7269-1 YAK 50

The Yakovlev Yak-50 (1949) was a Soviet mid-wing prototype fighter from the post-war period. The prototype's flight took place in 1949, but the machine never entered mass production. The drive was provided by a single turbojet engine with a WK-1 centrifugal compressor. The deck armament was to consist of two 23mm NR-23 cannons. The Yakovlev Yak-50 was designed as a new interceptor with a Korshun radar station and the highest possible top speed of 1100 km / h. Trying to achieve these ambitious goals, the Yakovlev design office strived to reduce the weight of the aircraft as much as possible and to refine its aerodynamics as much as possible. Finally, a machine with a high maximum speed was created - in a dive flight exceeding the speed of sound. At the same time, however, the machine was characterized by poor longitudinal stability at a speed of about 1000 km / h, clearly difficult to fire accurately and susceptibility to crosswind when landing. Finally, in 1951, the development of the design was abandoned in favor of the much more successful MiG-17 aircraft.