The Ukrainian manufacturer has become the first to offer a 1/32 Yakovlev Yak-9 in styrene. CHRIS CLIFFORD lifts the lid on this interesting new item.
Yakovlev’s Yak-9T (the ‘T’ standing for tahnkovyy, or tank-busting) was the first mass-produced version of the family. It contrasted from the prototype and early Yak-9 sans suffixe by replacing the 20mm cannon with a 37mm Nudelman-Suranov NS-37 gun. This was positioned between the engine cylinder banks and fired through the propeller spinner, and the 12.7mm machine-gun from the earlier models was retained. Such firepower meant fewer rounds were needed to destroy a fighter, but the NS-37 was also adept at breaking up bomber formations. It was equally well employed in hunting tanks, and the Yak-9T’s combat debut came during 1943’s Battle of Kursk.
