Yak-1b is one of the most famous fighter aircraft of World War II. Its history began in the late 1930s when J. Stalin commissioned the development of a modern fighter aeroplane, whose performance would match the British Spitfire and the German Bf-109. The new fighter was to be made of readily available materials and based on engines produced from the USSR.
The prototype marked as I-26 was flown on January 1940. During the tests, some flaws in the new design were revealed, which were successively eliminated to send the aircraft into serial production in February. The new aircraft was first shown to the public during the parade on November 7, 1940, in Moscow.
The Yak-1 turned out to be a very successful construction; it had excellent manoeuvrability and stability in flight. It was also easy to fly. The basic structure of the aircraft was modified continuously and improved. In June 1940 one of the serial machines was rebuilt, lowering the rear part of the fuselage and installing a teardrop cockpit's canopy. Also, a retractable tail wheel was introduced, a new WISz-105 propeller and the oil cooler was adopted from the Jak-3 fighter
This Kit Also Includes:
Colours and markings schemes
