Yakovlev Yak-3
| Yak-3 | |
|---|---|
| Yak-3 in the Vadim Zadorozhny Technical Museum, Krasnogorsk, Russia | |
| General information | |
| Type | Fighter |
| National origin | Soviet Union |
| Designer | A.S. Yakovlev Design Bureau |
| Built by | Plant No.292 (Saratov), Plant No.31 (Tbilisi) |
| Primary users | Soviet Air Forces |
| Number built | 4,848 |
| History | |
| Manufactured | March 1944 – August 1946 |
| Introduction date | June 1944 |
| First flight | 28 February 1943 (Yak-1M) |
| Retired | 1952 (Soviet Air Forces) |
| Developed from | Yakovlev Yak-1 |
| Developed into | Yakovlev Yak-11 Yakovlev Yak-15 |
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The Yakovlev Yak-3 (Russian: Яковлев Як-3) is a single-engine, single-seat World War II Soviet fighter. Robust and easy to maintain, it was much liked by both pilots and ground crew. One of the smallest and lightest combat fighters fielded by any combatant during the war, its high power-to-weight ratio gave it excellent performance and it proved to be a formidable dogfighter.