Yak-1 is the first of a series of very successful Yakovlev fighters. The Yak-1b Introduced at the end of the battle of Stalingrad, version, with a droplet canopy, successfully faced the Messerschmitt Bf-109F aircraft. The plane was in the service until the end of the war, effectively providing escort for the Ił-2 attack aircraft. Yak-1b were flown also by the French pilots from the GC3 “Normandie” and Poles from the 1st Fighter Aviation Regiment “Warsaw”