You know that:
- The founder of the design bureau, Alexander Yakovlev, made many trips to England, Italy and Germany before World War II to gather the information and knowledge necessary for the design and development of modern high-performance aircraft.
- The Yak-1 model was created in A.S. Yakovlev's design bureau following a competition announced in 1938.
- The prototype, designated I-26.1, first flew on 1 January 1940. Immediately it turned out that the designed propeller with a diameter of 3 m overloaded the engine, which jammed five times during the tests. Unfortunately, the test pilot, J. I. Piontkovski, was killed during one of the tests.
- Modifications were made to the second and third prototypes, which successfully eliminated almost all the deficiencies. The Soviet command did not want to wait any longer and ordered to start serial production within 4 months. Problems with cooling, structural strength, landing gear and poor welding quality were to be eliminated gradually during production.
- Ultimately, the simple design of the aircraft was durable and the stand was easy to maintain. The Yakovlev 1 thus foreshadowed the development of a whole series of other Yak fighter aircraft, of which over 43,000 were built.
- This particular aircraft was donated to the Polish army by Stalin's personal clairvoyant Wolf Messing. Yes, you read that right, psychic. He had already gained popularity before the war by performing in the Berlin Circus. A strange event took place after his performance in Vienna when he was visited by two gentlemen, none less than Sigmund Freud and Albert Einstein, who wanted to test his abilities. Messing said to Freud that day: "Make a wish and I will grant it". Then he walked up to Einstein and pulled out three beards. "Was that your wish, Mr. Freud?" asked Messing. "Yes," replied Freud.
- Messing also predicted that if Hitler started the war he would eventually die. This prediction angered Hitler so much that he put a reward of 200,000 Reichsmarks on the capture of the seer. Messing was arrested after the occupation of Poland, but used his skills to force the guards to open the cell, whereupon the guards locked themselves in. The clairvoyant managed to escape to the Soviet Union, where he soon fell into the good graces of Joseph Stalin.
- Many historians consider Wolf Messing to be a fraud and a charlatan. However, the truth is that he was, according to medical records, blessed with an exceptionally good memory and the ability to see in the dark.
Technical parameters:
- dimensions: wingspan 9.4 m, length 8.41 m, height 2.64 m
- empty weight 2 300 kg
- take-off weight 2 920 kg
- power unit twelve-cylinder Klimov M-105PF V-12 with an output of 940 kW
- maximum speed 534 km/h
- maximum flight level 10 000 m
- climb rate 14 m/s
- range 740 km
- armament 1x 20 mm ShVAK cannon + 1x 12.7 mm Berezin machine gun
- crew 1
From the memories about Lidiya Vladimirovna Litvyakova, Yak-1 pilot:
- "She was a quiet, demure beauty with a shock of blonde hair and blue eyes. We called her the White Rose of Stalingrad."
- "She liked flowers and painted them on her plane fuselage. She also wore a floral scent and a white scarf as a talisman. She was loved by her fellow soldiers and her enemies, who admired her."
- "She was a rebel. She was the first woman in the world to shoot down an enemy plane - a fact that went completely unnoticed - and became a double fighter ace before her 22nd birthday."
Assembly instructions
