Yakovlev Yak-5

Yak-5 (Як-5)
Role Training aircraft
Manufacturer Yakovlev
First flight 7 September 1944
Primary user Soviet Air Force
Number built 1
Developed from Yakovlev UT-2L

The Yakovlev Yak-5 was an experimental trainer aircraft designed by Yakovlev OKB in the Soviet Union, and first flown in 1944. It was the first Yakovlev aircraft to be fitted with a variable-pitch propeller. It did not enter production.[1]

Development and design

In 1944, the Yakovlev UT-2 was the standard primary trainer of the Soviet Air Forces, but its simplicity caused problems when pilots moved on to more sophisticated aircraft, so the Yakovlev design bureau designed a more sophisticated derivative, the UT-2L, which featured an enclosed tandem cockpit, the addition of flaps and blind flying instruments.[2][3]

At the same time, Yakovlev designed a single-seat aircraft based on the UT-2L, intended as a fighter-trainer. This aircraft, the Yak-5, was a low-wing monoplane of wooden construction, but unlike the UT-2, had the front cockpit removed and an enclosed sliding canopy placed over the rear cockpit. A retractable tailwheel undercarriage replaced the fixed landing gear of the UT-2. It was powered by a Shvetsov M-11D five-cylinder radial producing 115 hp (86 kW), which drove a two-bladed variable-pitch propeller. It could be fitted with a single synchronized ShKAS machine gun aimed by a reflector sight, while the aircraft was also fitted with a radio.[4][5]

Operational history

The prototype Yak-5 first flew on 7 September 1944.[6] The new fighter-trainer's handling proved popular with its test pilots, and the aircraft successfully passed official evaluation. In the end, neither the UT-2L or the Yak-5 entered production because the Soviet Air Force command believed wooden aircraft were becoming obsolete, which would result in production of the all-metal Yakovlev Yak-18 trainer in late 1945.[5][6] The sole Yak-5 was destroyed when it suffered failure of the wooden wing during a snap roll and crashed.[6][7]

Specifications (Yak-5)

Data from Yakovlev Aircraft since 1924[6]

General characteristics

Performance

References

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  1. ↑ Gunston, 1997
  2. ↑ Gunston 1995, p. 459.
  3. ↑ Gordon, Komissarov and Komissarov 2005, pp. 56–57.
  4. ↑ Gunston and Gordon 1997, p. 91.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Gordon, Komissarov and Komissarov 2005, p. 57.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Gunston and Gordon 1997, p. 92.
  7. ↑ Gunston 1995, p. 467.