10. The Luftwaffe’s Equal
In contrast to what came before, Soviet pilots considered the Yak-9 to be the equal of the German Bf 109 and FW-190 fighters. Especially at lower altitudes where the light Yak-9, although inferior to the Germans in armaments, proved their superior in speed and maneuverability and rate of climb. That made the Yak-9 excellent in low-level dog fights. It was also remarkably durable, able to absorb significant damage and punishment and still make it back home. The light fighter’s markedly improved performance over its predecessors did wonders to restore Soviet pilots’ morale.
Their confidence had been severely shaken by the catastrophic losses they had suffered in the first year of the war. Such losses were caused by poor training and tactics, but more importantly, by inferior airplanes that were no match for the modern fighters flown by the Luftwaffe. The restoration of its fighter pilots’ confidence in their equipment finally allowed the Red Air Force to begin clawing its way back up and gradually stabilize the situation on the Eastern Front. The Soviet air arm slowly replaced the marked aerial inferiority exhibited against the Germans with aerial parity, then aerial superiority, and by war’s end, aerial supremacy.
