Fotii Morozov

[knusel]

Good morning Gentlemen,

Fotii Morozov is considered the Soviet fighter pilot who flew the most missions (857).
When did he or his unit transition from the Yak-1 to the Yak-7 ?

Cheers,

Michael

[knusel]

...this is his profile:
http://soviet-aces-1936-53.ru/abc/m/morozov_fy.htm

[HGabor]

When checking Soviet AC assignments to certain groups you should forget about specific dates since they used multiple aircraft types side-by-side for a long time. Morozov's 31 GvIAP, for instance, lost Yak-1B even in May, 1945, when officially they used the Yak-9 as their main model. Morozov also lost a Yak-1B in September, 1944 when Yak-7s were also in his regiment, etc.
Gabor

[kirche]

https://warspot.ru/3312-31-y-gvardey...atsionnyy-polk

[knusel]

Good morning kirche and HGabor,

would you assume that Morozov never scored in the Yak-7 ?

I wish you a very happy Easter, sincerely,

Michael

[HGabor]

I do not know. If you want to know his Yak-7 scores, you should check his logbook. He lost a Yak-1B (c/n: 20179) in September, 1944, so perhaps he never flew any Yak-7s. Again: forget the oversimplified system of 'one AC type at a time'. It never looked like that. They always used all planes they could, often different models together. Even small, mixed flights were deployed together, like: 6 plane fighter escort of 4 Yak-1Bs and 2 Yak-9Ms, or 1 Yak-1B with a Yak-9 wingman on a recce. sortie, etc. Soviet pilots usually flew their 'assigned' planes, but in case of mechanical problems, combat damages (and it happened a lot, I mean: A LOT!!!) They flew whatever was available at the moment. Overall the old Yak-1B was far more popular still in 1945 than what people usually think. Surely by January 1, 1945 the VVS was full of modern Yak-3s and Yak-9s, but for instance the 17 VA still had 116 Yak-1Bs in service. (107 operational, 9 under repair) Most 17 VA Yak-1Bs (from their 236 IAD) were handed over to the new Yugoslav Air Force in late April, 1945 as its main fighter model. (The Soviet mechanical reports list them by c/n numbers.)

And yes: happy Easter to Everyone. Christ is Risen!
Gabor

[HGabor]

Found it:

On April 27, 1945 the 17 VA gave the new Yugoslav Air Force:

77 Il-2m3
3 Yak-3
9 Po-2
4 Yak-9M
84 Yak-1B
4 UIl-2 (trainer ver.)
10 Yak-9T
2 Yak-7 (trainer ver.)
2 UT-2
1 UT-1
3 Yak-9 (trainer ver.)

(Source: TsAMO RF: fu.35, inv.11258, f.335, p.138 (B side)

Gabor

[knusel]

Hello Gabor,

the Yak-9 was the second-most-produced Allied fighter plane ever. I wonder why there seems to be no higher scorer than Ivan Stepanenko (21,25 Yak-9 kills) while there are 11 pilots with 25 or more kills in the P-39 and even more with 25 or more kills in the La-5.

Cheers,

Michael

[HGabor]

I don't know, it could have multiple reasons. First, the La-5, P-39 and Yak-1 had longer combat service than the Yak-9. Many aces scored their first few claims on the Yak-1, Yak-7, or later on the Yak-3 and only a few on the Yak-9.

Also, a large part of the Yak-9 production was built AFTER the war, eg. the Yak-9P, which was the last standard pre-jet era fighter of the Eastern-Block countries. (A few still fought in North-Korea, but that's it.)

Another large part of the Yak-9 production was the Yak-9T (with 37mm tank-hunter cannon) which was mainly used against enemy tanks and ground targets just like the Il-2 Sturmovik. I can imagine that these pilots got involved in dogfights less frequently than the other Yak-9 models at higher altitudes. When they started their operations, the Axis fighters usually flew at higher, safer altitudes to avoid the deadly Soviet AAA fire.

This can explain the relative small numbers.
Gabor

[kirche]

Hello Michael,
Since 1941, there was a practice when fighter regiments could use both Yak-1 and Yak-7 (later Yak-1 and Yak-9). This was especially often the case when, upon the departure of one regiment for reformation and re-equipment, all remaining aircraft were given to another regiment of the same division. And this was normal, since they were almost identical aircraft in terms of flight data and maintenance. The pilot could fly one type of aircraft in the morning and another in the evening if the first one was damaged or not ready for departure for some other reason. Also, in many regiments, the Yak-7 is listed as being in service with the second type, even if there were only 1-2 aircraft in the regiment for special tasks (training or reconnaissance). To know which machines an individual pilot flew, you need to look at the operational logs of the regiment's combat operations, operational reports for each day or the flight book of this pilot.
Best regards,
Kirill