Commanders! 🚩From August 17th to August 20th, 2026 (ends at 10:00 GMT), a temporary offer will be available in-game – aviation fans can purchase the unique premium fighter Yak-1 Litvyak!

Yak-1 Litvyak (Rank III)

Receive a unique themed avatar, decal and a rare title as a gift when getting the aircraft! This is the only way to get them.

Historical Note

The Yak-1 was the first mass-produced fighter aircraft designed by the Yakovlev Design Bureau and was manufactured from 1940 to 1944. This was the aircraft piloted by Lydia Litvyak, the most successful female pilot of World War II.

Litvyak had been training at a flying club since she was 14, and by the age of 15 she had already made her first solo flight. In June 1941, Litvyak was not accepted into the army, but she did not give up and succeeded in October by crediting herself with 100 hours of piloting experience. In 1942, Lydia shot down a Ju 88 bomber as part of a group and then scored her first solo aerial victory. The most successful engagements for her were those during the Battle of Stalingrad, where she earned the nickname “Lily” during these battles, and an image of a white lily appeared on the side of her Yak-1. Throughout her service, Litvyak joined several aviation regiments, including the famous “Ace Regiment”, whose mission was the free “hunting” of enemy aircraft. According to various sources, the “White Lily” was known to have shot down up to 12 enemy aircraft.

In August 1943, Lydia Litvyak’s fighter was shot down, and the brave pilot was killed at the age of 21.

Brief Overview

• Strengths: High speed, excellent maneuverability, and very responsive control at low and medium altitudes.
• Weaknesses: Not the most powerful armament – a 20-mm cannon and machine guns.
• Role in combat: One of the best fighters at its rank for active dogfights – fast and highly maneuverable.

In battle

Lydia Litvyak’s Yak-1 is a late-production model equipped with a more powerful engine. In combat, the Yak-1 relies on its two main advantages – high speed and superb maneuverability – which allow it to engage even several aircraft at once.

Close-range dogfights are preferable for the Yak-1 because the aircraft has insufficient armament – though not the best at its rank – consisting of a single 20 mm ShVAK cannon and a pair of rifle-caliber machine guns. The closer the Yak is to the enemy, the more accurate its bursts will be, and the more certain its victory!

One of the aircraft’s weaknesses is a drop in engine power at high altitudes; therefore, the Yak-1 is most effective at low and medium altitudes, where it has almost no equal.

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