Yakovlev Yak-23

Yak-23
	Polish Yak-23 in the Lubuskie Muzeum Wojskowe, Drzonów
Role	Fighter aircraft
Manufacturer	Yakovlev
First flight	8 July 1947
Introduction	1949
Retired	Early 1960s
Primary users	Soviet Air Forces; Polish Air Force; Romanian Air Force; Czechoslovak Air Force; Bulgarian Air Force
Produced	October 1949–January 1951
Number built	316 + 3 prototypes
Developed from	Yakovlev Yak-17

The Yakovlev Yak-23 (

swept-wing Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15. Many Yak-23s were exported to the Warsaw Pact

nations and remained in service for most of the 1950s, although some were still in use a decade later.

Development and description

On 11 March 1947, the

Alexander Yakovlev decided to develop two designs, the Yakovlev Yak-25 in accordance with the Ministry's order and a lightweight, more agile aircraft (the Yak-23) in the hopes that one or the other would win an order from the Ministry. Yakovlev's decision was a risky one as it could be construed as unauthorized use of state monies if discovered, which could have landed Yakovlev in a lot of trouble.^[2]

To minimize risk, the new aircraft used the same "pod-and-boom" layout as the earlier Yak-17 fighter, but the metal

wingtips. The fighter was armed with two 23-millimeter (0.9 in) Nudelman-Rikhter NR-23 autocannon, each with 90 rounds.^[3]

Two

Lieutenant Colonel Mikhail Ivanov, at the controls. While still involved in its manufacturer's flight testing, the first prototype participated in the flypast at Tushino Airfield on 3 August. The Yakovlev OKB concluded its testing on 24 September and turned over the second prototype for state acceptance trials on 22 October. Although the Yak-23 was accepted for series production, it was criticized of heavy aileron and rudder forces, lack of cockpit pressurization and heating and ventilation, protection for the pilot and weak armament. The test pilots did praise it as highly maneuverable, with a good acceleration and takeoff and climb capabilities thanks to a high thrust-to-weight ratio. The second prototype was modified afterwards to address some of these issues and successfully tested again in 1948.^[4]

Operational history

The first aircraft were produced in a factory in

trainer

which appears to have had the unusual arrangement of having the instructor seated in front of the student, and the Yak-23DC trainer which was produced in Romania.

Small numbers of Yak-23s were exported to Czechoslovakia (20 from 1949, named S-101), Bulgaria (from 1949), Poland (about 100, from 1950), Romania (62, from 1951). Poland and Czechoslovakia acquired licenses for the aircraft, but built the superior MiG-15 instead. Yak-23s were withdrawn by the late 1950s, except in Romania which used them until 1960.^[5]

A Romanian Yak-23 flown by Major Dumitru Balaur successfully intercepted a Soviet Ilyushin Il-28 on the night of 28 October 1952. Being tracked from the ground on radar, the Il-28 was intercepted by the Yak-23 fighter scrambled from the Ianca airfield after it had passed into the Romanian airspace a second time. As the bomber refused to follow the Romanian pilot's instructions, the fighter moved into position to shoot it down but was recalled to base. This was the first interception mission carried out by the Romanian Air Force.^[6]

U.S. testing

A single Yak-23 was acquired by US intelligence via

F-86 Sabres whose pilots inquired as to the plane's identity. A story was conceived that the aircraft was a Bell X-5

, which had a similar layout. At the completion of design and flight evaluations the aircraft was again disassembled and shipped quietly back to Yugoslavia in its original paint scheme.

Records

On September 21, 1957, the Polish pilot Andrzej Abłamowicz set two FAI world records in the Yak-23 with civilian markings SP-GLK, in its weight class, climbing to 3,000 m (9,843 ft) in 119 seconds (4,962.6 ft/min, 25,21 m/s) and to 6,000 m (19,685 ft) in 197 seconds (5,995.4 ft/min, 30,45 m/s). This plane was withdrawn in 1961.

Variants

Yak-23: Fighter version, serial built.
Yak-23UTI: Two-seat training version with longer fuselage and lighter armament, three built.
Yak-23DC: Romanian-built two-seat training version. Four Yak-23 single-seaters were converted in 1956 by ASAM Pipera, two of them belonging to the Bulgarian AF.
S-101: Czechoslovak designation.

Operators

Monino Airfield

Kbely

(marked HX-51)

Albania

Albanian Air Force - The first aircraft was received in 1951.^[8]

Bulgaria

Bulgarian Air Force - Received over 100 aircraft, used them until 1958.

Czechoslovakia

Czechoslovak Air Force - Received 20 aircraft in 1949.

North Korea

Korean People's Army Air Force - A small number were used in the Korean War.^[8]

Poland

Polish Air Force - Received about 100 aircraft operated between 1950 and 1956.

Romania

Romanian Air Force - Received 62 aircraft in 1951 and used them until 1960.

Soviet Union

Soviet Air Force
- Operated aircraft between 1949 and 1951.

Specifications (Yak-23)

Data from The Complete Book of Fighters^[9]

General characteristics

Crew: 1
Length: 8.13 m (26 ft 8 in)
Wingspan: 8.73 m (28 ft 8 in)
Height: 3.31 m (10 ft 10 in)
Wing area: 13.5 m² (145 sq ft)
Empty weight: 1,980 kg (4,365 lb)
Gross weight: 3,384 kg (7,460 lb)
Powerplant: 1 × Klimov RD-500 centrifugal-flow turbojet engine, 15.6 kN (3,500 lbf) thrust

Performance

Maximum speed: 925 km/h (575 mph, 499 kn) at sea level
Range: 1,200 km (750 mi, 650 nmi)
Service ceiling: 14,800 m (48,600 ft) ^[10]
Rate of climb: 47 m/s (9,300 ft/min) ^[10]
Thrust/weight: 0.46

Armament

Guns: 2 × 23 mm Nudelman-Rikhter NR-23 with 90 rpg

References

^ Parsch, Andreas; Martynov, Aleksey V. "Designations of Soviet and Russian Military Aircraft and Missiles". www.designation-systems.net. Retrieved 21 January 2017.
^ Gordon & Kommissarov 2014, pp. 156–57.
^ Gordon & Kommissarov 2014, pp. 204–11.
^ Gordon & Kommissarov 2014, pp. 164–65, 168.
^ Paul Sandachi (2001). Aviația de luptă reactivă în România: 1951 - 2001. Muzeul Aviației. p. 25.
^ "Prima misiune de interceptare a unei ținte reale în cadrul Forțelor Aeriene Române". aviatiamagazin.com (in Romanian). 28 October 2014.
^ "JEDNA OD NAJVEĆIH TAJNI TITOVE JUGOSLAVIJE: Projekat Alfa- slanje sovjetskih mlaznjaka u SAD".
^ ^a ^b "Samolotypolskie.pl - Jakowlew Jak-23".
^ Green and Swanborough 1994, pp. 604–605.
^ ^a ^b Gunston 1995, p. 478.

Bibliography

Gordon, Yefim & Kommissarov, Dmitry. Early Soviet Jet Fighters. Manchester, UK: Hikoki Publications, 2014.
ISBN 978-1-90210935-0
.

Green, William & Swanborough, Gordon.The Complete Book of Fighters. London: Salamander Books. 1994.
ISBN 1-85833-777-1
.

ISBN 1-85532-405-9
.

Mikolajczuk, Marian. Yakovlev Yak-23: The First Yakovlev Jet Fighters. Sandomirez, Poland: Stratus, 2008.
ISBN 978-83-89450-54-8
.

External links

Gallery of Jak-23 in Praha-Kbely museum

[DS1-1] Parsch, Andreas; Martynov, Aleksey V. "Designations of Soviet and Russian Military Aircraft and Missiles". www.designation-systems.net. Retrieved 21 January 2017.

[2] Gordon & Kommissarov 2014, pp. 156–57.

[3] Gordon & Kommissarov 2014, pp. 204–11.

[4] Gordon & Kommissarov 2014, pp. 164–65, 168.

[5] Paul Sandachi (2001). Aviația de luptă reactivă în România: 1951 - 2001. Muzeul Aviației. p. 25.

[6] "Prima misiune de interceptare a unei ținte reale în cadrul Forțelor Aeriene Române". aviatiamagazin.com (in Romanian). 28 October 2014.

[7] "JEDNA OD NAJVEĆIH TAJNI TITOVE JUGOSLAVIJE: Projekat Alfa- slanje sovjetskih mlaznjaka u SAD".

[samolotypolskie.pl-8] "Samolotypolskie.pl - Jakowlew Jak-23".

[complete-9] Green and Swanborough 1994, pp. 604–605.

[gunp478-10] Gunston 1995, p. 478.

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v t e Yakovlev aircraft
Early aircraft	AVF-10 AVF-20 AVF-34 AIR-1 AIR-2 AIR-3 AIR-4 AIR-5 AIR-6 AIR-7 AIR-8 AIR-9 AIR-10 AIR-11 AIR-12 AIR-14 AIR-15 AIR-16 AIR-17 AIR-18 Ya-1 Ya-2 Ya-3 Ya-4 Ya-6 Ya-7 Ya-10 Ya-19 Ya-20 Ya-21 Ya-22 Ya-23
Fighters	Yak-1 Yak-3 Yak-7 Yak-9 Yak-15 Yak-17 Yak-23 Yak-25 (II) Yak-28 Yak-38
Bombers	Yak-2 Yak-4 Yak-28 Yak-35
Transports	Yak-6 Yak-10 Yak-12 Yak-14 Yak-18T Yak-40 Yak-42 Yak-58 Yak-112 Yak-242 (MC-21)
Reconnaissance	Yak-25 Yak-27 Pchela
Helicopters	Yak-24 Yak-100
Trainers	UT-1 UT-2 UT-3 UT-15 UT-21 UT-23 Yak-7 Yak-11 Yak-17 Yak-18 Yak-20 Yak-21 Yak-28 Yak-30 (II) Yak-32 Yak-50 (II) Yak-52 Yak-53 Yak-54 Yak-55 Yak-130 Yak-152 Yak-200 Yak-210
Experimental	EG Yak-5 Yak-8 Yak-13 Yak-16 Yak-19 Yak-25 (I) Yak-26 Yak-30 (I) Yak-36 Yak-41 Yak-43 Yak-44 Yak-45 Yak-46 Yak-50 (I) Yak-60 Yak-140 Yak-141 Yak-201 Yak-1000

v t e Soviet straight-winged jet fighters
Alekseyev	I-21 I-212
Lavochkin	La-150 La-152 La-154 La-156
Mikoyan-Gurevich	MiG-9
Sukhoi	Su-9 (1946) Su-11 (1947) Su-13
Yakovlev	Yak-15 Yak-17 Yak-19 Yak-23 Yak-25 (1947)