of 1,400 km. Since the Soviet Army went on the offensive in 1943, covering operational advances from the air required an increased number of fighters. The Yak-9D underwent modifications to produce the Yak-9B, which could carry bombs, but this modification did not result in mass production as the Yak-9B armed with bombs had poor manoeuvrability, limiting its combat effectiveness against other fighters. Furthermore, the lack of bomb-aiming equipment made bomb targeting inaccurate.

Introduced in Update 1.53 "Firestorm", the Yak-9B is the only Yak fighter aircraft with an internal bomb bay. Players can experience the Yak-9B's unique design of being able to ground strike as well as compete for aerial supremacy against adversaries. This is very useful in ground realistic battle mode. Playstyles are identical to those of other Yak families, with the exception that manoeuvrability is slightly reduced when armed with bombs. It remains on the low-altitude spectrum for best performance, though the engines are slightly more powerful as compared to the Yak-1 variants.

General info

Flight performance

Details

Survivability and armour

The Yak-9B isn't the worst protected aircraft, but it isn't great either. It has some armour protection, and the fuel tanks are self-sealing. Most of the fuel tanks are located in the wings, and one is located beneath the pilot's seat in the fuselage, along with the oil cooler. You can not rely on the survivability of the Yak-9B, although it may save you on a rare occasion.

• 64 mm bulletproof glass - Windscreen
• 64 mm bulletproof glass - Behind pilot's head
• 8 mm steel - Behind pilot's seat
• Self-sealing fuel tanks

Modifications and economy

Armaments

Offensive armament

The Yak-9B 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)

Suspended armament

The Yak-9B can be outfitted with the following ordnance:

• Without load
• 2 x 100 kg FAB-100sv bombs (200 kg total)
• 3 x 100 kg FAB-100sv bombs (300 kg total)
• 4 x 100 kg FAB-100sv bombs (400 kg total)

Usage in battles

Describe the tactics of playing in the aircraft, the features of using aircraft in a team and advice on tactics. Refrain from creating a "guide" - do not impose a single point of view, but instead, give the reader food for thought. Examine the most dangerous enemies and give recommendations on fighting them. If necessary, note the specifics of the game in different modes (AB, RB, SB).

Manual Engine Control

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Accurate centre-mounted armament
• Excellent performance at altitudes below 3,000 m
• Experience with the Yak-1 series and standard Yak-9 carry over to this plane
• Slightly better engine than the Yak-1 series
• Internal bomb bay reduces drag when carrying bombs over being carried externally

Cons:

• Low ammunition count, requires accurate firing to damage enemy planes
• Low maximum dive speed
• Performance decreases at altitudes above 3,000 m
• Engine overheats at full throttle
• No WEP in Realistic and Simulator battles

History

Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the aircraft in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the vehicle and adding a block "/History" (example: https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Vehicle-name)/History) and add a link to it here using the main template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <ref></ref>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <references />. This section may also include the vehicle's dev blog entry (if applicable) and the in-game encyclopedia description (under === In-game description ===, also if applicable).

Media

Skins

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

Videos

See also

Related development

• Yak-9 (Family)

External links

• [Devblog] Yak-9B and Hawker Hunter F.1
• Official data sheet - more details about the performance