Update 6.002: Yak-1 s.23 and Yak-3 s.9

[LukeFF]

Hey everyone! Update 6.002, which brings the Yak-1 Series 23 and Yak-3 Series 9, as well as other updates and fixes, is now live. You can read the full changelog here: https://il2sturmovik.com/news/887/update-6002-yak-1-s23-and-yak-3-s9/

[357th_KW]

Added the ability for AI aircraft to use rockets when attacking aerial targets: instead of firing the rockets to reduce weight and drag before the fight, the AI will try to launch them at the enemy on the first approach

 

Hopefully this will work with the Me410!

[Sandmarken]

Cool! 😄

[Sneaksie]

12 minutes ago, 357th_KW said:

Hopefully this will work with the Me410!

It was done specifically for it.

[JG4_Moltke1871]

Gotha G.V Career mode: corrected the start time of night bombing missions;
 

 

Western Front map: trees interfering with takeoff and landing have been removed from the Ochey and Cernon airfields;

 

Thanks a lot for that 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

 

Question:

Was the dev team able to reproduce the problem with the engine failures with the Sopwith Strutters while longer flights? (happens to AI and Players)

 

[jollyjack]

Severs probably busy --- waiting waiting waiting waiting waiting waiting waiting 

Me too, curious curious curious curious curious curious 

ADDED Got it !

Edited August 13 by jollyjack

[LukeFF]

16 minutes ago, JG4_Moltke1871 said:

Question:

Was the dev team able to reproduce the problem with the engine failures with the Sopwith Strutters while longer flights? (happens to AI and Players)

 

I think that may be held off for later. 

[YoYo]

The Yak-3, on first impression, is very nice, but with the Yak-1 s.23, the pilot's view is too distant compared to other Yaks, and we sit too far back in the cockpit. Of course, I've already corrected this with F10 (save new view), so it's not a big deal.

 

Personally, I'm waiting for a Career mode for these new additions, especially the I-153. I know it's coming, but later. More 1941 models are needed to create a proper fleet of planes from that year.

Edited August 12 by YoYo

[vadupleix7]

Quite curious about how well the yak3 can climb, accelerate and turn compared to spitfire IX. 

[LF_Mark_Krieger]

i can't see the rocket control system in the Yak 1 series 23. Is that normal? Perhaps they pushed the three upper buttons of the stick? I only see animation for one of them.

 

Edited August 12 by LF_Mark_Krieger

[MDzmitry]

1 час назад, vadupleix7 сказал:

Quite curious about how well the yak3 can climb, accelerate and turn compared to spitfire IX. 

Unfortunately I haven't got the funds to afford S&L, but I'll try to give an approximate comparison based on what the Il-2 gives us in pure data. Below I'll consider the Spit in its weaker state without 150-octane.

Climb: should be pretty even at low altitudes, the often quoted times to 5000m are 4,1min for Yak-3 and 4,0min for Spitfire Mk.IX. What both fighters get in Il-2 is 21,5m/s at sea level. Above that the Spitfire gains an upper hand owing to better engine performance and lower wing loading. (18,6 m/s vs 16,4 for Yak at 3000m and 15,5 m/s vs 11,7 at 5000m)
Acceleration: can't say for sure, but in terms of pure power/weight it's 0,41 hp/kg for fully loaded Spit flying at Combat power, and for Yak it'll be around 0,49 hp/kg in similar conditions. Meaning Yak might accelerate better. There are more factors to consider though, such as at least drag, so the only way to say for sure would be real proper testing.
Turn: Well-matched at sea level (17,8s for Spit vs 18s for Yak), one-sided at 3000m (20,7s for Spit, 26s for Yak)

In terms of turning keep in mind that while Yak-3 is indeed lighter than any other Yak, it also has the smallest wing: 14,8 m^2 vs Yak-1b or Yak-9's 17,15 m^2. It's a speed demon (not in max speed, but in acceleration and retention) owing specifically to this decision to minimize drag by making it smaller. Spitfire is heavier and has a significantly larger wing, giving it an edge in turns and mid-high altitudes, but affecting its acceleration negatively.

Edited August 12 by MDzmitry

[MDzmitry]

36 минут назад, MDzmitry сказал:

In terms of turning keep in mind that while Yak-3 is indeed lighter than any other Yak, it also has the smallest wing: 14,8 m^2 vs Yak-1b or Yak-9's 17,15 m^2.

Another often quoted (in Russian sources) comparison is that the maneuver time "improved by approx. a second in comparison to Yak-9".

The problem of this statement in Il-2's context is that the Yak-9 we have is an early production series with just 2 fuel tanks, meanwhile the majority of Yak-9s (except for Yak-9T) from 1943 had 4 wing fuel tanks (Yak-9D wing, which finally became "universal" with the acceptance of Yak-9M into production in the spring of 1944).
So in terms of pure wing loading we have 179,4 kg/m^2 for Yak-3 and 165,7 kg/m^2 for Yak-9 (2 fuel tanks each).

For Spitfire Mk.IX it's 149,4 kg/m^2. But in both Yaks' defense the Spit is a freak of nature in this respect. If memory serves, the quite heavier Mk.XIV Griffon only came to the wing loading level similar to Bf 109 F-4.

Upd./P.S. - Wing loading is quite underrated when it comes to evaluating possible performance, but it's also not the only player on the field. There're also wing profiles, addition of slats and overall aerodynamics influencing the stall characteristics of a wing, which might in turn compensate for a worse (higher) loading.

Edited August 12 by MDzmitry

[LukeFF]

1 hour ago, LF_Mark_Krieger said:

i can't see the rocket control system in the Yak 1 series 23. Is that normal? Perhaps they pushed the three upper buttons of the stick? I only see animation for one of them.

 

Yes, it was just the buttons on the stick.

[YoYo]

It's a little pity that there are so few skins only, including the lack of the very important camouflage for the Yak-3 from 1IAP Normandie Niemen:

 

 

[BlitzPig_EL]

Took the Yak 3 up for some action on a couple of my dogfight missions this evening.  It's fun to fly within it's flight envelope, but it really is a dog as altitude increases above about 3000 meters.  It's pretty maneuverable, and the engine is silly easy to manage, just open the oil rads to 100%. , Max out the prop pitch and punch it.  As altitude increases you do have to lean it out some, just watch the boost gauge and keep it as high as possible.  The water rad can be left in automatic.

 

It's biggest issue, other than lack of performance at altitude, is it's very small ammo load out.  That said if you take the full three gun load out it can be pretty effective.

 

 

[CrazyhorseB34]

Yak-3 is a beast. Anything low level is dead.  But! I have not fought against it yet! I hope my 109G6 can handle it! Great job!

 

Edited August 13 by CrazyhorseB34

[Jackfraser24]

Any news for 2026 to come soon?

[jeanba]

2026 will come in 4 months, is it helpfull ?

[Caudron431]

Spassiba rebyata, vi klassnie!

 

All the best to you and your projects: they make us even more interested in the history of conflicts and the moral issues they raise.

 

It is a very nice way to keep the memories and the flame alive!

 

Thank You  !

[the_emperor]

A technical Question as I am really no expert on that subject?

Is the Yak-3 Radiator less efficiant than that compared to the Yak 9 or other Yaks? beeing partialy blocked by the oil cooler vents, desturbing air flow (an blowing warmed air) and additional heat by the more powerfull engine. from my limited understanding that would mean it must work harder in low speed cirumstances, meaning open wider (e.g. climb and dogfight)?

[BlitzPig_EL]

No idea about the real thing, but in game I never had an overheat on the Stalingrad summer map, and I was running it at 100% throttle and prop all the time.  the oil temp does climb a bit, but I never ran into problems.  Any competent Luftwaffe pilot will have no trouble with the Yak 3 simply by staying high and using strict B n Z tactics.

[R7-S276]

Now there is all the planes and maps to create a full MULTIPLAYER campaign for the GC3 Normandie-Niemen 😇 … no more excuses…

[Aurora_Stealth]

2 hours ago, BlitzPig_EL said:

No idea about the real thing, but in game I never had an overheat on the Stalingrad summer map, and I was running it at 100% throttle and prop all the time.  the oil temp does climb a bit, but I never ran into problems.  Any competent Luftwaffe pilot will have no trouble with the Yak 3 simply by staying high and using strict B n Z tactics.

 

On the Odessa map after running at full power for a few minutes and doing some aggressive zoom climbs and chandelles I ended up at very slow speed which caused overheating but to be fair I hadn't touched any of the radiators and was just seeing what the Yak-3 was capable of in terms of aerobatics. Prolonged slow speeds following hard manoeuvring and climbing at full power encourages this, and in fairness I can see why for the reasons @the_emperor mentions.

 

The Yak 3 is a ton of fun as expected, but I agree - its revealing just how quickly performance trails off above ~ 3km. For sure, the firepower can feel a little underwhelming even with the second machine gun but its still decent enough. The endurance is only something like 1.13 hours at cruise speed at this altitude according to the specs so that is going to be another quite limiting factor for players to keep in mind - its not a long time if you want to do patrols.

 

The other things I noticed from a few flights with the Yak 3, first fighting in it and then switching to the Bf 109 G-6 to engage it...

 

It's surprising to say it, but yes... despite the mythology around the Yak 3... the G-6 with the 1943 engine mod does seem to hold up surprisingly well against the Yak 3 unlike what I remember of it in Il2 1946, provided you have some altitude and don't try to turn/dogfight with it too much.

 

The smaller wing area (compared to previous Yak's) can cause an accelerated stall if you are too hard on the stick and if you get too slow (which is possible as you can maneouvre extremely hard but it seems to recover energy quite well). So despite the Yak 3 being very lightweight and maneouvrable - the Bf 109 can still use its slats and its higher max angle of attack (!) to get snapshots on you.

 

The other drawback, which I think is totally right - is that the Yak 3 seems to easily lose its wooden/fabric tail surfaces from gunfire and is a bit of a glass cannon... this I feel is bang on the money and realistic to what the aircraft was about. With a smart pilot - it can be a real killer but get too confident or complacent with multiple opponents and you can still be easily picked off due to its lightweight construction.

 

Really spot on with this aircraft guys...

Edited August 13 by Aurora_Stealth

[MDzmitry]

3 часа назад, Aurora_Stealth сказал:

So despite the Yak 3 being very lightweight and maneouvrable - the Bf 109 can still use its slats and its higher max angle of attack (!) to get snapshots on you.

Would be interesting to see how the Yak fares against 109s in vertical maneuvers like the ones shown below (not going to try and translate their names).

Helmut Lipfert flew Bf 109 G-6 in 1944 when he first faced the new Yak-3 in a fight, and he describes the Yak having an upper hand in vertical maneuvers, basically attacking his wingman time after time.

Скрытый текст

 

 

[I./JG53_BlackJaguar]

1 hour ago, MDzmitry said:

Would be interesting to see how the Yak fares against 109s in vertical maneuvers like the ones shown below (not going to try and translate their names).

Helmut Lipfert flew Bf 109 G-6 in 1944 when he first faced the new Yak-3 in a fight, and he describes the Yak having an upper hand in vertical maneuvers, basically attacking his wingman time after time.

  Reveal hidden contents

 

 

 

That's why we need Bf 109 G-10 with MG 151/20 cannon

[Aurora_Stealth]

2 hours ago, MDzmitry said:

Would be interesting to see how the Yak fares against 109s in vertical maneuvers like the ones shown below (not going to try and translate their names).

Helmut Lipfert flew Bf 109 G-6 in 1944 when he first faced the new Yak-3 in a fight, and he describes the Yak having an upper hand in vertical maneuvers, basically attacking his wingman time after time.

  Hide contents

 

 

From what I'm seeing it's similar in terms of the height you can gain in both aircraft but it'll vary with altitude. I'd imagine anything over 4km altitude will favour the 109 simply because of its superior engine performance / supercharger.

 

The difference is you can pull the above (probably most) manoeuvres tighter in the Yak 3 and recover energy quicker. The first image looks like an Immelmann and the second a Chandelle. The Bf 109 feels like it can keep better control authority due to the slats and wing area, but the Yak 3 has improved aerodynamics so you can't so easily escape it in a prolonged dive without a good cushion of altitude. 

 

This would all have been difficult to watch for Lipfert as the only way to subvert this is to keep speed up and play the energy game.

 

You'd ideally want to try use similar tactics to dealing with the Spitfire. Maintain shallow climb angles and high speed to control the fight. But let's be honest if he'd only just met this thing, had lost the initiative and was being chased then they were in big trouble... the Yak can mirror most of their moves and then muscle in.

[sgt_fresh]

About progress, Just flew the Yak 3, very impressive and easy to manage. Fast and maneuverable, great fun to fly definitely  a sim war winner. The 1s has a real pleasant early war feel to boot. Thanks in advance.

Edited August 14 by LukeFF
Language

[FuriousMeow]

Is the only difference difference the 105p and 105pa the weight and the boost switch?

 

Also, duel waves may not be working properly on the Odessa map. Not sure why the map would matter but set to until ammo runs out, no additional enemies. As a test, works on Kuban map. EDIT: Guess not, maybe did something wrong on my end. 

 

Thanks!

Edited August 18 by FuriousMeow

[plepew]

Really enjoying the Odessa Map and more early war Soviet fighters!  It has given me a whole new appreciation for that phase of the conflict.  Can't wait to run through the careers in Odessa and Leningrad!   Thanks to the devs for your continued hard work bringing great content to the community!

[Sandmarken]

7 hours ago, FuriousMeow said:

Is the only difference difference the 105p and 105pa the weight and the boost switch?

 

The 105pa is more durable. Not sure if this has any difference in game. Maybe the boost timer is higher? 

[jollyjack]

Dumbo Q: 105pa or 105p, where can you choose? Been looking in the ME Plane Advanced setup ..

 

Edited August 14 by jollyjack

[MDzmitry]

59 минут назад, jollyjack сказал:

Dumbo Q: 105pa or 105p, where can you choose? Been looking in the ME Plane Advanced setup ..

 

VK-105P/PA are for Yak-1 s.23

Yak-3 has just the VK-105PF2.

[LuftManu]

Thanks! Yak-3 is nimble and deadly!

[Jackfraser24]

How many other series of the Yak-3 are there that saw service besides the Yak-3 Series 9?

Edited August 14 by Jackfraser24

[MDzmitry]

36 минут назад, Jackfraser24 сказал:

How many other series of the Yak-3 are there that saw service besides the Yak-3 Series 9?

At least 16, because Stepanets mentions that starting from there production Yak-3 caught up to the trial performance (570 kmph, climb and so on).

Can't be bothered to look for the specific number of production series, sorry

[jollyjack]

Curious too, they all look alike, but behave differently. the new v3s9 is nice, but while trying it did not seem so deadly as the T version, but it was fast LoL.

Maybe some one can create a mission where you can test them all and switch player with the same mission running. Behavior MCU?

Edited August 14 by jollyjack

[Jackfraser24]

1 hour ago, MDzmitry said:

At least 16, because Stepanets mentions that starting from there production Yak-3 caught up to the trial performance (570 kmph, climb and so on).

Can't be bothered to look for the specific number of production series, sorry

Thanks for getting back. I don't think I could find out how many there were if I tried!

1 hour ago, jollyjack said:

Curious too, they all look alike, but behave differently. the new v3s9 is nice, but while trying it did not seem so deadly as the T version, but it was fast LoL.

Maybe some one can create a mission where you can test them all and switch player with the same mission running. Behavior MCU?

Yeah, for me at least (and probably you to) it would be good to know what other series of the Yak-3 there were aside from the Series 9. The more you know the better, right?

Edited August 14 by Jackfraser24

[BlitzPig_EL]

Just remember, the 1 and 3 are the light Yaks, and the 7 and 9 are the heavy Yaks.

[MDzmitry]

8 часов назад, BlitzPig_EL сказал:

Just remember, the 1 and 3 are the light Yaks, and the 7 and 9 are the heavy Yaks.

The 9s.1 is "heavy" with a really fat asterisk - it's early series with just 2 fuel tanks, which makes it even slightly lighter than Yak-1b

[Sandmarken]

3 hours ago, MDzmitry said:

Yak-1b

Even with all the later yaks that came to the game, in my opinion, the Yak-1B is still my favorite. A perfect balance of speed and agility. Maybe it can be because of what opponents you meet in its timeframe as well. The yak1b matches the 109G2/4 and fw190s pretty good. 

 

Have not flown the Yak-3 much, but it is not the wonderplane I imagined it to be, still a fun plane. I like the early Yak as well; it surprises me how slow it is at lower altitude compared to the Yak-1 69. I wonder if we will see early Odessa maps in MP with a historic lineup (without upgraded MiG-3s and Yak-1 69). If not, it will not be a performance choice to take it to the air.