Yak-23

Yak-23

Yak-17

Yak-30D

Yak-23

Yak-17

Yak-30D

USSR

V Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
8.7	8.7	7.7

Class:

Fighter

Jet fighter

Research:120 000

Purchase:340 000

Show in game

Description

The Yak-23 was developed as a further upgrade to the Yak-15 and Yak-17 designs. It was one of the first Soviet single-seat jet engine fighters. Like its predecessors, it used the existing fuselage and airframe of the Yak-3 piston fighter and adapted an engine to it, specifically the Klimov RD500 turbojet engine. The Yak-23 saw limited success compared to more famous MiG-9, but it was still produced in decent numbers. With a total of 319 units built (prototypes included), it also served in the air forces of different nations allied with the USSR like Poland, Romania, Albania, Bulgaria, North Korea, and Czechoslovakia.

It was introduced in Update 1.75 "La Résistance". The Yak-23 is a weird jet at its BR. Compared to other common jets like the MiG-15bis or the A-4E Skyhawk, the Yak-23 has the airframe of a prop and that comes with some advantages. Like most props, the Yak-23 has a good turn radius when not at high energy states. When it has a lot of speed, the Yak-23 compresses a lot and it does not have an airbrake to lose that speed nor the airframe to allow it to do so. Also, thanks to its powerful engine with excellent acceleration, it is ideal staying at around 700-800 km/h in a fight to retain energy in turns and also use the maximum agility of the Yak-23. The guns in this jet are ok, with a decent speed and belts with HE you can consistently destroy other players with a few bursts and good aim once you learn the ballistics of the gun.

General info

Flight performance

Max speed

at 0 m929 km/h

Turn time19 s

Max altitude14 500 m

EngineKlimov RD-500

TypeJet

Cooling systemAir

Take-off weight4 t

The Yak-23 has a very good flight performance for its BR. Compared to the MiG-15bis or the Yak-30D, the Yak-23 excels at low speed handling. It has a good roll rate and a very good acceleration and climb rate specially above 800 km/h. However, it compresses over 900 km/h and thus is better to keep it at speeds below 800 km/h to use its agility to its maximum.

Characteristics	Max Speed (km/h at 0 m - sea level)		Max altitude (metres)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (metres/second)		Take-off run (metres)
	AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
Stock	915	904	14500	19.2	19.9	37.7	36.5	650
Upgraded	939	929		18.8	19.0	52.8	45.0

Details

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

Limits
Wings (km/h)	Gear (km/h)	Flaps (km/h)			Max Static G
		Combat	Take-off	Landing	+	-
1,000	350	N/A	N/A	320	~11	~8

Optimal velocities (km/h)
Ailerons	Rudder	Elevators	Radiator
< 450	< 420	< 500	N/A

Engine performance

Engine			Aircraft mass
Engine name		Number	Basic mass		Wing loading (full fuel)
Klimov RD-500		1	2,213 kg		215 kg/m2
Engine characteristics			Mass with fuel (no weapons load)				Max Gross Weight
Weight (each)	Type		10m fuel	20m fuel	30m fuel	33m fuel
570 kg	Centrifugal-flow turbojet		2,431 kg	2,643 kg	2,857 kg	2,941 kg	2,974 kg
Maximum engine thrust @ 0 m (RB/SB)			Thrust to weight ratio @ 0 m (112%)
Condition	100%	112%	10m fuel	20m fuel	30m fuel	33m fuel	MGW
Stationary	1,367 kgf	1,519 kgf	0.62	0.57	0.53	0.52	0.51
Optimal	1,367 kgf (0 km/h)	1,519 kgf (0 km/h)	0.62	0.57	0.53	0.52	0.51

Survivability and armour

Crew1 person

Speed of destruction

Structural0 km/h

Gear350 km/h

• 57 mm Bulletproof glass in cockpit front.
• 8 mm Steel plate behind the pilot.

Modifications and economy

Repair costBasic → Reference

AB3 385 → 4 268

RB9 671 → 12 195

SB14 038 → 17 701

Total cost of modifications102 000

164 000

Talisman cost2 200

Crew training98 000

Experts340 000

Aces1 800

Research Aces780 000

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

120 / 380 / 600 %

202 / 202 / 202 %

Modifications

Flight performance	Survivability	Weaponry
Fuselage repair Research: 10 000 Cost: 16 000 270 Compressor Research: 11 000 Cost: 18 000 300 Wings repair Research: 13 000 Cost: 21 000 350 Engine Research: 17 000 Cost: 27 000 460	Airframe Research: 11 000 Cost: 18 000 300 Cover Research: 17 000 Cost: 27 000 460	ns23_belt_pack Research: 10 000 Cost: 16 000 270 ns23_new_gun Research: 13 000 Cost: 21 000 350

Armaments

Offensive armament

Weapon 12 x 23 mm NR-23 cannon

Ammunition180 rounds

Fire rate900 shots/min

The Yak-23 is armed with:

• 2 x 23 mm NR-23 cannons, nose-mounted (90 rpg = 180 total)

Usage in battles

The Yak-23 has an extremely light airframe and relatively powerful jet which gives it an enormous thrust-to-weight ratio, making it one of the best accelerating (and climbing) jets in War Thunder. The Yak-23 is not only a good bomber hunter but also an excellent fighter. Almost no jet can accelerate better than the Yak-23 below 800 km/h and no jet in the Yak-23's BR bracket can compete with its climb rate unless it has a massive energy advantage. This gives the Yak-23 a huge advantage over the vast majority of opponents it meets. The Yak-23 cannot carry any ordnance and is thus purely subjugated to fighter duties and should be used accordingly.

Combat tactics

Always take minimum fuel (9 min) as fuel forms a significant part of the Yak-23's mass. An important fuel load will severely dampen the Yak-23's performance. Ammo is limited enough as it is so extra fuel should not be necessary anyway.

The Yak-23 should fight in the vertical and utilize its excellent manoeuvrability to take careful shots and stay out of the line of fire of enemy guns. Energy-conserving chandelles and stalls are by far the most effective tactics to utilize as they best use the Yak-23's insane acceleration and climb rate while depleting your enemy's energy.

The G.91 is by far the greatest threat to the Yak-23, as it is a small target, faster, and has high-velocity quick-firing Browning M3 machine guns that will make quick work of the Yak-23. That, combined with its excellent roll rate makes it exceedingly difficult to hit with the low-velocity 23 mm cannons mounted on the Yak-23.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Acceleration below 800 km/h and climb rate unrivalled by anything but rocket-powered aircraft
• Excellent manoeuvrability

Cons:

• Plane wobbles badly while manoeuvring beyond 700 km/h
• 23 mm guns with low muzzle velocity and low fire rate tend to spark
• Small ammunition pool
• No additional armament or secondary weapons

History

Yak-23s at the Lanca airfield

During early 1947, the Soviet Union wanted a single-seat jet aircraft equipped with an engine produced by Rolls-Royce. The job was given to Soviet aircraft manufacturer Yakovlev and in July 1947, the aircraft was unveiled and flown for the first time. Just as the Yak-15 and the Yak-17, the main fuselage was based on that of the Yak-3, and the Yak-jets along with the SAAB J21R were the only aircraft to be successfully converted to jet fighters from piston-powered props.

Compared to the Yak-17, the Yak-23 was very different and had many changes to its design and overall performance. The jet used a much more powerful Klimov RD-500 centrifugal-flow turbojet engine, with 15.6 kN (3,500 lbf) thrust. This new engine gave the aircraft a power to weight ratio of 0.46, higher than the Yak-17 but worst than the 0.56 of the MiG-15. The aircraft also received better armament in the form of 2 × 23 mm Nudelman-Rikhter NR-23 with 90 rpg. Its armament was more adequate for a dogfighter, but since the Soviet Union required an aircraft that was also capable of intercepting incoming bombers, the lack of a higher calibre cannon like the 37 mm found in the MiG-15 was evident. Other bad design choices sealed its fate, like the lack of self-sealing fuel tanks in the early variants and the lack of an airbrake, very necessary for aircraft that were already capable of reaching very high speeds.

However, the Yak-23 still had big design improvements over the Yak-17, and it found success in service with many Warsaw Pact nations. The landing gear of the Yak-23 was fully retractable, something that was lacking in the Yak-17 and caused performance issues when flying. The aircraft retained the airframe of the Yak-3, and that allowed many pilots to be introduced into more modern jet fighters with similar performance to modern MiG-15s instead of the already obsolete Yak-15s and Yak-17s.

In 1949, the Yak-23 entered service but was not produced in large scale due to it being inferior of the MiG-15 that had just been mass produced and entered into service. Between 10,000-15,000 MiG-15s of different variants were built, but only around 300 Yak-23s. A few Eastern European countries bought the rights to build their own Yak-23s and some imported them directly from the Soviet Union, but many of them later opted for the MiG-15 due to it simply being better and more effective. The Yak-23 was never used in combat since the MiG-15 entered service as the Korean War broke out. The Soviet Union operated the Yak-23 between 1949 and 1951, when it was retired, and the country that used the aircraft the longest was Romania, who operated their 62 Yak-23s until 1960, followed by Bulgaria, with 100 fighters until 1958 and then Poland with 100 fighters in service between 1950 and 1956.

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the Yak-23 from live.warthunder.com.

Videos

"Energy Fighting" Examples In The Russian Me 163 - Yak-23 - DEFYN

For Those Days You Just Want to Turn Fight Everything - Yak23 Gameplay - WhooptieDo (Review starts at 1:00)

Realistic: Yak-23 [Still king at 7.7!] - Jengar

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

• Official data sheet - more details about the performance

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