IRL a B17 needed about 20 20mm rounds to plummet to earth, How many thinks the Yak3 is more durable ?
In real life yes, In aces high we have damage modeling; if you concentrate your firepower a Yak will go down just like any other aircraft; problem with dispersion is the Yak is a very SMALL target; unless you are on top of it then you might as well forget about thinking your "Snapshot" is going to bring one down.
Look at the Yak-3's size, I can tell you even in my prime I had a tough time targeting Yak-9's, most planes like the Fw-190 and Bf-109 I can aim for the wings, or specific parts, a Yak? forget it; I would simply aim for the cockpit instead.
Again I once concentrated twin 12.7's on a Ki-84 and shot down a P-47 with less than 45 bullets total, in real life there were some with hundreds! of holes in it; same for a B-17. Problem is you can riddle a B-17 with 20mm; unless you hit the engine or fuel tank you are simply just scratching the paint.
I know you are a smart pilot in game, but I think your vendetta against the Yak-3 is simply mystical - I highly doubt Hitech would purposely make the plane stronger then anything else in the sky, and honestly the many times I fought a Yak-3, Its no different then a Yak-9.
You know full well I've been in game over 10 years, I wouldn't sit here and defend it if I haven't flown enough sorties against a Yak-3, I simply find nothing special about it.