Yak-9T...under-rated?

[Ack-Ack]

being as how 'underrated' is subjective to each persons own personal prejudices, there is no 'right' answer.

But there seems to be something of a consensus here...

yeah, that it's a mediocre fighter at best.


ack-ack

[Oldman731]

yeah, that it's a mediocre fighter at best.

That's not the consensus, you pseudo-bomber dude, you.

It really is one of those planes you have to fly quite a lot before you get the hang of it.  I know that I thought it was a dog for the first couple of years I flew it.  But now I'll stick by my previous post.

- oldman

[Lusche]

That's not the consensus, you pseudo-bomber dude, you.

It really is one of those planes you have to fly quite a lot before you get the hang of it.  I know that I thought it was a dog for the first couple of years I flew it.  But now I'll stick by my previous post.

- oldman

Now, If the -9t isn't mediocre... which ones are?

[Oldman731]

Now, If the -9t isn't mediocre... which ones are?

P-40B leads the mangy yellow dog pack, of course.  FW190A8 would be my second choice (and the F8, if we're counting that sort of odd contraption).  Me-110C, except when confined to early war setups.  P-39D.  Otherwise I think all of the planes have a chance to do well, once their tricks have been mastered.

- oldman

[E25280]

P-40B leads the mangy yellow dog pack, of course.  FW190A8 would be my second choice (and the F8, if we're counting that sort of odd contraption).  Me-110C, except when confined to early war setups.  P-39D.  Otherwise I think all of the planes have a chance to do well, once their tricks have been mastered.

- oldman

Sounds like you are confusing "mediocre" and "sucks eggs."

[Lusche]

I could lead this further now - If the P40B is a "mediocre fighter" what one would be a "sub-par" or "bad" or "inferior"? I'm afraid there are not much fighters left. Actually none.

Mediocre just means that: It's in the middle of the field. Not particular bad, not particular good. Another word for this would be average.
And this has to be seen in direct comparison with it's competitors. It's right, you can have success with a lot of planes (actually all of them) but that doesn't make them necessarily "good" -in comparison

And yes, in my opinion the P40B is an absolutely inferior fighter plane in LW terms. It's not "in the middle of the field" in any way.

[Gabriel]

The P 40B is mediocre?  

Then what is below average?  A ballon and a pistol?   

[E25280]

Getting kill credit for tanks is a different thing from actually killing them, FYI.

M3s are not armored, and SdKfs are very lightly armored, and can be strafed down with MGs as easily as 20mms as easily as 37mms.

You hype its anti-tank capabilities beyond the facts.

Dug up an old thread.  I think the films are still there.  May have to scroll down a bit to my post.

http://bbs.hitechcreations.com/smf/index.php/topic,222894.30.html

Not the most effective tank killer, but possible.

[Rich46yo]

I would call the 9T a little above mediocre. It posts about the same K/D as some of the most popular 109s, around .98 give or take. I dont really think the better sticks fly it much, as compared to the 109s. I believe a lot of the newer sticks see the big gun and take it up for that, and just for that.

But it has a narrow scope of use, "as did many aircraft in the tactical minded SAF". Your not going to take the 9T up furballing, or take it cross country full of gas. It doesnt have the range, even more so, doesnt have the ammo load. It is strictly a tactical aircraft that can hold its own against other fighters as long as you arent ganed so much. It has Mossie speed. IL2 firepower "almost". It will out turn many of the jabos in the game. It is a surprisingly good stall fighter as long as you use trim correctly. It can take out a couple of the tanks at need. Its deadly against PT boats and all the other GVs.

Most furballers wont ever like it cause they mostly "furball". Or they mostly simply dog fight other fighters. I think most of them would be better served with the 20 to 30 eny German set. As a dogfighter "mediocre", or, "average" would probably fit.

But the game is more then just a furballers game. look at the airplane in that light to see its strengths.

[Yeager]

Yak9T is a good mix of pleasure and challenge.  The cannon has three elements I like: a) rate of fire is good, a short burst will get two or three rounds out b) it is a fast round, gets out to the target quickly and c) has a nice flat trajectory -good for aiming.  Last five tours I have 81 kills and 21 deaths in the Yak9T.  Overall I find the Yak one of the better rides in MW.  

[chewie86]

I am not convinced with the 37mm efficiency on bombers, how many times do you see a lancaster walk with 5+ 37mm hits ? Too much IMO. Also please send a film of a panzer dieing from Yak9t hits.

Also I have yet to find an attribute on the Yak9t that makes it survivable against other fighters, mid war 109's eat it alive for exemple, on all specs except HO   

An average "all arounder" plane:
Panzers cannot survive more than 5 solid shvak 37mm hits in the back side. Problem with bombers is that u have to hit them from far away if you want to stay on their 6, or get confident with the deflection shot.
9T big cookie keep its effectiveness up to 1.5k icon's ID (I shot a runnin C-hog showing 1.5k once).

Can take a while to bring the yakT up to 10 / 14 k to dogfight in it, but it's worth the effort once u learn the big cookie's ballistic. Moreover, probably because of the dated model, Yaks have good armor for the plane not so much for the pilot ( less armored on the tail ) . I recall many times flying home leaking oil, fuel, coolant and blood, missing some control surfaces.

Perhaps my favourite plane.

[mbailey]

Just out of curiosity, what was the Yak 9Ts primary roll in the war?

[Gabriel]

it was a day fighter... not a ground attack

[Rich46yo]

Just out of curiosity, what was the Yak 9Ts primary roll in the war?

If I remember right it primarily a fighter that fought other fighters. The Soviets have a long history of putting large cannon on their fighter planes. Their high velocity 37mms and 23mms were eventually case shortened for their fighters, later in the war, and while they had less velocity they will still very efficient airplane killers. Eventually the NR-23 and NS-23 replaced the 20mm cannon on all their fighters. The N-37 replaced the NS-37 found on the 9T. There was a Yak-9 version that was armed with the NS-23 cannon and 2 B-20S cannon.

On the other hand the entire Soviet AF was tactical minded and wouldn't hesitate to attack GVs. There were versions of Yaks with bomb bays that could attack with the devastating PTAB bomblets.

So overall the Yak-9 was a pretty efficient ground attack aircraft. I'm wondering if our Yak-9 uses the HE warhead or the AP. My guess is the HE.

[Rich46yo]

Heres video of the 9T cleanly taking a Panzer. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-wTA2kusUw

I like to aim a little above the muffler in the rear of the tank. Theres some spots of 20mm, or thinner, armor in this location and I can attack the tank a little more level to hit more flush, with less angle. This tank was sitting on the runway causing all kinds of trouble. I also attack a T-34 causeing some damage.

So while not a pure tank buster she will do in a pinch.