Yakovlev Yak-19

The Yakovlev Yak-19 was a prototype Soviet fighter aircraft built in 1947. It was the second Yakovlev jet fighter after the Yak-15, and the first OKB aircraft designed from the onset to have an all-metal stressed skin, and a hydraulic system. The Yak-19 was the second Soviet aircraft to use an afterburning turbojet, the Klimov RD-10F, and the last Yakovlev Aircraft to use a version of the German Jumo 004-derived RD-10 jet engine. Only two examples were built. USAF/DoD reporting name - "Type 7".

Design and development
In the spring of 1946 OKB-115 set about designing the Yak-19. The aircraft was to have mid set, all-metal, straight wings and levered-suspension tricycle undercarriage, which would become the datum for future Fighter development in the USSR.

The design of the Yak-19 was a radical departure from the "step" layout of the earlier Yak-15 and Yak-17.

All tail surfaces were of metal construction, though only the elevators had tabs.

The tricycle landing gear were pneumatically operated, and had three nitrogen/oleo struts. The nosewheel was castoring, and retracted forward behind the engine ducts, faired by two doors. Fuel capacity was 815 liters (179.3 gallons) in two fuselage tanks, plus an additional 11 liters stored in the starter engine to assist ignition of the afterburner, which was fueled by a separate electrically driven pump.

The cockpit had a bullet-proof windscreen. A RSIU-6 radio was standard. Armament consisted of two Nudelman-Suranov NS-23 cannons, with 70-75 rounds each.

Testing
Two prototypes were built. Each remained unpainted. They were found to be only slightly heavier than the earlier Yak-15 and Yak-17. The first prototype, (Yak-19-I), had callsign "Yellow 24", and a number "5" on the lower rudder. It first flew on the 8 January 1947 with test pilot M I Ivanov at the controls. In flight the aircraft was found to have pleasant and predictable characteristics. Its worst aspect was the afterburner, which slightly lowered the aircraft's dry thrust. Worse yet, it was ignited by a complicated and totally unreliable procedure which would have been useless in combat. This prototype was later modified with a square-tipped rudder.

The second prototype (Yak-19-II), had callsign "Yellow 25", and the number "2" on the lower rudder. It was seen at the 3 August 1947 Tushino flypast. Differing in minor details, the Yak-19-II had a 4 degree dihedral on the horizontal stabiliser and underslung tip tanks, as on the Yak-17.

S N Anokhin was the test pilot during the NII-VVS testing, which was completed on 21 August 1947. He agreed that the aircraft possessed good handling qualities, but felt that the engine was outdated, weak and unreliable.

After failing State acceptance tests (for reasons including high stick forces, no heating or ventilation, and inadequate armour) further development was abandoned. The death knell of the Yak-19 was also sounded by the arrival of the Rolls-Royce Derwent-derived, Klimov RD-500, which gave quantum leaps forward in thrust, reliability, longevity, and ease of maintenance.

No ASCC reporting name was ever allotted, as the aircraft remained unknown to the west until the late 1970s.

Variants

 * Yak-19-I
 * First prototype.


 * Yak-19-II
 * Second prototype with some improvements.