[WWII] Yakovlev Yak-11 Moose

[Phaelen Bleux]

Yakovlev Yak-11 "Moose"
Based on the successful Yak-3 fighter design, the Yak-11 (NATO reporting name "Moose") became a very successful training aircraft (sometimes compared to the North American T-6 Texan) as well as a fighter aircraft of the Korean War. It has the dubious distinction of becoming the first aerial kill in that conflict, when a Yak-11 was shot down by a F-82 Twin Mustang escorting C-54 Skymaster transports carrying the last U.S. civilians out of North Korea.
The Yak-11 was first introduced in 1946. It was widely exported to Warsaw Pact countries, including Afghanistan, Albania, Bulgaria, China, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Egypt, Indonesia, Iraq, Hungary, Poland, North Korea, Romania, Somalia, Syria, Vietnam, Yemen and Austria. Production ended in 1955 and the plane was retired from service in 1962.
The Yak-11 has recently seen widespread popularity with warbird enthusiasts. Of the 4,566 built, about 120 Yak-11s remain in flying condition.
The Yak-11 burns 26 gallons of aviation fuel per hour at routine usage. It has a crew of two: pilot and instructor (or observer, if used in combat). A full load of fuel costs $27, ammo costs $15, and bombs cost $880. Historical range was 795 miles.

Subassemblies: Medium Fighter chassis +3; Light Fighter wings +2; 3 retractable wheels +0.
Powertrain: 521-kW aerial HP gasoline engine with 521-kW prop and 136-gallon fuel tank [Body]; 4000-kW battery.
Occ.: 2 CS Body
Cargo: 5 Body

Armor F RL B T U
Body: 3/5 3/5 3/5 3/5 3/5
Wings: 3/5 3/5 3/5 3/5 3/5
Wheels: 2/3 2/3 2/3 2/3 2/3

Weaponry:
Aircraft HMG/12.7mm UBS [Body:F] (300 rounds).
2x220-lb. Bombs [Wings:U].

Equipment:
Body: Medium radio transmitter and receiver, navigation instruments, autopilot, backup driver. Wings: One 220-lb. hardpoint each.

Statistics:
Size: 27'x31'x10' Payload: 0.60 tons Lwt.: 2.69 tons
Volume: 184 Maint.: 54 hours Cost: $13,224
HT: 9. HPs: 120 Body, 70 each Wing, 12 each Wheel.
aSpeed: 289 aAccel: 6 aDecel: 19 aMR: 4.5 aSR: 2
Stall Speed: 76 mph. Take-Off Run: 525 yards. Landing Run: 578 yards.
gSpeed: 223 gAccel: 11 gDecel: 10 gMR: 0.5 gSR: 2
Ground Pressure: Very High. 1/8 Off-Road Speed.

Design Notes:
Historical wing area was 166 sf. Ammo load out for the HMG is a guess. The HMG is synchronized to fire through the propeller arc, lowering RoF by 10% (see p. W:MP8). Design loaded weight was increased 1% to the historical. Design aSpeed was 268 mph. Performance calculations were based on historical values for wing area and loaded weight.

Variants:
The Yak-11U featured tricycle landing gear. Because of this arrangement, fuel capacity was reduced. It was used as a trainer for jet pilots. It was also produced in Czechoslovakia as the C-11U.
Some aircraft were armed with a 7.62mm ShKAS (Aircraft LMG) rather than the 12.7mm UBS.