The Yak-3 was the ultimate Yakovlev fighter in World War II (Great Patriotic War). The low-wing monoplane fighter design started back in 1941 with the prototypes that led to the Yak-1. The design was further improved with a 20mm canon firing through the spinner, a pair of 7.62mm guns in the nose, and a pair of 20mm cannons in the wings. This was to be the Yak-3, but the design was abandoned due to the limited availability of aluminum for construction and the advancing German forces toward the existing Soviet defense industries.

By 1943, Yakovlev once again looked at improving the Yak-1 by creating a smaller, lighter airframe built from plywood and incorporating many lessons learned in combat operations. Initially designated as Yak-1M, the aircraft was so impressive in its performance that it replaced the Yak-1 and Yak-7 on the production lines and entered service after the fledgling Yak-9.

The Yak-3 was more agile than anything fielded by the Luftwaffe including the fearsome Fw 190. Armament in this lightweight Yak-3 was limited to a single 20mm cannon and one or two 12.7mm machine guns.

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