Yakovlev Yak-17 - Operational History

Operational History

Yak-17 was first publicly displayed at the Soviet Aviation Day of 1949, at Tushino.

In operation, the Yak-17 had most of the same faults as its predecessor, including relatively low speed and range, and an unreliable engine (still based upon the German Junkers Jumo 004) with a complicated starting procedure. On the other hand, its handling was very simple, and similar to popular propeller fighters such as the Yak-3 and Yak-9. This made it an excellent transitional machine to jet fighters. As a result, the trainer version Yak-17UTI accounted for the majority of production, and almost all series-built Yak-17s were of this tandem, dual-control trainer version, which filled an important need in all Soviet air arms.

Surviving Yak-17 can be viewed at the Central Air Force Museum at Monino. outside of Moscow and the Prague Aviation Museum at Kbely Airport, near Prague, Czech Republic. Surviving Yak-17UTI include one example at the Polish Aviation Museum near Krakow and the Chinese Aviation Museum, near Beijing.