History

The idea to produce a new fighter for the Red Army Air Force went as far back as 1941. It was then that the Yakovlev Design Bureau presented the I-30 prototype, intended as an alternative to the earlier Yak-1 design. However, the German invasion of the USSR, as well as aluminium shortages, meant that the project had to be put on hold. Yakovlev resumed the development in 1943 while working on an upgraded version of the Yak-1 fighter. This time, it was decided that a new aircraft should be produced to completely replace the Yak-1 and Yak-7 models. The new machine was dubbed as the Yak-3 and entered service with the Red Army Air Force in 1944.
The Yak-3P was produced from April 1945 until mid-1946, armed with 3 × 20 mm Berezin B-20 cannon with 120 rounds for the middle cannon and 130 rpg for the side weapons. The three-cannon armament with full ammunition load was actually 11 kg (24 lb) lighter than that of a standard Yak-3, and the one-second burst mass of 3.52 kg (7.74 lb) was greater than that of most contemporary fighters. Starting in August 1945, all Yak-3 were produced in the Yak-3P configuration with a total of 596 built.

Control

AG1 to control the canopy

Weapons

3×B-20 20mm

Have fun!