At first, the Yak-28 aroused the mistrust of the flight crew. Difficulties were caused by the adjustable stabilizer (there was always a danger of forgetting to rearrange it), and frequent engine failures. The problem of sucking in foreign objects from the ground, which originated on the Yak-25, was not completely solved, and presented unpleasant surprises. To parry a turn in case of engine failure, the AK-2A automatic heading machine served on the Yak-28, but this unit, designed to prevent disasters, sometimes provoked so-called "false failures" by itself, unexpectedly deflecting the rudder. It was very difficult to overpower the foot control in this situation, and if the "false failure" happened on takeoff, there was very little chance of a successful outcome. In piloting, the strictness of maintaining the glide path and a certain difficulty in mastering landing on the rear support or two points were annoying, because the parking angle of the aircraft was quite large, and when landing on the front support, "goats" appeared. It was also not possible to finally overcome the windfall and reverse of the ailerons, so the maximum flight speed at low altitudes was limited to 900 km / h.
Still, the Yak-28 was relatively easy to fly, and as it was mastered, distrust in it disappeared. The geography of the aircraft is so extensive that it is easier to try to find a region of the USSR where these machines were not available than to list the regiments armed by them. A clear illustration is the list of military districts over which the 28th flew: Moscow, Leningrad, Baltic, Belorussian, Odessa, Carpathian, North Caucasian, Transcaucasian, Central Asian, Turkestan, Far Eastern, Transbaikal, etc. border - as part of Soviet aviation groupings in Hungary, Poland and the GDR. The bomber regiments, which were switching to new equipment from the Il-28, carried out their previous tasks, which also included the delivery of tactical nuclear weapons to targets. The jammers covered the actions of the front-line aviation, and the reconnaissance regiments in case of war were to act in the interests of the front commanders. These units worked most intensively: their main task was to detect ballistic and anti-aircraft missiles, operational reserves, command posts, communication centers and logistical communications, and in peacetime, intelligence officers constantly conducted radio-technical reconnaissance along the borders of the USSR and the Warsaw Pact countries. In the course of training, the crews mastered bombing at subsonic and supersonic speeds. True, in the latter case, the accuracy did not allow hitting small-sized or moving targets. The suspension of large-caliber bombs (500 kg or more) was difficult due to the low location of the bomb bay. When hanging bombs with caliber 1500 or 3000 kg, the car had to be installed on tragus or placed above the pit, the crew had to take their places and close the lanterns - otherwise elastic deformations of the fuselage took place, and it was impossible to close the lantern after the bombs were suspended. Usually the suspension procedure took up to 1.5 hours.
The Yak-28 had a significant combat load at that time, considerable thrust-to-weight ratio, good maneuverability at maximum and afterburner. Many who served in the BAP recall that the takeoff of the Yak-28 in the afterburner mode of candles into the sky could not leave anyone indifferent. Even the more modern Su-24s did not have such a thrust-to-weight ratio.
Ultimately, excellent flight qualities and good electronic equipment made it possible to begin practicing group actions in the composition of up to a division, inclusive, at any time of the day and in any weather conditions. Combat training was carried out extremely intensively, and the Yak-28 crews achieved high results in bombing accuracy from an altitude of 12,000 m, which remained the main method of combat use of these bombers. The only disadvantage was the short range of supersonic flight. The scouts eventually revealed superiority over the MiG-21R in terms of versatility, and even surpassed the later Su-24MPs, equipped with "raw" reconnaissance equipment, in reliability. Even the transition to operations mainly from low altitudes did not lead, as one might expect, to the loss of the Yak-28's combat effectiveness: despite the low suitability for such work of sighting and navigation and reconnaissance equipment, the crews of bombers and reconnaissance aircraft, having developed appropriate techniques, felt quite confidently themselves in flights near the ground and coped with the assigned tasks.
The Yak-28 bombers did not have a chance to participate in the military operations of the combined arms war for which they were trained, they were involved only in ensuring the entry of the Warsaw Pact troops into Czechoslovakia, but this was nothing more than a show of force. … For a long time, these machines did not even have the opportunity to bombard real targets, until November 9, 1975 in the Baltic Sea there was an episode with the ship "Sentinel". 10 Yak-28s flew to intercept the rebel ship leaving Soviet territorial waters. Only one crew managed to find a target in bad weather conditions, its bombs fell in the immediate vicinity of the stern of the patrol boat. The extent of the damage is not known exactly, but, according to some reports, the steering wheel and propellers had to be seriously repaired in the dock later. None of the ship's crew members were injured during the bombing.
Based at the Nikolaevka airfield near Alma-Ata, the 149th Guards. bap retrained on the Yak-28I in 1976. By 1979, the regiment also included a squadron of jammers Yak-28PP. In 1980, two squadrons (18 aircraft) of this regiment were relocated to Khanabad, Uzbekistan, 200 km from the Afghan border. They inflicted the first blow on the Afghan mujahideen on the night of January 6-7, 1980, two flights in a row with a full complement. Each Yak-28I carried two RBK-500 cassettes with small bombs. They took aim individually, using the Initiative-2 system, dropping cassettes from an altitude of 60 30 - 6500 m. The first combat sortie in the afternoon took place on January 8, this time the crews clearly saw the target below - a cluster of camels and riders. Combat operations were carried out until early March. In addition to cassettes with small bombs, SAB-250 lighting bombs were also used - they illuminated the terrain at night, helping the troops on the ground. The aircraft received several bullet holes in the wings and fuselage, but there was no significant damage. One bomber crashed on 4 February 1980 in Karshi while landing in fog.
Widespread, well mastered by the flight and ground personnel, this aircraft still could not take the same place in Soviet front-line aviation as the Il-28 occupied before it. But this is not the fault of the creators of the machine: if the Il-28, as they say, matured to its era, then Yakovlev's bomber began to become obsolete, barely appearing in parts. Created for a supersonic breakthrough of enemy air defense at high altitudes, in the new conditions of the rapid development of missile weapons, the Yak-28 was doomed to the role of a deterrent. In addition, it should be remembered that the task of the Air Force, on the basis of which the aircraft of the Yak-26, Yak-27 and Yak-28 families were designed, was formulated "from the desired" and at this level of development of technology, first of all, engine building, it was practically impracticable. This is, in fact, the reasons for A. N. Tupolev and SV. Ilyushin. A. S. Yakovlev was able to best approach the solution of the problem precisely because he deliberately ignored a number of points in the assignment. But even his cars did not fully meet the wishes of the Air Force command. Now about the real combat value of the aircraft of this family. The concept of a relatively small supersonic bomber fully fit into the ideas of those years about a future war. He broke through the air defense system at high speed and altitude, threw an atomic bomb from supersonic … For such an ammunition, it is a trifle to miss by half a kilometer. The only problem was range. Recall that the Air Force command dreamed that a front-line bomber would be able to fly at least 1000 - 1500 km in supersonic mode. As a "classic" front-line bomber, striking small and moving targets near the front line and in the near rear of the enemy, the Yak-28 proved to be ineffective in all variants. This was shown by the experience of its use in Afghanistan, where these machines were mainly used for area bombing. The value of the Yak-27R and Yak-28R scouts was, of course, higher, but was limited by the imperfection of the available equipment. Yakovlev, of course, was not to blame here. Abroad, the French multipurpose aircraft SO.4050 "Vautour" II (Vautour II), developed by SNSACO, can be considered the closest to the "yaks" family in appearance, purpose and flight characteristics.
The French Air Force ordered three modifications of the vehicles: an all-weather interceptor (IIN), an attack aircraft (MA) and a bomber (IW). The firm guaranteed that the variants would have a 90% common design, differing mainly in equipment and weapons. First, a prototype of a two-seat interceptor was built, which did not yet have any weapons or radar. The aircraft, equipped with Atar 101B engines with a thrust of 2400 kg, took off for the first time on October 16, 1952. Then the aircraft was re-equipped with more powerful Atar 101С1 engines with a thrust of 2800 kg. On June 30, 1953, for the first time in Western Europe, it was possible to exceed the speed of sound in a gentle dive. According to its data, "Votur" II at that time was very close to the domestic interceptor Yak-25. The American tactical bomber B-66 Destroyer, created by the Douglas firm on the basis of the A-3 Skywarrior carrier-based attack aircraft, was to a lesser extent similar to the "yaks". It was much larger and heavier, but in general terms it corresponded to the Yak-28. The first flight of the B-66 took place on June 28, 1956. Two J71-A-13 engines with a thrust of 4625 kg each were capable of providing the Destroyer with only subsonic speed, but in terms of practical range it was noticeably superior to the Yak.
With one nuclear bomb in the bomb bay, the combat radius of the B-66 reached almost 2000 km. However, in the opinion of the Americans themselves, the use of such a heavy and complex machine as a tactical bomber in a military conflict using only conventional weapons was hardly rational, so many of the released "destroyers" were converted into electronic warfare aircraft. In this role, it was widely used during the war in Southeast Asia. A total of 294 B-66 bombers were produced. Some of them were subsequently converted into photo reconnaissance or meteorological reconnaissance. In this role, some cars survived until the mid-1980s. In addition, the English Blackburn Buccaneer can be considered an analogue of the Yak-28. This British two-seat attack aircraft made its first flight on April 30, 1958. Serial Buccaneer S. Mk. 2 began entering service with the Royal Navy in March 1965. Created in the same years as the Yak-28 and having RB.168 engines of almost equal thrust (5160 kg), the Englishman developed only a subsonic speed of 1098 km / h.
The flight range of the Buccaneer S. Mk. 2 exceeded that of the Yak-28, which was ensured by the use of a military version of the engines from a passenger airliner. Despite the fact that Buccaneer was called an attack aircraft, according to the assignment, its main purpose was the delivery of tactical nuclear weapons, i.e.the main task was practically the same as that of the Yak-26/28. Buccaneer S. Mk. 2 was in service with the Royal Air Force and the British Navy until 1993.
Comparing the characteristics of front-line strike aircraft in the USSR and in the West, one can see that they were intended for different wars. The Soviet machine was prepared for work on the European continent, in the face of active opposition from the air defenses of the leading powers, in this scenario, a supersonic breakthrough and high power-to-weight ratio could guarantee the fulfillment of the task. American and British vehicles were intended primarily for operation from aircraft carriers, hence from positions farther from the battlefield and target. Hence the long flight range. At this time, the doctrine of local wars, and the expansion of the zones of political interest of the United States, which Britain also supported, had already triumphed. The main targets for carrier-based aviation were states that were far from being the leading ones and did not have powerful air defense. In conditions of military superiority over the enemy, including in the air, the requirements for a breakthrough in air defense and high survival rates when breaking through zones of combat contact were not set in front of Western vehicles. Thus, the different characteristics of the machines were determined by the respective foreign policies of states and the current geopolitical situation. For actions in the same conditions for which the Yak-28 was created, a highly specialized North American A-5 Vigilante reconnaissance attack aircraft was developed in the United States.
This aircraft, which made its first flight in 1960, surpassing the Yak-28 in flight characteristics, was inferior in versatility and flexibility of use. The A-5 was designed exclusively for the delivery of a nuclear bomb, a feature of the aircraft was a large tunnel located between the engines in the middle line. The tunnel contains two large fuel tanks and a nuclear bomb, all connected together and dropped over the target as one block (the tanks are already empty at this time, they stabilized the fall of the bomb), which is pushed back by gas pressure. The cost of one A-5 Vigilante was equal to the cost of several Yak-28 units, which is not surprising, since titanium alloys were widely used in the aircraft design, with gold plating in the hot zone.
In addition, the operation of the aircraft was also expensive, which, coupled with the impossibility of effective use with conventional (non-nuclear) weapons, predetermined the rapid removal of the A-5 Vigilante from service. Thus, the Yak-28 turned out to be the only multifunctional supersonic front-line bomber in the history of world aviation. I think it is worth noting the fact that the Yak-28 was born at a time when the country's top leadership turned away from front-line aviation, and only the persistence of OKB-115 employees and the beginning of deliveries of aircraft to the Warsaw Pact countries made it possible to re-equip the bomber regiments, and in fact - save them from disbandment. It was the Yak-28 that allowed Soviet front-line aviation in a difficult time for it to maintain strike potential and a high level of combat readiness, work out new elements of combat tactics and pave the way for the transition to more modern machines. In the initial period of development, the Yak-28 acquired a reputation as an aircraft with a high accident rate, but in this way it was not alone. Suffice it to recall the Tu-22, F-100, F-104 and B-58 "Hustler", "Comet" and many other aircraft, which have become the embodiment of a qualitative transition of aviation to a higher level. In the future, the Yak-28 became a fairly reliable machine, a real workhorse of bomber aviation regiments. In addition, the Yak-28 also left a special, romantic trail - the song "Great Sky", which became a hymn to all the fallen aviators and dedicated to the crew of pilot Yanov and navigator Kapustin, who at the cost of their lives prevented the crash of the damaged Yak-28R on the German city of Noy Veltsev. In addition, it is difficult not to agree that the Yak-28 became one of the most beautiful aircraft of the jet era.
Concluding the story about the Yak-25, Yak-27 and Yak-28 family of aircraft, one cannot but say about its uniqueness. Such a long development of the once-chosen initial design is an extremely rare phenomenon in aviation, especially considering that front-line strike aircraft were created on the basis of the Yak-25 patrol interceptor. Of course, this approach, in addition to its pluses, had its drawbacks: the deep continuity of the design did not allow getting rid of some of its inherent drawbacks. But, ultimately, it was precisely the continuity that allowed the Air Force to adopt a number of combat aircraft at a time when the views on the place and role of front-line aviation in the armed forces changed by no means in its favor.
