The Yakovlev Yak-27 (
NATO reporting name
NATO uses a system of code names, called reporting names, to denote military aircraft and other equipment used by post-Soviet states, former Warsaw Pact countries, China, and other countries. The system assists military communications by providi ...
"Flashlight-C") is a family of
Soviet
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
supersonic aircraft developed in
1958
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from the Yak-121 prototype. The most built variant was the tactical reconnaissance Yak-27R (
NATO reporting name
NATO uses a system of code names, called reporting names, to denote military aircraft and other equipment used by post-Soviet states, former Warsaw Pact countries, China, and other countries. The system assists military communications by providi ...
"Mangrove").
Design and development
The Yak-121 prototype was developed as a successor to the
Yak-25
The Yakovlev Yak-25 ( NATO designation Flashlight-A/Mandrake) is a swept wing, turbojet-powered interceptor and reconnaissance aircraft built by Yakovlev and used by the Soviet Union.
Design and development
The Yak-25 originated from a need f ...
family and it became the base for the Yak-27 family of supersonic interceptor and tactical reconnaissance aircraft. The Yak-27 and Yak-27K interceptors, armed with guns and
K-8 missile
The Kaliningrad K-8 (R-8) (NATO reporting name AA-3 ' Anab') was a medium-range air-to-air missile developed by the Soviet Union for interceptor aircraft use.Gordon, Yefim. ''Soviet/Russian Aircraft Weapons''. Midland. 2004.
The K-8 was develope ...
s respectively, reached or exceeded their requirements, but were overtaken in performance by the
Sukhoi Su-9
The Sukhoi Su-9 (Air Standardization Coordinating Committee, ASCC reporting name: Fishpot) is a single-engine, all-weather, missile-armed interceptor aircraft developed by the Soviet Union.
Development
The Su-9 emerged from aerodynamic studie ...
, and so production was not authorized. A high-altitude interceptor version, the Yak-27V, was converted from the Yak-121 prototype by fitting a 1,300 kg•f (2,866 lb•f)
Dushkin S-155 rocket booster in the rear fuselage, and
Tumansky RD-9AKYe afterburning
An afterburner (or reheat in British English) is an additional combustion component used on some jet engines, mostly those on military aircraft, military supersonic aircraft. Its purpose is to increase thrust, usually for supersonic flight, ta ...
turbojets
The turbojet is an airbreathing jet engine which is typically used in aircraft. It consists of a gas turbine with a propelling nozzle. The gas turbine has an air inlet which includes inlet guide vanes, a compressor, a combustion chamber, a ...
. Although performance was very good, reaching the height of 23,000 m (75,400 ft) during trials, development was halted due to maintenance problems of the Dushkin S-155 rocket engine.
The dedicated high-altitude
photo-reconnaissance
Aerial reconnaissance is reconnaissance for a military or strategic purpose that is conducted using reconnaissance aircraft. The role of reconnaissance can fulfil a variety of requirements including artillery spotting, the collection of imag ...
variant of the Yak-27 interceptor was named Yak-27R (NATO designation "Mangrove"). The
radome
A radome (a portmanteau of "radar" and "dome") is a structural, weatherproof enclosure that protects a radar antenna (radio), antenna. The radome is constructed of material transparent to radio waves. Radomes protect the antenna from weathe ...
and radar were replaced with a glazed nose for an observer/navigator, two cameras were added, and the
Nudelman-Rikhter NR-23
The Nudelman-Richter NR-23 is a Soviet autocannon widely used in military aircraft of the Soviet Union and Warsaw Pact. It was designed by A. E. Nudelman and A. A. Richter to replace the wartime Nudelman-Suranov NS-23 and Volkov-Yartsev VYa-2 ...
cannon was deleted from the port-board. It had a longer wing with a span of 11.82 m (38 ft 9 in), with two
Tumansky RD-9AF turbojet engines and a top speed of about 1,285 km/h (798 mph) at high altitude. It had a service ceiling of 16,500 m (54,000 ft) and a range of 2,380 km (1,480 mi) with two wing tanks. About 180 aircraft were produced in Plant No.292 in
Saratov
Saratov ( , ; , ) is the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and administrative center of Saratov Oblast, Russia, and a major port on the Volga River. Saratov had a population of 901,361, making it the List of cities and tow ...
.
Operational history
The Yak-27R entered service with the Soviet Air Force in
1960
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and was intended to replace the subsonic
Ilyushin Il-28
The Ilyushin Il-28 (; NATO reporting name: Beagle) is a jet bomber of the immediate postwar period that was originally manufactured for the Soviet Air Forces. It was the Soviet Union's first such aircraft to enter large-scale production. It was ...
reconnaissance aircraft. However, despite the greater speed and ceiling, it had less range. The Yak-27R also had some operational limitations and was flown at supersonic speed only by the most experienced pilots. The low position of the engines made them prone to foreign object ingestion from unimproved forward-base runways. With the increasing coverage of anti-aircraft missiles over Europe, the high-altitude Yak-27R was often more limited than the Il-28. The Yak-27R was withdrawn from operational service in the early 1970s, and was replaced by the
Yak-28R and the
MiG-25R
The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25 (; NATO reporting name: Foxbat) is a supersonic interceptor and reconnaissance aircraft that is among the fastest military aircraft to enter service. Designed by the Soviet Union's Mikoyan-Gurevich bureau, it is a ...
.
Variants
;Yak-27
:Supersonic interceptor derived from Yak-121, armed with two 30 mm cannons, did not enter service.
;Yak-27F
:Conversion of one Yak-27R with downward pointing TV cameras in the rear fuselage.
;Yak-27K (Yak-27K-8)
:Interceptor version of Yak-27, armed with two K-8 missiles, did not enter service.
;Yak-27R
:Tactical reconnaissance version of Yak-27, the most built variant with about 180 built.
;Yak-27LSh, (lyzhnoye shasee - ski undercarriage)
:Conversion of a Yak-27R, with a single retractable ski under the centre fuselage and enlarged nosewheels.
;Yak-27RN
:Reconnaissance version of Yak-27 underwent flight testing, nothing further known.
;Yak-27V
:High-altitude interceptor, one prototype only, converted from the Yak-121. Had auxiliary rocket engine.
;Yak-121
:Prototype of Yak-27 family.
Operators
;
*
Soviet Air Force
The Soviet Air Forces (, VVS SSSR; literally "Military Air Forces of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics"; initialism VVS, sometimes referred to as the "Red Air Force") were one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Sovie ...
**
11th Independent ''Vitebskiy'' Reconnaissance Regiment (1966–70, Neu-Welzow, East Germany)
**
47th Independent Guards Reconnaissance Regiment 47th may refer to:
Chicago Transit Authority stations
* 47th station (CTA Green Line)
47th is a station on the Chicago Transit Authority's "L" system, located in the Grand Boulevard community area of Chicago, Illinois and serving the Gree ...
(received first Yak-27R in May 1959. Last aircraft were retired in mid-1970s and replaced by
MiG-25RBs; based at
Shatalovo
Shatalovo () is the name of several rural localities in Russia:
* Shatalovo, Pskov Oblast, a village in Pustoshkinsky District of Pskov Oblast
* Shatalovo, Smolensk Oblast, a village in Shatalovskoye Rural Settlement of Pochinkovsky District of ...
,
Moscow Military District
The Order of Lenin Moscow Military District () is a Military districts of Russia, military district of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. Originally it was a district of the Imperial Russian Army until the Russian Empire's collapse in 191 ...
)
**
48th Independent Guards ''Nizhegorodsky'' Reconnaissance Regiment (1958–72, Kolomiya, western Ukraine)
**
98th Independent Guards ''Vislenskiy'' Reconnaissance Regiment (? 1961-73,
Monchegorsk
Monchegorsk () is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town in Murmansk Oblast, Russia, located on the Kola Peninsula, south of Murmansk, the administrative center of the oblast. Population: 52,242 (Russian Census (2002), 2002 Census); ...
, Kola Peninsula)
**
164th Independent Guards ''Kerchensky'' Independent Reconnaissance Regiment (1961–73, Brzeg, Poland)
**
511th Independent ''Yasskiy'' Reconnaissance Regiment (1960–65, Buyalyk, near Odessa)
**
886th Independent ''Stalingradskiy'' Reconnaissance Regiment (1966–70,
Jēkabpils
Jēkabpils () is a state city in Jēkabpils Municipality in southeastern Latvia, located roughly halfway between the capital Riga and Daugavpils, and spanning the Daugava River. The name of the city literally translates into "Castle of Jacob". H ...
, Latvia)
Survivors
A Yak-27R is preserved at the
Central Air Force Museum
The Central Air Force Museum () is an aviation museum in Monino, Moscow Oblast, Russia. A branch of the Central Armed Forces Museum, it is one of the world's largest aviation museums, and the largest for Soviet aircraft, with a collection includi ...
at
Monino
Monino () is an urban locality (a work settlement) in Shchyolkovsky District of Moscow Oblast, Russia, located east of Moscow. Population:
History
Monino was founded in the Muninskaya Wasteland () on August 23, 1792. The name "Monino" or "M ...
, outside of Moscow, Russia.
Monino home page
There are also another two airframes preserved in Germany, one at Hugo Junkers Museum Dessau and the other at Speyer Technic Museum, however the latter is in poor condition.
Specifications (Yak-27R)
See also
References
*
{{Authority control
1950s Soviet fighter aircraft
1950s Soviet military reconnaissance aircraft
Yak-027
Mid-wing aircraft
Twinjets
Aircraft first flown in 1956
Aircraft with retractable bicycle landing gear