Yaklovlev Yak-9DD by Ark Models
1/48 scale
Kit No. 48002
Retail: $19.99
Decals: One version – Soviet Air Force
Comments: Engraved panel lines and recessed rivet detail; one-piece canopy; below average fit
History
The Yak-9 was a lightweight version of the Yak-7 with the same armament (initially a 20mm cannon and two 12.7mm machine guns), and arrived at the front in late 1942, seeing its first combat over Stalingrad. Technologically simple and easy to produce, it would become the most numerous Soviet fighter of World War II, and post-war would go on to equip the air arms of many Soviet satellite countries, taking part in many early air combat engagements of the Korean War. It had a lowered rear fuselage decking, a canopy providing good all-around vision, and its lighter airframe gave it a maneuverability that previous models had lacked. The Yak-9 has the distinction of being the first Soviet fighter to shoot down a Messerschmitt Me 262.
Yakovlev fighters were the most widely used Russian fighter aircraft of World War II and Korea, and the most famous of these was the Yak-9, the most numerous variant which remained in production at least until 1948, but by some accounts until the mid-1950’s. The first Yak-9 was derived from the Yak-7B, which also went into service in 1942. Due to the availability of an aluminum alloy, durable aluminum, the Yak-7B airframe of combined wood and metal construction, was abandoned in favor of all-duraluminum construction, which significantly lightened the aircraft.
Seeking to give the basic Yak-7 more range, Yakovlev partially redesigned the wings to make room for larger fuel tanks. The cockpit was moved back slightly, and the position of the radiator on the belly was changed. Powered by the same engine as the Yak-7, the Klimov V-12, the new type went into service in August 1942. It was the most-produced Russian fighter aircraft of the war (16,769 machines), and among Russian combat planes, during WWII it was reportedly bested only by the IL-2 Sturmovik attack aircraft (36,183 machines).
The Yak-9 operated with a wide variety of armament for use in anti-tank, light bomber and long-range escort roles. At low altitude, at which it predominantly operated, the Yak-9 was more maneuverable than the Messerschmitt Bf 109, which it encountered in the skies over Stalingrad in late November 1942. While more lightly armed than the Messerschmitt with a 20mm cannon firing through the propeller hub and a single ShVak 12.7mm UBS machine gun located on the left side of the upper cowling, the Yak-9 had somewhat better performance than the Bf 109 at low altitudes, where most aerial engagements on the Eastern Front were fought, and it had a tighter turning circle.
The Yak-9DD was a Yak-9D or Yak-9T modified for longer range by fitting it with a larger fuel tank of 845 liters (186 Imp gal. or 223 US gal.) which increased its maximum range to 2,285 kilometers (1,420 miles). Radio navigation equipment for night and poor weather flying was also added. Ironically, although it would later oppose American aircraft during the Korean War, early on in its career the Yak-9DD escorted American B-17’s and B-24’s during an August 1943 long-range bombing mission against the Ploesti oil fields in German-held Romania — a costly low-altitude raid code-named “Operation Tidal Wave.” The Yak-9DD was used primarily to escort Petlyakov Pe-2 and Tupolev Tu-2 bombers during tactical strikes, although it proved less than ideal for this role due to an insufficient speed advantage over the bombers.
Cold War Operations
At the beginning of the Cold War, Yak-9 fighters began buzzing American, British, and French flights in the air corridors to West Berlin. During the Berlin Airlift of 1948-49, Yak-9 fighters interfered with the U.S. Air Force-Royal Air Force airlift operations. During 1949, the Soviet Union provided surplus Yak-9P (VK-107) aircraft to some satellite states in the Soviet bloc to help them rebuild their air forces following the West Berlin blockade. A number of Yak-9’s were also sent to Korea, where they wound up in combat against United Nations forces during the Korean War.
One notable item about the exported Yak-9’s was that a section of the aircraft’s operating manual was accidentally omitted from the translation from Russian into some languages: before starting the Yak-9, it was necessary to hand-crank a small cockpit-mounted oil pump 25 times to provide initial lubrication to the Klimov V-12 engine, which was unlike World War II German and Western fighters that were equipped with forced closed-cycle lubrication systems. Skipping this unusual but vital step resulted in frequent engine seizures during the takeoff roll and initial climb, causing several fatalities during 1950.
Yak-9’s were very much in evidence during the early part of the Korean War, forming a significant part of North Korea’s Air Force. On July 3, 1950, F9F-3 Panther pilots Ensign E.W. Brown and Lt. j.g. Leonard Plog of squadron VF-51 each shot down a Yak-9 on the first combat sortie ever by Navy jet-powered aircraft. Later on February 5, 1951 an F-51 Mustang piloted by Major Arnold “Moon” Mullins, 67th Fighter-Bomber Squadron commander, downed a Yak-9 north of Pyongyang, North Korea.
On April 21, 1951, two Marine Corps F4U Corsairs were surprised by four Yak-9’s that the Marine aviators initially thought were F-51 Mustangs, to which the Yak-9 did bear a superficial resemblance. The North Korean fighters got in the first bursts of gunfire, but within moments the Marines had downed three of the Yak-9’s and damaged the fourth. Starting in the Summer of 1950, encounters like these continued until United Nations forces had virtually swept North Korean fighters from the air. It would be an entirely different equation once the MiG-15 entered the conflict, but in the initial months UN forces had the upper hand against the largely propeller-driven fighters of the North Korean Air Force.
Construction
While the Ark Models Yak-9DD is reportedly a re-issue of the ICM kit of the same aircraft released back in 1999, it is more accurate to say Ark Models’ offering is based on the ICM kit, since the two are not identical and there are a number of small differences, enough to indicate that a similar but nonetheless different mold was used. Starting with the fuselage, the Ark Models kit features two separate side panels over the engine, while ICM’s kit has a single large panel that forms the top of the engine cowling. What appear to be the fuel caps on the upper surface of each wing are textured and engraved with panel lines on the ICM version, while on the Ark Models kit they are smooth. In addition, the ICM kit features tiny clear plastic parts for the wing tip lights, but the Ark Models kit just incorporates the lights into the wing mold, leaving modelers to paint them.
Upon closer examination, the main landing gear wells are deeper and more detailed on the Ark Model version; the part for the cockpit floor is significantly larger on the ICM version and contoured to fit the curvature of the upper surface of the wing; ICM’s main instrument panel features raised details, while the Ark Models offering has a smooth panel and provides a decal for the instruments; ICM’s kit has parts for an internal cockpit cage, Ark Models’ does not; and while both kits feature separately mounted ailerons, they are noticeably larger on the Ark Models kit. Finally, the engine exhausts on the ICM kit are both more rugged and more realistic in appearance than their Ark Models counterparts. While there are other differences, these are the most noticeable.
Construction of Ark Models’ Yak-9DD begins with assembling the Klimov VK-107A V-12 liquid-cooled engine, which is fairly detailed and consists of eight parts. Early on, I discovered the fit was good but not great. Care must be taken to securely cement the 20mm cannon that is nestled between the two banks of cylinder heads to fire through the propeller, as it does not have many natural contact points, and mine managed to rattle loose once the fuselage was sealed up. The cockpit assembly consists of a two-part bucket seat with a cushioned seat back, a control yoke and a diminutive set of rudder pedals — care will have to be taken removing these from the sprue, as the sprue gate is rather large and the bar connecting the pedals is quite thin and delicate.
The kit can be assembled with the engine exposed, as there are two separate panels that if left off, will show internal fuselage framing over the engine which may or may not be accurate. I cemented both panels into place and went to work minimizing the seams, and in places hiding visible gaps — again, fit was an issue. The engine exhausts, which are neither particularly rugged nor accurate looking (the exhausts on the ICM kit look much more realistic) are fitted through corresponding slits in these panels from the inside, and must be cemented into place before the engine panels are attached to the fuselage.
The rest of the construction is relatively straightforward, with the exception of the landing gear, which are a bit fiddly, in part because the main gear doors which are not well engineered and are difficult to mount, and the airscrew. The separately mounted ailerons and rudder are robust enough and have sufficiently large contact points that once cemented onto the airframe, they will not present problems.
While Ark Models’ Yak-9DD features exceptional exterior surface detail in the form of engraved panel lines, recessed rivets, and realistic control surfaces, the overall fit of the kit leaves something to be desired, at four points in particular: the cockpit, the wing roots where the upper surface of the wing meets the fuselage, the main landing gear doors, and the spinner. In this respect it is reminiscent of early Airfix or Hasegawa kits. The larger cockpit parts (floor, rear bulkhead) are too wide to fit into the fuselage without a fair amount of sanding. The wing join with the fuselage left a visible gap on both sides and required a fair amount of putty and a lot of sanding — more than I expected.
Modelers should disregard the machined holes in the main landing gear doors, as they do not line up properly with the gear. Finally, some of the parts for the airscrew should also be disregarded: for example the shaft (which doubles as the end of the gun barrel for the 20mm cannon firing through the spinner) is far too long and thick, longer than needed to attach the spinner and propeller to the fuselage, and has a diameter much too wide to fit through the machined hole in the tip of the spinner. I simply wedged the three-bladed propeller into the spinner, and cemented the spinner to the nose — even still, this required some sanding of the platform that the spinner is to fit over before I achieved a good, flush fit.
Painting and Decals
I wanted to depict a Yak-9 flown by the North during the Korean War, and found a corresponding set of aftermarket decals calling for a paint scheme of overall Blue-Grey. To my eye, Tamiya’s LP-36, a Dark Ghost Grey lacquer, was a perfect match. It airbrushed on beautifully with no problems at all, and the paint was of such a consistency — unlike Tamiya’s acrylics — that I was able to do touch-up painting on small areas like the canopy with a paint brush. I put the kit decals in the spares box (they provided for a single World War II version) in favor of an aftermarket set for the Yak-9 by Print Scale, No. 48-057, that included markings for several Yak-9’s, some of which flew in the Korean War. The aircraft I chose, Black 49, featured North Korean markings and was based at Kimpo airfield near Seoul during a period that the South Korean capital had been overrun by North Korean troops.
Conclusion
For all the minor headaches this kit presented, it built up into a surprisingly accurate and impressive looking example of one of the later Yak-9s. The external detail is very well done, and once treated with a dark wash to accentuate the panel lines and recessed rivets, adds quite a bit of realism to the finished product. Highly recommended.
References
- realhistoryonline.com
- warbirdalley.com
- military-history.fandom.com
- kirkland.af.mil
- defensemedianetwork.com
- wikipedia.org