Yak-9K

Yak-9K

Yak-9T

Yak-3

Yak-9K

Yak-9T

Yak-3

USSR

III Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
3.7	4.0	4.3

Class:

Fighter

Research:13 000

Purchase:76 000

Show in game

This page is about the Russian fighter Yak-9K. For other uses, see Yak-9 (Family).

Description

The Yak-9K is a rank III Soviet fighter with a battle rating of 3.7 (AB), 4.0 (RB), and 4.3 (SB). It was introduced in Update 1.33.

General info

Flight performance

The configuration of the Yak-9K's engine is for excellent low altitude performance and manoeuvrability, though, without necessary turbo or superchargers, the aircraft's performance at high altitude suffers. The Immelmann speed of the Yak-9K is superior to the majority of comparable fighters at the same battle rating making it a capable dogfighter.

Characteristics	Max Speed (km/h at 4,000 m)		Max altitude (metres)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (metres/second)		Take-off run (metres)
	AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
Stock	576	562	10000	18.8	19.5	13.7	13.5	366
Upgraded	609	593		17.2	18.0	18.5	16.0

Details

Features
Combat flaps	Take-off flaps	Landing flaps	Air brakes	Arrestor gear
X	X	✓	X	X

Limits
Wings (km/h)	Gear (km/h)	Flaps (km/h)			Max Static G
		Combat	Take-off	Landing	+	-
0	320	N/A	N/A	280	~12	~9

Optimal velocities (km/h)
Ailerons	Rudder	Elevators	Radiator
< 380	< 420	< 490	> 340

Compressor	Optimal altitude	100% Engine power	WEP Engine power
Setting 1	700 m	1,260 hp	N/A
Setting 2	2,900 m	1,175 hp	N/A

Survivability and armour

A Yak-9K offers good pilot protection, it is unlikely that a pilot snipe should occur. Due to strengthened structure and centralising of the critical components, it is a real possibility for a skilled pilot to clip an enemies plane with a wingtip and remain unscathed, either slicing the enemy's wing or disabling a propeller. Though the Yak-9K does have self sealing fuel tanks located in the wing, that does not preclude them from catching on fire.

• 64 mm Bulletproof glass in cockpit front
• 64 mm Bulletproof glass pilot's headrest
• 8 mm Steel plate in the pilot's seat

Armaments

Offensive armament

The Yak-9K is armed with:

• 1 x 45 mm NS-45 cannon, nose-mounted (29 rpg)
• 1 x 12.7 mm Berezin UB machine gun, nose-mounted (200 rpg)

Usage in battles

Engaging fighters & bombers

Most enemy fighters will be between 3000 and 3800 meters, with bombers being around 4000 to 5000 meters. It's important to use your height advantage, drop down from your height and and get behind the enemy. Once behind the fighter or bomber, do not engage until you are close enough to see their tails in your crosshairs. Aim forward and fire only a single shot or a short bust which is no longer than two seconds. If you miss and they turn, pending how sharp the turn is follow them. If it's a very sharp turn do not turn with them, instead open the throttle and climb back up to gain a height advantage. Then either try it again or find a new bandit to knock out.

Ground & Naval Battles

In ground and naval battles, the Yak-9K is able to destroy armoured targets with ease. It does not have any secondary armaments such as bombs or rockets. However, its 45 mm cannon is able to destroy heavy tanks. To do this, aim for the roof and dive straight down upon them like an angel that is fighting a demon. In ship combat, the 45 mm cannon is able to penetrate the decks of many heavily armoured ships, but you must aim for roof or sides of the ships. When handling smaller ships such as Patrol boats, do not fly in a straight line. Instead, zip up and down, left to right, then suddenly turn and shoot them. A single well placed shot will destroy their ammo racks and set the ship to visit Davy Jones' locker!

Manual Engine Control

MEC elements
Mixer	Pitch	Radiator			Supercharger	Turbocharger
		Oil	Water	Type
Controllable	Controllable Not auto controlled	Controllable Not auto controlled	Controllable Not auto controlled	Separate	Controllable 2 gears	Not controllable

Modules

Tier	Flight performance		Survivability	Weaponry
I	Fuselage repair	Radiator		Offensive 12 mm
II		Compressor	Airframe	New 12 mm MGs
III	Wings repair	Engine
IV			Cover	New 45 mm cannons

Pros and cons

Pros:

• The 45mm cannon is very good at bomber hunting at ranges up to 1 km.
• 45 mm cannon is good for plane, tank & ship busting, thus making the plane a great choice for close air support in ground & naval realistic battles.
• 45 mm cannon is able to rip apart any plane with one well placed shot.
• Good climb rate.
• Great low-altitude performance.
• Solid manoeuvrability at low altitudes.
• Great top speed.

Cons:

• 45 mm cannon is hard to aim, when stock.
• non upgraded 45 mm cannon has a very low accuracy.
• Guns jam relatively quickly, trigger discipline is required
• Secondary weapons have limited ammo, compared to other aircraft.

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).

In-game description

The Yak-9 was a Soviet single-engine fighter of the WWII era. It was the first combat aircraft designed by Alexander Yakovlev's construction bureau. The most mass-produced Soviet fighter of the war, it remained in production from October 1942 to December 1948, with a total of 16,769 built.

The Yak-9 was a further modification of the Yak-1 and Yak-7. In its core design, it was a redesign of the Yak-7. With few external differences, Yak-9 was at the same time much more advanced internally. This is not unexpected, as almost two years of design and combat experience of the Yak series went into the Yak-9. Also, at the time aluminium was in much greater supply than it had been two years previously at the start of the war. Amongst other things, the use of metal allowed the plane’s weight to be significantly reduced, meaning that more fuel could be stored and that the aircraft could be equipped with more powerful armament and more specialized equipment.

Media

Skins

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

Videos

Russian Intercontinental Fridge Launcher: Yak-9K - Slick Plays

See also

Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:

• reference to the series of the aircraft;
• links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.

External links

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

• topic on the official game forum;
• encyclopedia page on the aircraft;
• other literature.

A.S. Yakovlev Design Bureau (Яковлев Опытное конструкторское бюро)
Fighters
Yak-1	Yak-1 · Yak-1B
Yak-3	Yak-3 · Eremin's Yak-3(e) · Yak-3 (VK-107) · Yak-3P · Yak-3T · Yak-3U
Yak-7	Yak-7B
Yak-9	Yak-9 · Yak-9B · Yak-9K · Golovachev's Yak-9M · Yak-9P · Yak-9T · Yak-9U · Yak-9UT
Twin-engine fighters	I-29
Jet fighters
Yak-15	Yak-15P · Yak-15
Yak-17	Yak-17
Yak-23	Yak-23
Yak-30	Yak-30D
Yak-141	Yak-141
Strike aircraft
Yak-2	Yak-2 KABB
Yak-38	Yak-38 · Yak-38M
Bombers	Yak-4
Jet bombers	Yak-28B
Foreign use	▄Yak-3 · Challe's ▄Yak-9T · ◔Yak-9P
Captured	▀Yak-1B