By the war’s end, this Free French squadron were allowed to fly their Yak-3s back to France as a gift from Stalin, a rare honor that underscored the aircraft’s prestige.

It had served with the French Regiment ‘Normandie-Niemen’ of the Soviet Air Force on the Eastern front during the Second World War. From 1991 to 2002, some 21 Yakovlev Yak-3, ...

This 1945 Yakovlev YAK-3 is part of a pack of fighters that joined the fight against the ... The plane is wrapped in the two-tone grey colors of the French Escadron de Chasse 2/30 Normandie ...

With Russian Yaks, a small group of French pilots fought like hell to drive the Germans out of the Soviet Union. ... The regiment was by then transitioning to the Yakovlev Yak-3.

The Yak-3 was one of the best combat aircraft during WWII, ... the French returned home aboard 37 Yak-3 aircraft that the Soviet Union let them keep to present to the reborn French Air Force. 2.

The Yak-3 was evenly matched against the German Bf 109 and Fw 190 fighters, ... to help restore its air force, 37 Yak-3’s flown by French pilots were presented by the USSR to France. 2.

Yak 3, Belgrade Aviation Museum, Serbia. Author: Marko M. The incidents did not wait too long to occur. One of the most significant ones occurred in July, 1946 when two fighters of the 254 ...

The Yak-3’s production run was equally impressive. Over 4,800 units were built between 1944 and 1946 , reflecting the Soviet Union’s ability to mass-produce effective designs even in the war ...