Golovachev's Yak-9M

Golovachev's Yak-9M

Golovachev's Yak-9M

USSR

III Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
3.7	3.7	3.7

Class:

PREMIUM

Fighter

Purchase:Bundle or Gift

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This page is about the Russian fighter Golovachev's Yak-9M. For other uses, see Yak-9 (Family).

Description

Golovachev's Yak-9M is a premium gift rank III Soviet fighter with a battle rating of 3.7 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.49 "Weapons of Victory". The plane is painted after the camouflage scheme of Soviet pilot Pavel Y. Golovachev in the 900th fighter squadron from February 1945 onward, where he piloted a Yak-9M plane during the Battle of Berlin.

This vehicle, as with all Yaks, is a decent fighter when used properly. Climbing to ~ 2000 m will ensure that the fighter will have enough energy to engage targets. With flaps, the Yak-9M is a decent turner, though this should not be relied on as it quickly loses energy when fighting in the horizontal.

Golovachev's Yak-9M is the only Yak-9M in the game. It features a distinct camouflage with pre-applied decals and text along the fuselage, setting it apart visually from its contemporaries. With a nose-mounted 20 mm and a 12.7 mm Berezin machine gun, it has a fairly effective armament for a Russian fighter at this tier, though it is lacklustre compared to other nations.

General info

Flight performance

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	614	604	10500	17.7	18.4	15.6	14.6	350
Upgraded	633	617		17.5	18.0	18.7	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	~11	~8

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

Compressor (RB/SB)
Setting 1
Optimal altitude	100% Engine power	WEP Engine power
300 m	1,310 hp	?,??? hp
Setting 2
Optimal altitude	100% Engine power	WEP Engine power
2,600 m	1,240 hp	?,??? hp

Survivability and armour

The Yak-9M isn't the worst protected aircraft, but it isn't great either. It has some armor protection, and the fuel tanks are self-sealing. Most of the fuel tanks are located in the wings, and one is located beneath the pilot's seat in the fuselage, along with the oil cooler. All of the important modules are located in the inner wings or the front half of the fuselage. You can not rely on the armor of the Yak-9M, although it may save you on a rare occasion.

• 64 mm Bulletproof Glass - Windscreen
• 64 mm Bulletproof Glass - Behind Pilot's Head
• 8 mm Steel - Behind Pilot's Seat
• Self-Sealing Fuel Tanks

Armaments

Offensive armament

Golovachev's Yak-9M is armed with:

• 1 x 20 mm ShVAK cannon, nose-mounted (120 rpg)
• 1 x 12.7 mm Berezin UB machine gun, nose-mounted (200 rpg)

Usage in battles

A distinct Boom & Zoom aircraft, it is important to have the altitude advantage over your opponents. Though this plane has quite a bit of power flight wise, it is lacking in the ability to sustain itself in prolonged fights, especially in turning engagements.

Japanese fighters will out-turn you in both the horizontal and vertical, though they, for the most-part, lack the punching power at this BR to quickly destroy you. As long as you keep your energy up, engaging any aircraft at this tier is no issue unless their have rear gunners.

Many will head-on this aircraft if you give them the opportunity. Since the Yak-9M doesn't have a particularly heavy armament, it is inadvisable to rely on sniping them in this type of engagement. Bomber gunners will shred your engine if you give them the opportunity, so engaging them from directly above or from the sides is preferable to ensure survival.

Manual Engine Control

MEC elements
Mixer	Pitch	Radiator			Supercharger	Turbocharger
		Oil	Water	Type
Controllable	Controllable Not auto controlled	Controllable Auto control available	Controllable Auto control available	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		Offensive 20 mm
IV			Cover	New 20 mm cannons
This is a premium vehicle: all modifications are unlocked on purchase

Pros and cons

Pros:

• The nose mounted cannon and machine gun allow for excellent aiming, even when convergence is set to close range
• Decent acceleration and energy retention
• Great elevator authority at most speeds

Cons:

• Low amount of ammo
• The singular Berezin UB is a lackluster secondary
• Engine is vulnerable to anything bigger than a 7.7 mm

History

Hero of the Soviet Union twice, Pavel Golovachev was credited with 31 aerial victories.

Pavel Golovachev

Pavel Golovachev was born on 15 December 1917 in the village of Koshelovo, in present-day Belarus. He entered trade school in 1933, graduated in 1935, and began working at a timber processing plant directly afterwards. He attended the Gomel aeroclub and graduated in 1938. He then went on to graduate from Odessa Military Aviation School of Pilots in 1940, after joining the military. His first assignment was to the 168th Fighter Aviation Regiment in Crimea.

Golovachev was stationed at lași when the Germans began Operation Barbarossa on 22 June 1941. He flew a number of ground attack missions in a Polikarpov I-16 until October of the same year, when he was transferred to the 69th Fighter Aviation Regiment (renamed to 9th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment in March 1942).

On one mission that year, Golovachev flew a mission that resulted in his hospitalization. He and his wingman were engaged by four Bf 109s. Golovachev shot down one of the enemy fighters before his cockpit glass and instruments were shot out by the others. Golovachev successfully completed a belly landing upon returning to base, as his landing gear had been damaged. Surgeons were able to remove all but five pieces of shrapnel.

On 23 August, Golovachev was hospitalized after another mission went wrong. In the engagement that day Golovachev shot down one Ju 88, but then lost consciousness after being hit by enemy cannon fire. When he regained consciousness his LaGG-33 was in a spin, but Golovachev was able to get his aircraft back into level flight. The tail then fell off, causing the aircraft to crash into the Don River.

After his recovery and subsequent release from the hospital, Golovachev was retrained to fly the Yak-1. As a lieutenant, Golovachev’s assignment was as a flight commander in the 3rd Squadron; the squadron was then commanded by Amet-khan Sultan, a flying ace. While flying for the squadron, Golovachev participated in a large number of engagements against German aircraft - many of the times the Germans had an advantage in numbers. He became a member of the Communist Party in 1943 and was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union for shooting down 17 enemy aircraft in November. He had by then participated in 92 dogfights and flown 225 sorties.

He was promoted to Captain in the summer of 1944, and was assigned as the deputy squadron commander. During a mission over East Prussia on 30 December 1944, Golovachev ran out of ammunition whilst attempting to down a German Ju-188, so he rammed the aircraft. As a result of the ramming his aircraft entered a dive, but he was able to pull out and make it back to the airfield. For this action he was awarded the Order of the Red Banner.

Golovachev became the commander of the first squadron in February 1945. On 25 April 1945, he scored his two last aerial victories when he shot down two German FW-190s. His total at the end of the war was 31 aerial victories, one group aerial victory, 457 sorties, and 125 aerial battles. On 29 June 1945, he was again awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union.

He remained in the Air Force after the end of the war, graduating from the Red Banner Air Force Academy in 1951, and in 1959 he graduated from the Military Academy of General Staff. He held several senior positions in the Air Force, becoming a General-Major of Aviation in 1957. He died in Belarus in 1972.

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.

Yak-9M

The first Yak-9M began testing at the Air Force Research Institute on 17 December 1944, and testing ended on the 27th of the same month. Production of the Yak-9M had actually started ten months earlier at factory #153; production lasted between May 1944 and June 1945, with a total of 4239 Yak-9Ms produced.

The Yak-9M was an improvement of the Yak-9D, and it featured a new VK-105PF2 engine and VISh-105SV-01 propeller. Additionally, the cockpit was moved 400 mm (40 cm) towards the rear of the fuselage. The Yak-9M incorporated a jettisonable canopy, automatic water temperature control unit, and a pneumatic rather than mechanical armament control - the Yak-9M was the first Yak-9 to include these features. The performance of the Yak-9M was comparable to that of the Yak-9D, but with the large number of improvements listed above.

Media

Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.

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