WarSimBox
Yakovlev Yak-3, the in-game model
1944Soviet UnionFighter

Yakovlev Yak-3

The Yakovlev Yak-3 was one of the lightest and most agile fighters of the war. At low and medium altitude it out-turned and out-climbed the Bf 109 G and the Fw 190; the Luftwaffe is said to have warned its pilots not to dogfight it below a certain altitude. The Free French Normandie-Niemen regiment flew Yak-3s on the Eastern Front.

Saving every gram

The Yak-3 was a shorter-winged, lightened and aerodynamically cleaned-up development of the Yak-1: the oil cooler moved to the wing roots and the fuselage and wing were simplified. The result, without a more powerful engine, was a very light fighter that climbed quickly and turned tightly. The price was short range and light armament.

Yakovlev Yak-3, side view
Yakovlev Yak-3: the in-game model from the side.

On the Eastern Front

Soviet pilots found the Yak-3 very effective at low and medium altitude, fighting over the ground forces, where most air combat on the Eastern Front took place anyway. The French pilots of the Normandie-Niemen regiment chose the Yak-3 too; after the war the Soviet Union gave them the aircraft, and the pilots flew their Yak-3s home to France.

In WarSimBox

In the game it is a turn fighter: very light, agile and quick to climb at low and medium altitude, where it out-turns the Bf 109 G and Fw 190. Its guns are light and its range short. It loses power high up, and its carburetted engine cuts out for a moment under negative g.

Unlocked in the aircraft tree after researching Supermarine Spitfire Mk Vb.

Top speed
643 km/h · 2,500 m
Climb
20.8 m/s
Sustained turn
18.1 s
Stall speed
154 km/h

These figures come from the game’s flight model (climb, turn and stall at sea level).

Fly it in WarSimBox