Yakovlev Yak-9 – 4th IAP, White 17, Ivan Stepanenko, Soviet Air Force 

IXO Models 1/72 scale DDIJ029: Yakovlev Yak-9 of 4th IAP, “White 17”, Ivan Stepanenko Soviet Air Force

Length 4.75 inches Wingspan 5.25 inches

The Yakovlev Yak-9 was a single-engine fighter aircraft used by the Soviet Union in World War II and after. It was the most numerous Soviet fighter of the war and remained in production from 1942 to 1948, with 16,769 built. The Yak-9 represented further development of the successful Yakovlev Yak-7 fighter, a production version of the lightened Yak-7DI, taking full advantage of the combat experience with its predecessor. Greater availability of duralumin allowed for lighter construction which in turn permitted a number of modifications to the basic design. Yak-9 variants carried two different wings, five different engines, six different fuel tank combinations and seven types of armament configurations. Designed as an improved version of the Yak-7, the Yak-9 was first flown in 1942.