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 is a premium gift rank III Soviet fighter with a battle rating of 3.7 (AB/RB/SB). It 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

Describe how the aircraft behaves in the air. Speed, manoeuvrability, acceleration and allowable loads - these are the most important characteristics of the vehicle.

Characteristics	Max Speed (km/h at 4,000 m)		Max altitude (metres)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (metres/second)		Take-off run (metres)
	AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
Stock	614	604	10500	17.7	18.4	15.6	14.6	350
Upgraded	633	617		17.5	18.0	18.7	16.0

Details

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

Limits
Wings (km/h)	Gear (km/h)	Flaps (km/h)			Max Static G
		Combat	Take-off	Landing	+	-
0	320	N/A	N/A	280	~11	~8

Optimal velocities (km/h)
Ailerons	Rudder	Elevators	Radiator
< 380	< 420	< 490	> 340

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

Examine the survivability of the aircraft. Note how vulnerable the structure is and how secure the pilot is, whether the fuel tanks are armoured, etc. Describe the armour, if there is any, and also mention the vulnerability of other critical aircraft systems.

Armaments

Offensive armament

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 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	Controllable Not auto controlled	Controllable Auto control available	Controllable Auto control available	Separate	Controllable 2 gears	Not controllable

Modules

Tier	Flight performance		Survivability	Weaponry
I	Fuselage repair	Radiator		Offensive 12 mm
II		Compressor	Airframe	New 12 mm MGs
III	Wings repair	Engine		Offensive 20 mm
IV			Cover	New 20 mm cannons
This is a premium vehicle: all modifications are unlocked on purchase

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 long, 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></ref>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <references />. This section may also include the vehicle's dev blog entry (if applicable) and the in-game encyclopedia description (under === In-game description ===, 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

Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.

See 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.

External links

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

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

A.S. Yakovlev Design Bureau (Яковлев Опытное конструкторское бюро)
Fighters
Yak-1	Yak-1 · Yak-1B
Yak-3	Yak-3 · Eremin's Yak-3(e) · Yak-3 (VK-107) · Yak-3P · Yak-3T · Yak-3U
Yak-7	Yak-7B
Yak-9	Yak-9 · Yak-9B · Yak-9K · Golovachev's Yak-9M · Yak-9P · Yak-9T · Yak-9U · Yak-9UT
Twin-engine fighters	I-29
Jet fighters
Yak-15	Yak-15P · Yak-15
Yak-17	Yak-17
Yak-23	Yak-23
Yak-30	Yak-30D
Yak-141	Yak-141
Strike aircraft
Yak-2	Yak-2 KABB
Yak-38	Yak-38 · Yak-38M
Bombers	Yak-4
Jet bombers	Yak-28B
Foreign use	▄Yak-3 · Challe's ▄Yak-9T · ◔Yak-9P
Captured	▀Yak-1B