Air Weapons

Fighter (1949)

Yakovlev

Yak-23 'Flora'

Yak-23 'Flora'
Yak-23 'Flora'

A direct development of the Yak-15/17 series, the Yakovlev Yak-23 'Flora' reverted to the general configuration of these earlier aircraft despite the fact that work had been undertaken on a design (the Yak-19) which featured a more conventional nose intake with an engine mounted behind the cockpit and a jet pipe in the tail. Notwithstanding these aborted plans, the Yak-23 did incoporate the new wings, vertical tail surfaces and stepped fuselage of the Yak-19 thus marking the first true break with the piston-engined Yak-3 which had served as basis for Yakovlev's early jet fighters. Another bonus was the addition of locally produced Rolls-Royce Derwent engines, giving it superior performance to its predecessors. Ultimately, the Yak-23 only equipped two air regiments as it was considered an interim type pending the arrival of the MiG-15 but was still exported to Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Poland, and Romania before being phased out in the mid 1950s.

The first prototype took to the air on 17 June 1947 using imported Derwent engines which were later copied for local production. The only version to enter service was the Yak-23 which was complemented by the Yak-23UTI two seat trainer.

Preceded by:

Yak-15/17 'Feather' (1947)

Succeeded by:

Yak-25 'Flashlight' (1955)

Datafile

DesignYak-23
Code NameFlora
TypeFighter
Year1949
Crew1
Dimensions
Length8.13 m
Height3.300 m
Wing Span8.73 m
Wing Arean/a
Weight
Empty1,980 kg
Maximum3,384 kg
Wing Loading250.7 kg/m²
Performance
Speed925 km/h
Ceiling14,800 m
Range1,200 km
Powerplant
Engine1 x RD-500
Klimov
1,590 kgf
Thrust/Weight0.73
Armament
Guns2 x 23-mm
Payload-
Production
Built310
Total310