Yakovlev Yak-3 - Variants

Variants

Yak-3

main production version

Yak-3 (VK-107A)

Klimov VK-107A engine with 1,230 kW (1,650 hp) and 2 × 20 mm Berezin B-20 cannons with 120 rpg. After several mixed-construction prototypes, 48 all-metal production aircraft were built in 1945–1946. In spite of excellent performance (720 km/h/447 mph at 5,750 m/18,865 ft), VK-107 was prone to overheating and it was decided to leave the engine for the better-suited Yak-9.

Yak-3 (VK-108)

Yak-3 (VK-107A) modified with VK-108 engine with 1,380 kW (1,850 hp), and armed a single 23 mm Nudelman-Suranov NS-23 cannon with 60 rounds of ammunition. The aircraft reached 745 km/h (463 mph) at 6,290 m (20,636 ft) in testing but suffered from significant engine overheating. Another Yak-3 with 2 × 20 mm Berezin B-20 cannons was also fitted with the engine with similar results.

Yak-3K

tank destroyer with a 45 mm Nudelman-Suranov NS-45 cannon, only a few built because Yak-9K was a better match for the weapon

Yak-3P

produced from April 1945 until mid-1946, armed with 3 × 20 mm Berezin B-20 cannon with 120 rounds for the middle cannon and 130 rpg for the side weapons. The three-cannon armament with full ammunition load was actually 11 kg (24 lb) lighter than that of a standard Yak-3, and the one-second burst mass of 3.52 kg (7.74 lb) was greater than that of most contemporary fighters. Starting in August 1945, all Yak-3 were produced in the Yak-3P configuration with a total of 596 built.

Yak-3PD

high-altitude interceptor with Klimov VK-105PD engine and a single 23 mm Nudelman-Suranov NS-23 cannon with 60 rounds of ammunition, reached 13,300 m (43,625 ft) in testing but did not enter production due to unreliability of the engine.

Yak-3RD (Yak-3D)

experimental aircraft with an auxiliary Glushko RD-1 liquid-fuel rocket engine with 2.9 kN (650 lbf) of thrust in the modified tail, armed with a single 23 mm Nudelman-Suranov NS-23 cannon with 60 rounds of ammunition. On 11 May 1945, the aircraft reached 782 km/h (485 mph) at 7,800 m (25,585 ft). During the 16 August test flight, the aircraft crashed for unknown reasons, killing the test pilot V.L. Rastorguev. Like all mixed powerplant aircraft of the time, the project was abandoned in favor of turbojet engines.

Yak-3T

tank destroyer version armed with 1 × 37 mm Nudelman N-37 cannon with 25 rounds and 2 × 20 mm Berezin B-20S cannons with 100 rpg. Cockpit was moved 0.4 m (1 ft 4 in) back to compensate for the heavier nose. Engine modifications required to accept the weapons resulted in serious overheating problems which were never fixed and the aircraft did not advance beyond the prototype stage.

Yak-3T-57

single Yak-3T with a 57 mm OKB-16-57 cannon

Yak-3TK

powered by a VK-107A engine, and fitted with an exhaust turbocharger.

Yak-3U

Yak-3 fitted with Shvetsov ASh-82FN radial engine with 1,380 kW (1,850 hp) in an attempt to increase performance while avoiding the overheating problems of VK-107 and VK-108. Wingspan increased by 20 cm (8 in), wings moved 22 cm (9 in) forward, cockpit raised by 8 cm (3 in). Armament of 2 × 20 mm Berezin B-20 cannons with 120 rpg. The prototype reached 682 km/h (424 mph) at 6,000 m (19,685 ft) and while successful did not enter production because it was completed after the war. Flying a modified replica Yak-3U manufactured in Romania in 2005 and powered by a Pratt & Whitney R-2000 engine, William Whiteside set an official international speed record for piston-engined aircraft in the under-3,000 kg (6,615-pound) category on 10 October 2011, reaching 655 km/hr (407 mph) over a 3-km (1.863-mile) course at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah in the United States, greatly exceeding the previous record of 491 km (305 mph) set in 2002 by Jim Wright. The following day, Whiteside used the same aircraft to set an unofficial speed record for aircraft in the category of 670 km/hr (416 mph) over the same 3-km (1.863-mile) course.

Yak-3UTI

two-seat conversion trainer based on Yak-3U powered by Shvetsov ASh-21 radial piston engine. The aircraft became the prototype for the Yak-11.