Golovachev's Yak-9M

Golovachev's Yak-9M

Golovachev's Yak-9M

USSR

III Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
3.7	3.7	3.7

Class:

PREMIUM

Fighter

Purchase:Bundle or Gift

This page is about the Russian fighter Golovachev's Yak-9M. For other uses, see Yak-9 (Family).

Description

Golovachev's Yak-9M in the garage

Golovachev's Yak-9M is a Rank III Russian fighter with a battle rating of 3.7 (AB/RB/SB). This aircraft was introduced in Update 1.49 "Weapons of Victory". The plane is painted after the camouflage scheme of Soviet pilot Pavel Y. Golovachev in the 900th fighter squadron from February 1945 onward, where he piloted a Yak-9M plane during the Battle of Berlin.

This vehicle, as with all Yaks, is a decent fighter when used properly. Climbing to ~ 2000 m will ensure that the fighter will have enough energy to engage targets. With flaps, the Yak-9M is a decent turner, though this should not be relied on as it quickly loses energy when fighting in the horizontal.

Golovachev's Yak-9M is the only Yak-9M in the game. It features a distinct camouflage with pre-applied decals and text along the fuselage, setting it apart visually from its contemporaries. With a nose-mounted 20 mm and a 12.7 mm Berezin machine gun, it has a fairly effective armament for a Russian fighter at this tier, though it is lacklustre compared to other nations.

General info

Flight Performance

Characteristics
Stock
Max Speed (km/h at 4,000 m)		Max altitude (meters)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (meters/second)		Take-off run (meters)
AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
614	604	10,500	17.7	18.4	15.6	14.6	350
Upgraded
Max Speed (km/h at 4,000 m)		Max altitude (meters)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (meters/second)		Take-off run (meters)
AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
633	617	10,500	17.5	18.0	18.7	16.0	350

Details

Features
Combat flap	Take-off flap	Landing flap	Air brakes	Arrestor gear
X	X	✓	X	X

Limits
Wing-break speed (km/h)	Gear limit (km/h)	Combat flap (km/h)	Max Static G
			+	-
720	420	310	~20	~15

Optimal velocities
Ailerons (km/h)	Rudder (km/h)	Elevators (km/h)	Radiator (km/h)
< 380	< 420	< 490	> 270

Compressor (RB/SB)
Setting 1
Optimal altitude	100% Engine power	WEP Engine power
300 m	1,310 hp	?,??? hp
Setting 2
Optimal altitude	100% Engine power	WEP Engine power
2,600 m	1,240 hp	?,??? hp

Survivability and armour

• No armour plating
• No armour glazing
• Critical components located at front of aircraft (fuel, pilot, engine, controls)
• More fuel tanks located in wings near fuselage

Armaments

Offensive armament

The Golovachev's Yak-9M is armed with:

• 1 x 20 mm ShVAK cannon, nose-mounted (120 rpg)
• 1 x 12.7 mm Berezin UB machine gun, nose-mounted (200 rpg)

Usage in the battles

A distinct Boom & Zoom aircraft, it is important to have the altitude advantage over your opponents. Though this plane has quite a bit of power flight wise, it is lacking in the ability to sustain itself in prolonged fights, especially in turning engagements.

Japanese fighters will out-turn you in both the horizontal and vertical, though they, for the most-part, lack the punching power at this BR to quickly destroy you. As long as you keep your energy up, engaging any aircraft at this tier is no issue unless their have rear gunners.

Many will head-on this aircraft if you give them the opportunity. Since the Yak-9M doesn't have a particularly heavy armament, it is inadvisable to rely on sniping them in this type of engagement. Bomber gunners will shred your engine if you give them the opportunity, so engaging them from directly above or from the sides is preferable to ensure survival.

Manual Engine Control

MEC elements
Mixer	Pitch	Radiator			Supercharger	Turbocharger
		Oil	Water	Type
Controllable	Not controllable	Not controllable	Not controllable	Separate	Not ontrollable	Not controllable

Modules

Tier	Flight performance		Survivability	Weaponry
I
II
III
IV

Pros and cons

Pros:

• The nose mounted cannon and machine gun allow for excellent aiming, even when convergence is set to close range
• Decent acceleration and energy retention
• Great elevator authority at most speeds

Cons:

• Low amount of ammo
• The singular Berezin UB is a lackluster secondary
• Engine is vulnerable to anything bigger than a 7.7 mm

History

Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the aircraft in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too big, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the vehicle and adding a block "/ History" (example: https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Vehicle-name)/History) and add a link to it here using the main template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <ref>, as well as adding them at the end of the article. This section may also include the vehicle's dev blog entry (if applicable) and the in-game encyclopedia description (under === Encyclopedia Info ===, also if applicable).

Hero of the Soviet Union twice, Pavel Golovachev was credited with 31 aerial victories.

In-game description

The Yak-9 was a Soviet single-engine fighter of the WWII era. It was the first combat aircraft designed by Alexander Yakovlev's construction bureau. The most mass-produced Soviet fighter of the war, it remained in production from October 1942 to December 1948, with a total of 16,769 built.

The Yak-9 was a further modification of the Yak-1 and Yak-7. In its core design, it was a redesign of the Yak-7. With few external differences, Yak-9 was at the same time much more advanced internally. This is not unexpected, as almost two years of design and combat experience of the Yak series went into the Yak-9. Also, at the time aluminium was in much greater supply than it had been two years previously at the start of the war. Amongst other things, the use of metal allowed the plane’s weight to be significantly reduced, meaning that more fuel could be stored and that the aircraft could be equipped with more powerful armament and more specialized equipment.

Media

An excellent addition to the article will be video guides, as well as screenshots from the game and photos.

Read also

Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example,

• reference to the series of the aircraft;
• links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.

Sources

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

• topic on the official game forum;
• page on aircraft encyclopedia;
• other literature.