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Yak-6
Yak-6
General information
Type	Utility
Manufacturer	Yakovlev
Status	Retired
Primary user	Soviet Air Force
Number built	381
History
Introduction date	1942
First flight	1942
Retired	1950

The Yakovlev Yak-6 (NATO reporting name: Crib)^[1] was a Soviet twin-engined utility aircraft, developed and built during World War II. It was used as a short-range light night bomber and a light transport.

Development

In April 1942, the Yakovlev design bureau was instructed to design a twin-engined utility transport aircraft to supplement smaller single-engined aircraft such as the Polikarpov U-2. The design was required to be simple to build and operate.^[2]^[3] Design and construction work proceeded extremely quickly, with the first prototype Yak-6 flying in June 1942. It passed its state acceptance tests in September that year and was quickly cleared for production.^[2]

The Yak-6 was a cantilever low-wing monoplane of all-wood construction with fabric covering. It had a retractable tailwheel undercarriage, with the main wheels retracting rearwards into the engine nacelles. The horizontal tail was braced. It was powered by two 140 hp Shvetsov M-11F radial engines driving two-bladed wooden propellers,^{[nb 1]} with the engine installation based on Yakovlev's UT-2 primary training aircraft. In order to minimise the use of scarce resources, the aircraft's fuel tanks were made of chemical-impregnated plywood rather than metal or rubber. Many Yak-6s were fitted with fixed landing gear.^[4]^[5]

The aircraft appeared in two versions, one as a transport and utility aircraft for the supply of partisans, transport of the wounded, and for liaison and courier services. It could accommodate two crew side-by-side in an enclosed cockpit with capacity to carry four passengers or 500 kg (1,100 lb) or cargo.^[5]^[6] The second version was a light night bomber (designated NBB - nochnoy blizhniy bombardirovshchik - Short Range Night Bomber), capable of carrying up to 500 kg of bombs on racks under the wing centre sections and with a defensive armament of a single ShKAS machine gun in a dorsal mounting.^[7] A total of 381 examples were built with production ending in 1943.^[8]^[9]

A few examples of an improved version of the Yak-6 with swept outer wings were flown, with the modified version sometimes known as the Yak-6M.^[10]^[11] The Yak-6M led to the larger Yak-8 which flew in early 1944.^[12]

Operational history

The Yak-6 was used with great effect at the front lines in the Great Patriotic War both as a transport and as a bomber, proving popular with its crews, although the potential for the aircraft to enter a spin if overloaded or carelessly handled resulting in production ending in 1943 in favour of the similarly powered Shcherbakov Shche-2. By 1944, most operational units of the VVS had a Yak-6 as a utility aircraft.^[11] In the Battle for Berlin, the Yak-6 was fitted with rocket launchers under the wings for ten 82-mm RS-82 missiles for use against ground targets.^[13] After the end of the Second World War, some Yak-6s were supplied to allies, while it remained in large scale service with Soviet forces until 1950.^[12]^[13]

Variants

Yak-6 : Twin-engined light utility transport aircraft.
NBB : Short-range night bomber aircraft.
Yak-6M : Improved version of the Yak-6.

Operators

France

Normandie-Niemen squadron transport plane

Soviet Union

Soviet Air Force

Mongolia

Mongolian People's Army Air Force - Transports units

Specifications (Yak-6 (1943 production))

Data from Osprey Encyclopedia of Russian Aircraft^[12]

General characteristics

Crew: two
Capacity: four passengers
Length: 10.35 m (33 ft 11 in)
Wingspan: 14.0 m (45 ft 11 in)
Wing area: 29.6 m² (319 sq ft)
Airfoil: Clark-YH
Empty weight: 1,415 kg (3,120 lb)
Gross weight: 2,300 kg (5,071 lb)
Powerplant: 2 × Shvetsov M-11F 5-cylinder radial engines, 100 kW (140 hp) each

Performance

Maximum speed: 187 km/h (116 mph, 101 kn)
Range: 900 km (560 mi, 490 nmi)
Service ceiling: 3,380 m (11,090 ft)
Time to altitude: 5.4 min to 1,000 m (3,300 ft)

Armament

Guns: 1 × ShKAS machine gun in dorsal position
Rockets: provision for 10 × RS 82 rockets
Bombs: Up to 500 kg (1,102 lb) bombs

References

^ Yakovlev intended the Yak-6 to use 190 hp M-12 engines, but these were not available.^[3]

^ Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1955-56 p. 188
^ ^a ^b Gordon, Komissarov and Komissarov 2005, p. 235.
^ ^a ^b Gunston 1995, p. 467.
^ Gordon, Komissarov and Komissarov 2005, pp. 235–236.
^ ^a ^b Gunston 1995, p. 467–468.
^ Alexander 1975, p. 437.
^ Gordon, Komissarov and Komissarov 2005, pp. 235, 237.
^ Gordon, Komissarov and Komissarov 2005, p. 237.
^ "History:Serial Production". A.S. Yakovlev Design Bureau. Retrieved 2011-09-26.
^ Gordon, Komissarov and Komissarov 2005, p. 238.
^ ^a ^b Donald 1997, p. 915.
^ ^a ^b ^c Gunston 1995, p. 468.
^ ^a ^b Alexander 1975, p. 438.

Alexander, Jean (1975). Russian Aircraft since 1960. London: Purnell Book Services.
Donald, David, ed. (1997). The Encyclopedia of World Aircraft. Aerospace Publishing. ISBN 1-85605-375-X.
Gordon, Yefim; Komissarov, Dmitry; Komissarov, Sergey (2005). OKB Yakovlev: A History of the Design Bureau and its Aircraft. Hinckley, UK: Midland Publishing. ISBN 1-85780-203-9.
Gunston, Bill (1995). The Osprey Encyclopedia of Russian Aircraft 1875 - 1995. London: Osprey. ISBN 1-85532-405-9.