Yak-15 A.S.Yakovlev ('Feather')

The Yak-15 used the fuselage of the all-metal Yak-3U piston-engined fighter with a jet engine, placed under the pilot cockpit and the wing, with the exhaust under the wing. Changes included new main wing spar with arch-shaped center section made to accommodate the engine, steel plate protecting underfuselage from engine exhaust and steel tailwheel.

Cockpit was identical to the one of piston engined predecessor, what provided pilots with with familiar conditions and allowed an easy introduction to jet engines.

First flight of the lightest operational jet-fighter ever built was performed by M.I.Ivanov on April 24, 1946. On August 18 Yak-15 participated in airforce parade at Tushino.

Utilization of Yak-3U airframe made production transition time very short. First series aircraft was flying on October 5, 1946. On October 21 fifteen aircraft were assembled and delivered to LII for evaluation.

In May 1947 Yak-15 passed State Acceptance trials, and test-pilot P.Stefanovskij undertook the first aerobatic trial.

Batch of 280 series aircraft was ordered and built. Most of Yak-15 were used as trainers to acclimate pilots and provide experience. For real service conditions Yak-15 was found somewhat unreliable.

4k b/w, Air International

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References	Links
"History of aircraft construction in the USSR", Vol.2 p.322; "Yak fighter in action" by Hans-Heiri Stapfer. "Notes of an aircraft designer"	Yak-15 fighter Yak-15 at Virtual Aircraft Museum Yak-15, Yakovlev 'Feather' THE MUSEUM OF A.S.Yakovlev Yakovlev aircraft at WWW.AVIATION.RU Yakovlev (USSR) by D.Levin	Russian Jet Technology 1937-1945 Not Copying Germans. The first indigenous projects of turbojet-powered aircraft [in the USSR] GREAT DAY FOR RUSSIAN AVIATION Yak-15 at Avijacija: Lovci Multifunkcionalni avioni