The Yak-1 was designed in 1938 as an air-superiority fighter using a significant amount of wood in its construction. It was fast and agile, but suffered from a light armament and poor performance at high altitude. However, it was well-liked by the Russian aces who flew it, as they preferred maneuverability over speed. Some 8,700 were built from 1940-1943.
The Yak-1 burns 35 gallons of fuel per hour at routine usage.
Subassemblies: Medium Fighter chassis +3, Light Fighter Wings
+2, three retractable wheels +0.
Powertrain: 783-kW aerial HP gas engine with 783-kW prop and
108-gallon self-sealing tank [Body]
Occupancy: 1 CS. Cargo: 5.5 Body, 2.7 Wings
| Armor | F | R/L | B | T | U |
| All | 3/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 |
| Pilot | 0/0 | 0/+10 | 0/+30 | 0/0 | 0/+10 |
Weaponry
20mm Long Aircraft AC/ShVAK [Body:F] (140 rounds)
Long Aircraft HMG/Beresin UBS [Body:F] (348 rounds)
Equipment
Body: Medium range radio transmitter and receiver, navigation
instruments, autopilot. Wings: 220-lb hard point each wing.
Statistics
| Size: 28'x33'x9' | Payload : 0.7 tons | Lwt: 3.25 tons |
| Volume: 224 | Maint.: 46 hours | Price: $18.800 |
HT: 9
HP: 120 [body], 100 [each wing], 12 [each wheel]
| aSpeed: 339 | aAccel: 7 | aDecel: 22 | aMR: 5.5 | aSR: 2 |
Design Notes
Design aSpeed is 320 mph; the historical speed, as well as actual wing
area (185 sf), has been used. 135 rounds of 20mm and 350 rounds of HMG
ammo were purchased but the historical amounts were used instead. The wing
armor was bought as wood; although the fuselage was partially wood as well,
to better match historical weight body armor was treated as metal.
Variants
The Yak-1 had several armaments during its production run. Originally
it had two 7.62mm ShKAS (Aircraft LMG) with 500 rounds per gun in place
of the UBS. Some planes with the UBS added a second one, with 250 rounds.Instead
of bombs, some planes mounted three RS-82 rockets under each wing.
The Yak-1B (1942) had an improved canopy with a better view to the rear.
The Yak-1M (late 1942) used a 940-kW engine, giving a top speed of 364 mph.