Yakovlev Yak-3M – Summer of Flight

Experience Warbirds in flight this summer! From May through September, join the Military Aviation Museum every Saturday at 1 PM for narrated flying demonstrations showcasing historical aircraft and commemorating significant wartime events. Experience the rumble of the engines up close as pilots share what it’s like to fly these incredible machines. Learn about the battles they fought in and the men and women who built, flew, and maintained them during the war! Summer of Flight is included with general admission to the museum and free for members. Events begin at 1:00 PM unless stated otherwise.

One of the smallest and lightest combat fighters of the war, the Yak-3 was easy to maintain and had an impressive power-to-weight ratio. When it entered service in July 1943 it was superior to both the Fw 190 and Bf 109G at altitudes below 16,000 feet.

Among the most successful Soviet wartime aircraft designs, 4,848 Yak-3s were built during the war. The Luftwaffe even advised its pilots against tangling with the Yak-3 at low altitudes because of the aircraft’s superior performance. The Soviet approach to fighter design had been to focus different design bureaus on specific challenges; the Yak-3 had been specifically designed to overcome the Luftwaffe at low altitudes directly over the battlefield to clear the way for Soviet ground attack aircraft like the famed Il-2 Sturmovik.