The Yakovlev Yak-9 was a single-seat, single-engine fighter aircraft used by the Soviet Air Force during World War II and beyond. Yakovlev Yak-9: The Backbone of the Soviet Air Force. Soviet aces such as Alexandr Pokryshkin (59 victories, though he primarily flew the P-39 Airacobra) and Ivan Kozhedub (62 victories – the top Allied ace of the war) flew Yak fighters, though Kozhedub achieved most of his victories in the earlier La-5FN and La-7.
