The Yakovlev Yak-15 'Feather' was the first Soviet jet fighter to enter squadron service and was one of the few such aircraft which was actually derived from a piston engined design, in this case the famous wartime vintage Yak-3. Designed by Yevgenii Adler and leon Shekter, the Yak-15 retained the Yak-3's wing, rear fuselage, tail surfaces, and tailwheel undercarriage with the main difference being a bulging forward fuselage which housed a locally built Junkers Jumo engine. It first appeared during a 1946 Tushino Aviation Day flyby and was ordered into production the following year but only as an interim type pending the introduction of the more advanced Yak-17 with substantial structural changes included a tricycle undercarriage more adequate for such an aircraft. Ultimately, the Yak-15/17 was not built in large number due to preference of the superior MiG-9 and it was only used by the USSR although trainer versions were operated by China, and Poland.

The first of three prototypes completed its first flight on 24 April 1946, the same day as the MiG-9. It was ordered into production as the Yak-15 but was soon replaced by the Yak-17 (which had originally been designed as the Yak-15U) with tricycle undercarriage and fuel tanks under the wingtips due to the reduced space. Other versions included tandem two seat trainers known as the Yak-21 (based on the Yak-15) and the Yak-17UTI 'Magnet' which was exported in some numbers to China and Poland.