One of the lesser known combat aircraft of the Korean War is the Yakovlev Yak-9P. This fighter was produced in the post-WWII era and formed much of the North Korean air force’s frontline capability in the early months of the war. This aircraft is the focus of the latest IL-2 Korea developer update. Let’s have a look at it!

Screenshots and details

The Yak-9P is the all-metal successor to the late WWII Yak-9U variant. Powered by the new at the time M-107 engine boasting improved power, the Yak-9U was a match many late war German fighters. Post war, the wooden construction Yak-9Us degraded quickly when exposed to the elements and service life, typically short during the war, became an increasing concern. Production on the Yak-9P continued for a couple of years and when the Korean conflict broke out the North Korean air force had 79 of the type available to them. The aircraft was a pure fighter with no rocket or bomb attachments.

This is the aircraft that is the subject of a developer diary. The aircraft model looks to be coming together nicely and we’ve also got video of the aircraft flying around. You can see the work in progress Korean map on display as well.

The aircraft was also the subject matter of the latest Brief Room episode, coming out earlier this week, with a 40-minute discussion on the type. They note that the aircraft itself is fairly close to the F-51D Mustang when it comes to performance and should be able to combat the piston engine aircraft that it comes up against.

Watch the Brief Room episode above and visit the developer diary for more information as well.