Yakovlev Yak-4
1940 attack aircraft model by Yakovlev
The Yakovlev Yak-4 (Service names Yak-4, BB-22bis (Blizhnij Bombardirovschik, russian ближний бомбардировщик, "short-range bomber")) was a Soviet light bomber used during World War II. It was developed from the Ya-22/Yak-2.
Design and development
The Yak-4 was an improved version of the Yak-2 with more powerful Klimov M-105 engines and a number of other changes that were made to try to rectify the problems of the Yak-2. Two additional fuel tanks were added in the outer wings to bring the total capacity up to 180 litres (40 imp gal; 48 US gal) and the gunner's canopy was bulged to give him more room to use his 7.62 mm (0.300 in) ShKAS machine gun. The upper fuselage was redesigned to improve the gunner's field of fire and the oil coolers were relocated from the sides of the engine nacelles to the 'chin' position to improve their performance.
Operators
Soviet Union
VVS
Specifications (Yak-4)
Data from The Osprey Encyclopaedia of Russian Aircraft 1875–1995General characteristics
Crew: 2
Length: 10.18 m (33 ft 5 in)
Wingspan: 14 m (45 ft 11 in)
Wing area: 29.4 m2 (316 sq ft)
Airfoil: Göttingen 387
Empty weight: 4,560 kg (10,053 lb)
Gross weight: 6,115 kg (13,481 lb)
Powerplant: 2 × Klimov M-105 V-12 liquid-cooled piston engines, 821 kW (1,101 hp) each
Propellers: 3-bladed constant-speed propellers
Performance
Maximum speed: 533 km/h (331 mph, 288 kn)
Range: 925 km (575 mi, 499 nmi)
Service ceiling: 9,700 m (31,800 ft)
Armament
2 × 7.62 mm ShKAS machine guns
up to 600 kg (1,300 lb) of bombs
References
Further reading
Gordon, Yefim (2008). Soviet air power in World War 2. Hinkley: Midland. ISBN 978-1-85780-304-4.
“Yakovlev Yak-4” enters the record as 1940 attack aircraft model by Yakovlev. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Yakovlev, Yak-4 and attack can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Yakovlev Yak-4” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Yakovlev, Yak-4 and attack provides the most credible route into that argument.
The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Feb 2, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q1544981. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1875 and 2008.
Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Yakovlev Yak-4”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Yakovlev Yak-4 primary sources, Yakovlev Yak-4 archive and Yakovlev research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Yakovlev Yak-4”?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Yakovlev Yak-4” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.