Ice u mistake what the yak3 is. The yak3 was a later version of the yak than the 9 was dont let the numbers confuse you. The yak3 had a larger engin with a higher top speed below 5000meters and was more agile.
and to the person that said the yak3 lost the vote... i realize this but it was second and they have added first and second place votes before in the past so just hoping they do the same thing again this time.
Partly correct, partly false.
The Yak-9U has a more powerful engine and the Yak-3 is not a later version. It was a different line.
-> Yak-7 -> Yak-9
Yak-1 <
-> Yak-3
The Yak 9 is a development of the Yak-7, which was a development of the Yak-1. The Yak-3 was a development of the Yak-1 that was lightened to get the most out of its engine. The Yak-9U has a ~1500hp VK107 engine, the wartime Yak-3 has a ~1300hp VK105 engine, a version of the engine in the Yak-9T. Due to better streamlining and lower weight it is much faster than the Yak-9T and it climbs better than even the Yak-9U, but it is slower than the Yak-9U as well. The post way Yak-3 with the VK107 engine had much better performance, but it missed the war.