YAKOVLEV YAK - 27K - 8 INTERCEPTOR

Description

The Yakovlev Yak-27 (NATO reporting name "Flashlight-C") was a family of Soviet supersonic aircraft developed in 1958 from the Yak-121 prototype. The most built variant was the tactical reconnaissance Yak-27R (NATO reporting name "Mangrove"). The Yak-27R entered service with the Soviet Air Force in 1960 and was intended to replace the subsonic Ilyushin Il-28 reconnaissance aircraft. However, despite the greater speed and ceiling, it had less range. The YAK-27R also had some operational limitations and was flown at supersonic speed only by the most experienced pilots. The low position of the engines made them prone to foreign object ingestion from unimproved forward-base runways. With the increasing coverage of anti-aircraft missiles over Europe, the high-altitude Yak-27R was often more limited than the Il-28. The Yak-27R was withdrawn from operational service in the early 1970s, and was replaced by the Yak-28R and the MiG-25R. (Scale : 1/72e)