Yak-38: The Soviet's Failed Attempt at a Harrier

Unveil the Soviet Union's ill-fated answer to the legendary Harrier in this gripping aviation tale! From its troubled development to catastrophic operational history, discover why the Yak-38 VTOL jet became an infamous relic of failed technology.
Got a beard? Good. I've got something for you: beardblaze.com
Simon's Social Media:
Twitter: / simonwhistler
Instagram: / simonwhistler
Love content? Check out Simon's other KZread Channels:
Biographics: / @biographics
Geographics: / @geographicstravel
Warographics: / @warographics643
SideProjects: / @sideprojects
Into The Shadows: / intotheshadows
TopTenz: / toptenznet
Today I Found Out: / todayifoundout
Highlight History: / @highlighthistory
Business Blaze: / @brainblaze6526
Casual Criminalist: / thecasualcriminalist
Decoding the Unknown: / @decodingtheunknown2373

Пікірлер: 763

  • @ManiaMac1613
    @ManiaMac16139 ай бұрын

    I heard a fun anecdote about how during one deployment, the U.S. was watching a Soviet carrier conducting flight operations, and reported that an air wing of at least 20 Yak-38s were conducting routine flights. In reality, there were only 6 Yak-38s; the crew would paint new numbers on the fuselage after every flight to make it look like they had more aircraft than they actually did.

  • @williamdodds1394

    @williamdodds1394

    9 ай бұрын

    Not as bad as the soviet naval helecopter that looks like my grandmas bed on wheels.

  • @ledzepandhabs

    @ledzepandhabs

    9 ай бұрын

    You believe that don't you.

  • @worldoftancraft

    @worldoftancraft

    9 ай бұрын

    Âk - ob palubu huâk

  • @AtheistOrphan

    @AtheistOrphan

    9 ай бұрын

    @@williamdodds1394- The Karmov Hormone/Helix? They are rather odd-looking! My favourite Soviet helo is the weird Yakovlev Yak-24 ‘Horse’.

  • @legbert123

    @legbert123

    9 ай бұрын

    I mean it was objectively a shit aircraft and the soviets did tactics like this throughout the cold war until they ceased being a nation. Why would you give them the benefit of the doubt? How many yak-38 are being used now compared to harriers? @@ledzepandhabs

  • @binaway
    @binaway9 ай бұрын

    I've heard a story about the Indian Navy having a look at the YAK-38. After the Soviets told them to buy the Sea Harrier they did. In the Afghan mountains the air was to thin for it to VTOL with a useful weapons load and it only carried two 50lb bombs and had only enough fuel for a very close target. In hot climates, where the air is thinner, it was unable to take off. This meant it couldn't be used in the tropics and during many summer days in the Mediterranean.

  • @tommytomas-fr3sh

    @tommytomas-fr3sh

    9 ай бұрын

    do you think Harrier performs better in Afghanistan? yeah right! They cannot even take off with half of their fuel, and they have to carry their wing tanks empty and light bombs to be able to take off then go straight to air tanker to top off to the brim and then go on patrol. they cannot even land vertically after the mission, they have to do a rolling landing with a 45-degree nozzle at full power all the way to the runway which is very difficult for the pilot to judge the rate of descent. you can see one of these exact accidents on KZread. most of the time Harrier spends their time in their hangar which a number gets destroyed when the Taliban infiltrate and attack the airbase.

  • @emjackson2289

    @emjackson2289

    9 ай бұрын

    Yes, badly used, but the issue about the Med, not so much a problem because of the marginal ability of the Kiev's battlegroup to transit back to the Crimean ports. Yes, the Kiev was never a "carrier" legally for such reasons as the Treaty of Montreux, but it might never have taken much to close the Straits. Out over the cold Atlantic however . . . . - yes, certainly not an F14A even, but better than nothing.

  • @dreddfan01
    @dreddfan019 ай бұрын

    'Cold War willy waving' what a great way to describe many military projects of the late 20th century 😁😁 Well done to the script writers 👍🏆

  • @Blazeoptimus
    @Blazeoptimus9 ай бұрын

    Thank you Simon. Always knew the yak-38 wasn’t as good as the harrier, but I didn’t realize it was that bad.

  • @worldoftancraft

    @worldoftancraft

    9 ай бұрын

    Barely utile jet versus even less useful. Fight!

  • @legbert123

    @legbert123

    9 ай бұрын

    I mean if you are going to troll at least try to learn to speak english.@@worldoftancraft

  • @legbert123

    @legbert123

    9 ай бұрын

    I mean how did you get on the Kremlins payroll with English like that?@@worldoftancraft

  • @legbert123

    @legbert123

    9 ай бұрын

    Are all French people contrarian?@@worldoftancraft

  • @worldoftancraft

    @worldoftancraft

    9 ай бұрын

    @@legbert123 two years and a few months ago, I was blamed in being a philosopher, and in having "a fake poor English". Now I can read that it's actually poor. Can you and that guv just met, have a strong drink a finally settle the things? Or, perhaps, I simply advanced that far so it's more legit poor English? By the way, you ever heard your countrymen, the way they speak? Do you say all are a copy of each other? Are they then a result of one big sovêt factory of clones, and the program of sleeping agents? And you didn't notice this before? A job of any citizen of a free country is to have a keen sight, and to make the calls 📞, remember? Isn't it labeled as "freedom"?

  • @thedungeondelver
    @thedungeondelver9 ай бұрын

    Not sinking the Soviet Navy was one of the cruelest things NATO ever did to the USSR or Russia.

  • @Rekuzan

    @Rekuzan

    9 ай бұрын

    No problem, the Ukraine has that covered! Apparently not showing up at all is the cruelest thing they ever did...

  • @worldoftancraft

    @worldoftancraft

    9 ай бұрын

    ​@@Rekuzangladly they started with murdering the fleet that was on R&R in a port of Belarusian sea

  • @Nossieuk

    @Nossieuk

    9 ай бұрын

    @@worldoftancraft might as well - sounds like great target practice.

  • @JohnSmith-dp2jd

    @JohnSmith-dp2jd

    9 ай бұрын

    @@worldoftancraft ...Belarus is landlocked. Where the fuck is the Belarusian sea?

  • @worldoftancraft

    @worldoftancraft

    9 ай бұрын

    @@JohnSmith-dp2jd I dunno. Noone except Jane Psaki actually. Ask her about it. How she imagined that 6th fleet would be relocated there in case of Republic Belarus invading Republic Ukraine in 2014 Who had been busy with your upbringing that you ask such questions that rude? Or that's the highest performance of the famous English gentlemen?

  • @razorfett147
    @razorfett1479 ай бұрын

    As a test bed for prototyping a new VTOL aircraft design it was a solid stepping stone. Where it was a failure is as an operating service plane. The 38s had no business being put into production, let alone put on active duty. Unfortunately the Soviets had to make the most of what they had, leading to a design being pushed to the frontlines when it still needed significantly more time in the oven.

  • @Ob1sdarkside
    @Ob1sdarkside9 ай бұрын

    The harrier is an absolute beast! Not surprised nations failed to beat it

  • @WasabiSniffer
    @WasabiSniffer9 ай бұрын

    whenever i learn about soviet equipment and capabilities i think of that quote from Archer, "HOW are you a superpower!?"

  • @razorfett147

    @razorfett147

    9 ай бұрын

    With regards to the Soviets, the answer was: "we have lots of nukes pointed at ppl who dont like us....and, that's about it"

  • @WopJr

    @WopJr

    9 ай бұрын

    W archer reference

  • @6Shroomie9

    @6Shroomie9

    9 ай бұрын

    @@razorfett147 Given the state of most of Russia's military I wonder what % are actually functional

  • @dna9838

    @dna9838

    3 ай бұрын

    Lots of lives to spend. Leadership with little care for life, and no accountability to its people. .. same as now.

  • @dahliacheung6020

    @dahliacheung6020

    Ай бұрын

    I as well. A lot of it I feel was a display of power that wasn't actually there. Not saying they weren't powerful, just that they way over exaggerated and people bought it because they were a big entity and they did have nukes.

  • @CaptainColdyron222
    @CaptainColdyron2229 ай бұрын

    In the Hunt For Red October novel a Yak-38 from the Kiev tries to sneak up on an American AWACS plane. The pilot quickly realizes he’s been followed almost the whole time by two F-15’s and after being warned by the AWACS to back off, the pilot flips the American pilots off and returns to the Kiev. The radio operator on the AWACS suggests that next time the Soviets try this they should offer the pilot political asylum because the navy might want to get their hands on a YAK-38. His superior asks “What for? The Forger is a piece of junk!”

  • @Euie6590

    @Euie6590

    9 ай бұрын

    Don’t remember that happening in the film?

  • @dgoodwin619

    @dgoodwin619

    9 ай бұрын

    ​@@Euie6590the source material... the book. IMO, Hunt is the best Tom Clancy Movie - and it doesn't compare to the book.

  • @brothergrimaldus3836

    @brothergrimaldus3836

    9 ай бұрын

    F-14's

  • @glitterboy2098

    @glitterboy2098

    9 ай бұрын

    @@brothergrimaldus3836no, the AWACS encounter was F-15's, the russian pilot gets a bit frustrated while thinking about how the american fighters were equipped with conformal fuel tanks giving them the range to nearly cross the atlantic on their own, and could go supersonic climbing straight up even while the Yak couldn't even do it in a dive. later a flight of yak-38's he is given a high speed flyby by a pair of F-14's, and as they're closing in behind him he panics and fires off a missile as they pass, which hits the lead F-14 and takes out an engine. (the pilot of course, is Jack Ryan's friend Robbie Jackson) the movie version dropped all of that stuff along with the other "harrass the russian navy" stuff, though dialog was used to suggest that a lot of it was going on offscreen during the film.

  • @padawanmage71

    @padawanmage71

    9 ай бұрын

    Lol I also remember one of the pilots of the F-15 is a woman, and the Yak pilot’s pride is burned so badly he tells the AWACS what they could do with their women. The AWACS calls the pilot ‘nekulturny’ (I think), which is more or less ‘uncultured’.

  • @Turf-yj9ei
    @Turf-yj9ei9 ай бұрын

    You could argue that the Yak 38's best contribution would showing how not to make a VTOL fighter and that's gotta count for something. 😂

  • @jrt818

    @jrt818

    8 ай бұрын

    The F-35 uses the Yak 38's VTOL system's method instead of the Harrier's is my understanding.

  • @cmdrwilmot2696

    @cmdrwilmot2696

    21 күн бұрын

    @@jrt818 The YAK-41/YAK-141 was the YAK 38's successor, and used a traditional jet nozzle that could rotate 90 degrees. It bears more similarities to the F-35B. Supposedly, Lockheed funded Yakovlev when the USSR was going broke in 1991 & 1992. However, I have read claims that the F-35B concept was already developed and that the funding was more a consultancy thing. So the F-35B wasn't copied/licensed from Yakovlev; but instead Lockheed funded their research to get their help solving technical issues with the F-35 implementation of the concept. Paying to get Yakovlev data was cheaper than Lockheed relearning those lessons on their own, and the USSR & Yak wasn't in a position to refuse given their state. The F-35B uses a traditional jet nozzle that swivels 90 degrees to face straight down; then the front lift to balance the aircraft is provided by a ducted fan powered by a drive shaft from jet turbine. Using a separate front lift source is superficially similar to the YAK-38/41's method. However, the YAK-38/41 have lift engines, small jet turbines that provide lift for the front end of the plane. These lift engines are dead weight when the plane is in forward flight. Of course, that also applies to F-35B's ducted fan as well. However, the ducted fan is less deadweight than implementing one or more lift engines into a design. IIRC, the Harrier's front two nozzles use cold air from the intake before it enters the combustion chamber. So the F-35B is it's own system, that is kind of a hybrid between the two methods. It is closer to the Yak method though. It has uses cold air to provide lift for the front, but has a lift fan with doors that open on top and bottom to allow air flow. The YAk-38's engine nozzles are on the end of the plane around where the jet nozzles on a traditional fighter would be. But they are not anything like a traditional jet nozzle; instead they look more like the harrier nozzles, but more circular and with the pipes that extend from the round base cut off. The Yak-41/141 has a traditional jet nozzle that can swivel to face straight down like the F-35B, and then has one or more lift engines for the front end of the plane.

  • @Chris-Phantomview
    @Chris-Phantomview9 ай бұрын

    Simon, you should cover the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer. Its the navy's workhorse of the sea. After the overspending on the Zumwalt the navy went to revise the Arleigh Burke destroyers to the flight III until the next generation warship can be put into production.

  • @mattsecor2490

    @mattsecor2490

    8 ай бұрын

    Simon, I'll second this one!

  • @Cailus3542

    @Cailus3542

    Ай бұрын

    "Overspending" is a giant understatement. The Zumwalt-class is one of the most spectacular failures in military history.

  • @BantamSam90
    @BantamSam909 ай бұрын

    Love these videos, I was in Florida recently and noticed on a Flight Tracker app that a Lockhead Martin 'Hurricane Hunter' plane flying through Hurricaine Idalia to track it. I thought this would be make a cool Megaprojects video!

  • @claywest9528
    @claywest95289 ай бұрын

    The glee in Simon's delivery of this says it all. Failure (of others) is FUN!!

  • @jacobzimmermann59

    @jacobzimmermann59

    9 ай бұрын

    Not of all others. But the failure of the Soviets/Russians is always hilarious.

  • @safety_doggo2

    @safety_doggo2

    10 күн бұрын

    @@jacobzimmermann59 Because as we all know they aren't full human beings, ha ha ha.

  • @codymr1974
    @codymr19749 ай бұрын

    15:39 and 15:31 are viz of a F4 Phantom II (probably the F4K), not Harriers.

  • @NoOnionsUK

    @NoOnionsUK

    8 ай бұрын

    Yeah - I came here to type the same thing! ;-)

  • @davidbugler4597
    @davidbugler45979 ай бұрын

    I thought 'And then it got worse' was the motto of Russia's Guild of Historians, but apparently it applies to their engineering and naval professionals as well.

  • @weldonwin

    @weldonwin

    9 ай бұрын

    No, the Guild of Russian Historians motto is "What Ever Glorious Leader Says Happened, Happened." "And then It Got Worse" is what historians OUTSIDE of Russia say

  • @geodkyt
    @geodkyt9 ай бұрын

    The promary reason the Kiev class "aircraft cruisers" were designated as such was (much like Japan's "helicopter destroyers" ☆) due to legalistic pettifoggery. By designating them as cruisers (and arming them with cruiser type weapons suite, just in case the Soviets would need to defend the designation to the international community), they were exempted from the prohibitions against aircraft carriers transiting the Dardanelles under the Montreux Convention. See, Black Sea coastal nations (like the Soviets and modern Russia) can transit with capital ships over 15,000 tons, but aircraft carriers were *explicitly* denied "capital ship" status. . ☆ With Japan, it has to do with the post-WWII Japanese Comstitution. "Aircraft carriers" are considered "offensive" because they are unambiguously power projection platforms, but "destroyers" can have a primarily defensive role.

  • @bradmaas6875
    @bradmaas68759 ай бұрын

    In its early years, the harrier was considered a widow maker too. But after copious amounts of time and money, they were able to get the harrier to not kill its pilots.

  • @Sacto1654

    @Sacto1654

    9 ай бұрын

    Mostly because nobody really knew how to fly the Harrier with its unusual vectored thrust engine design at the time.

  • @bradmaas6875

    @bradmaas6875

    9 ай бұрын

    @@Sacto1654 Most of these were engine or nozzle failure, hand full of bird strikes. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Harrier_family_losses

  • @AA-xo9uw

    @AA-xo9uw

    9 ай бұрын

    @@Sacto1654 Numerous problems with the RCS and Pegasus bearings.

  • @guthhalf5484

    @guthhalf5484

    9 ай бұрын

    The Brits couldn't. The yanks sorted it out.

  • @gareth204

    @gareth204

    9 ай бұрын

    @@guthhalf5484utter tosh. The yanks bought the Harrier and built it under licence as the AV8A, based off the Mk1 harrier, by then a competent aircraft. The Americans didn’t fix anything to this aircraft and flew it as was. The AV8B Harrier II was based on the Hawker designs for an upscale Harrier wing based on the existing fuselage. After British withdrawal in the mid 70s due to budgets costs and the labour government, McDonald Douglas carried on the project until the British rejoined in 1981 under a Conservative government. Both British Aerospace and McDac designed and built the Harrier II and supported it through to retirement.

  • @markedis5902
    @markedis59029 ай бұрын

    The Harrier was a fantastic aircraft

  • @distorteddingo9230

    @distorteddingo9230

    9 ай бұрын

    No it was terrible. More people died trying to land it than in combat

  • @dannywaller4397

    @dannywaller4397

    9 ай бұрын

    Still is the marines still fly the harrier 2

  • @SuperchargedSupercharged
    @SuperchargedSupercharged9 ай бұрын

    The Harrier was so good USA Marines wanted them. That should say it all.

  • @worldoftancraft

    @worldoftancraft

    9 ай бұрын

    USA marines wanted M14 to shoot at, lol I can't believe it was actually typed, 2000 yards. What's your explanation?

  • @jjditomaso

    @jjditomaso

    9 ай бұрын

    During the Falkland War, Argentina had over 100 aircraft of varying types, some could operate from the Argentinian mainland and others could operate from airstrips on the Falklands themselves. Meanwhile the British Task Force was initially restricted to just 20 Sea Harriers which could fit on its two aircraft carriers; further eight Harriers joined the Task Force later. Though a total of six Harriers were lost by accident or ground fire, they inflicted serious losses on the Argentine Air Force destroying 23 aircraft in air to air engagements, for the loss of not a single Harrier in air-to-air combat. Unfortunately for my home country, no Argentine aircraft during the conflict could match the technology and versatility of the Harriers, which played a pivotal role winning the crucial battle for air superiority during the conflict. Harrier’s reliability and service records look overwhelming when compared to their soviet widow maker counterpart.

  • @legbert123

    @legbert123

    9 ай бұрын

    Your speech patterns are weird. @@worldoftancraft

  • @honkie_kong1689

    @honkie_kong1689

    9 ай бұрын

    @@legbert123 He's a Russian bot. Doing his best to spread the gospel of Tankie, less he be conscripted to the front lines

  • @worldoftancraft

    @worldoftancraft

    9 ай бұрын

    @@legbert123 M-14 was the reply at military's demand for a service rifle good enough to *efficiently* shoot at 2000 yards. It's called digression. A common feature of all anyhow normal European languages. To stop somewhere while speaking about subject to voice out something different, like attitude/relation to the topic, feels, an anecdote. After doing that I continued. If you have big complications, you can just not read the words between those two commas. What did they taught you in school?

  • @Loudward__
    @Loudward__9 ай бұрын

    That’s not the Yak-38 in the thumbnail.

  • @eaphantom9214

    @eaphantom9214

    9 ай бұрын

    2nd time that mistake has been made 😄

  • @eaphantom9214

    @eaphantom9214

    9 ай бұрын

    ​​​@@Thehippiestormtrooper I doubt it'll be his fault, he does a have small broadcast team working with him on his presentations after all

  • @bruceedwards539

    @bruceedwards539

    9 ай бұрын

    At this point they have to be doing inaccurate thumbnails deliberately for the hate clicks.

  • @Fiber64

    @Fiber64

    9 ай бұрын

    @@eaphantom9214if only that were true

  • @daniel_gallardo808

    @daniel_gallardo808

    9 ай бұрын

    Seems to be a habit now. Glad people are still calling this BS out.

  • @Jayjay-qe6um
    @Jayjay-qe6um9 ай бұрын

    Yak-39 was a unbuilt Multi-role VTOL fighter/attack project from 1983, employing one R-28V-300 and two RD-48 engines, PRNK-39 avionics suite; S-41D multi-mode radar, larger wing, increased fuel capacity and expanded weapons options based around Shikval or Kaira designation systems.

  • @AtheistOrphan
    @AtheistOrphan9 ай бұрын

    I’ve always been fascinated by the YAK-38, ever since my RAF days in the 1980s, particularly the 2-seater trainer variant.

  • @Melody_Raventress

    @Melody_Raventress

    9 ай бұрын

    Me too! Always loved these goofy things.

  • @valerkaus-eod8324
    @valerkaus-eod83249 ай бұрын

    No mention of a fact that Soviets, would bring Yak38 below deck, and paint a different number to make it look like there are more of them😂

  • @UnitSe7en
    @UnitSe7en9 ай бұрын

    It took a long time for the Harrier to be a reliable aircraft, too. Primarily though in the Harrier's case it's because it had such a tight flight envelope, especially in the hover regime, rather than being because of shoddy parts and design.

  • @glitchingwiththethugz8400
    @glitchingwiththethugz84009 ай бұрын

    I love your content, Simon! Please keep this incredible work up!

  • @Marionette_Doll
    @Marionette_Doll9 ай бұрын

    One of the things I enjoy most about the videos that cover Russian and Soviet equipment is seeing all the Russophiles come out of the woodwork. They're just trying to earn their rubles and I can sympathize with that!

  • @worldoftancraft

    @worldoftancraft

    9 ай бұрын

    First of all it's spelled Rublj and Rubli for plural, mister Anglifranc who's interpretation of Russian is that it's a Roman language. Second, you forgot to insert a few absolutely needed rare loanwords from classic Latin to make you look actually interesting and smart.

  • @johneyton5452

    @johneyton5452

    9 ай бұрын

    @@worldoftancraft you mean Anglophile. ~phile means "lover of" and you guessed it, it's from the Latin. You're welcome.

  • @Marionette_Doll

    @Marionette_Doll

    9 ай бұрын

    @@worldoftancraft> Here's another reply you can reply to to earn your rubles!

  • @worldoftancraft

    @worldoftancraft

    9 ай бұрын

    @@johneyton5452 so now Ancient Greek is, suddenly, Latin. What's next? Facebook is "meta"? Or T-72 is T-90?

  • @worldoftancraft

    @worldoftancraft

    9 ай бұрын

    @@johneyton5452 and I meant Anglo and Franc. Since English is German orphan, that was raised to loath it's own German side by French.

  • @nickitoff9629
    @nickitoff96299 ай бұрын

    You guys do a great job! I could watch this channel all day every day. Thank you!

  • @davidpalmer4184
    @davidpalmer41849 ай бұрын

    Thanks Simon, I have always loved the Harrier.

  • @michaelpipkin9942
    @michaelpipkin99429 ай бұрын

    Thank you so much for doing this planes.

  • @wolf-xf6hf
    @wolf-xf6hf9 ай бұрын

    It’s truly the most Soviet thing ever that they designed a horrible ejection seat that would trigger when it wasn’t supposed to and then punish the pilots for an ejection they literally had no control over

  • @azarata

    @azarata

    8 ай бұрын

    Could very well be just because of medical issues for the pilots that would ground them. Ejecting from an aircraft is no joke on the body, and its unlikely that a Soviet-designed ejection seat would be the pinnacle of pilot safety.

  • @F-4E-58-MC

    @F-4E-58-MC

    5 ай бұрын

    It only ejects in VTOL mode if the aircraft surpasses 60 degrees.

  • @euroamerican92
    @euroamerican929 ай бұрын

    Kinda weird to think that there are two instances in this video where footage shows a pilot dying. No name, no story, but you can clearly see that no one ejected, and the pilot was killed.

  • @huwzebediahthomas9193

    @huwzebediahthomas9193

    9 ай бұрын

    Well, I saw at least one of them eject.

  • @StewartWalker-hy1eo
    @StewartWalker-hy1eo9 ай бұрын

    They also tried to copy the Concorde which was also a disaster

  • @itz_c0ry_
    @itz_c0ry_4 ай бұрын

    From what I’ve heard from most other sources is that the yak-38 was a proof of concept design from the beginning, and it was intended to be superseded sooner rather than later

  • @JK-td4hi
    @JK-td4hi9 ай бұрын

    Another important thing to consider regarding its flawed design is that the two dedicated vertical lift engines were not used during horizontal flight. They would only be active during takeoff and landing. So for most of the aircraft’s mission profile, they would just be taking up space and not contributing thrust or lift. Keep in mind the less dead weight a plane has the better, and engines are very heavy. From an overall design efficacy standpoint, this was a terribly inefficient airplane. Surprised the design team wasn’t executed by the Soviet government 😂

  • @jsinope2786
    @jsinope27868 ай бұрын

    You seem to be having too much fun with this one, Simon! 😂 Thick with that good ‘ol’ British sarcasm throughout! lol.

  • @shalashaska5851
    @shalashaska58519 ай бұрын

    “True Lies” is not possible without the Harrier.

  • @dodo_hd9572
    @dodo_hd95729 ай бұрын

    The video at 15:30 is a F-4 Phantom

  • @roncolemanlaw
    @roncolemanlaw8 ай бұрын

    Simon, you're so damned good at this

  • @iainlyall6475
    @iainlyall64759 ай бұрын

    @0:05 i just can't get over your sarcasm :-) love it! :-)) keep up the great work.

  • @Jabba.Da.Hutt_
    @Jabba.Da.Hutt_9 ай бұрын

    Simon you should do a Mega projects episode on the “USS Enterprise” mega aircraft carrier. Since it was such a huge project but only 1 ever being made of it’s type

  • @user-kh8ni1oq7l
    @user-kh8ni1oq7l9 ай бұрын

    interesting video, but a few points were missed. First off, Soviet aircraft carriers were classed as "aircraft-carrying heavy cruisers" so that they could pass through the Dardanelles and Bosporus straits in Turkey, as the Turkish Government had banned the passage of aircraft carriers through their waters. Secondly, the YAK-38 was never meant as the long-term solution for the Soviet Navy's VTOL aircraft. It was more a proof-of-concept aircraft that could be used to train pilots and ground crew, hence the modest performance. The YAK-121, which was a far more formidable aircraft, was intended to carry the load as the Navy's VTOL punch, but was cancelled when the Soviet Union broke up in the early 1990's. As far as not having a radar, frankly, it didn't need one. As with most Soviet aircraft of that era, it was reliant on ground control, so the pilot would have a ship-borne ground controller talking them onto a target. As the FORGER could only carry IR missiles, which were visual range only (by and large) an onboard radar would have been unnecessary weight. Also, this was remedied in the YAK-121, which could carry BVR missiles and had an AI radar.

  • @user-kh8ni1oq7l

    @user-kh8ni1oq7l

    9 ай бұрын

    My mistake, it's the YAK-141, not -121. Either way, my point remains; the YAK-38 was not the long-term solution

  • @BobSmith-pv2kr
    @BobSmith-pv2kr9 ай бұрын

    Actually the harrier wasn't without its major problems too

  • @jrking4980
    @jrking49809 ай бұрын

    They didn't put a radar... on a carrier-based fighter interceptor? Wow that's actually impressive that the Soviets thought that would somehow Not limit their effectiveness

  • @IdeologieUK
    @IdeologieUK9 ай бұрын

    Why is it so satisfying learning about Russian blunders?

  • @Lazer5268
    @Lazer5268Ай бұрын

    From what I remember, this plane was only made to test equipment for the secret project of the yak 141.

  • @Shadx27
    @Shadx279 ай бұрын

    And people who say the F 35 is just a Yak - 38 copy are now shouting this is proof the F 35 is no good instead of admitting there is just some convergent design.

  • @Jordanaddis97
    @Jordanaddis979 ай бұрын

    These videos are far too addictive, started watching at 10pm.....its now nearly 7am and I'm wondering how tf I've got here. HOWEVER KNOWLEDGE IS POWER and knowing about a failed replication of the harrier is definitely a good piece of information to use in a 6am kitchen after party conversation 😂

  • @brusselssprouts560
    @brusselssprouts5609 ай бұрын

    My favourite jet fighter is the English Electric Lightning, but the Harrier is very very close behind. Different aircraft for different roles, but the best of their time. An interceptor that could take off like a rocket and fly mega fast, and a slower fighter that could take off from any surface is immense, and could even fly backwards.. I remember seeing a video of a Harrier test pilot who wondered what would happen if the control for the thrust vectoring was pulled back in forward flight, so he tried in a training exercise and the Harrier went up and ended up behind its chasing aircraft and was able to line up to strike the faster "enemy". The Harrier is a legend like the Spitfire, Hurricane and Mustang.

  • @SilvanaDil
    @SilvanaDil9 ай бұрын

    V/STOL have their uses, but if a carrier (1) has nuclear propulsion and (2) doesn't have a ski jump, you get so much more range and payload with an F-35C.

  • @geodkyt

    @geodkyt

    9 ай бұрын

    The Russians got better service out of MiG-29Ks off a conventionally powered ramp equipped carrier. Even if the carrier itself was a dog of a ship even worse than the YAK-38 was as an airplane.

  • @JonathanEzor
    @JonathanEzor9 ай бұрын

    You had way too much fun for Megaprojects with this one, Simon.

  • @atrumluminarium
    @atrumluminarium9 ай бұрын

    The one good thing about it, is that it told them what not to do when designing the YAK-141 lol

  • @Axel_Andersen
    @Axel_Andersen9 ай бұрын

    Having more than one engine is asking for trouble, trying to get them all produce equal trust. IIRC Dassault Mirage IIIV failed because of that. A single engine, if it alters in power is not going to throw the aircraft out of balance.

  • @xBruceLee88x
    @xBruceLee88x9 ай бұрын

    Yakitty Yak, don't come back!

  • @dariusallison5333
    @dariusallison53339 ай бұрын

    Makes a video about the yak 38. Uses a different plane for the thumbnail. The Yak 38’s wings are further back from the side air intakes. The plane in the picture has the wings starting right behind the side air intake.

  • @corycrandell2682
    @corycrandell26829 ай бұрын

    As with most soviet Era military equipment, it was more dangerous to it's own crew than the enemy.

  • @nimaiiikun
    @nimaiiikun6 ай бұрын

    VTOL: complicated planes but simpler ships CATOBAR: complicated ships but simpler planes take your pick

  • @Jake-pc4fd
    @Jake-pc4fd9 ай бұрын

    The F-35 uses that ducted fan. Just FYI

  • @aldraone-mu5yg
    @aldraone-mu5yg9 ай бұрын

    Russia really needs to look at itself on a map sometimes.

  • @Antesyd
    @Antesyd6 ай бұрын

    Lockheed engineers and executives have on many occasions stated that the YAK-141s technology formed the foundation of the F-35s liftsystem. So it's not a long shoot.

  • @philrab
    @philrab9 ай бұрын

    Willy waving. I now have a new phrase to work into my lexicon. 😅

  • @stalag14
    @stalag149 ай бұрын

    Imagine the stress the test pilots were under, knowing firsthand just how unsafe these things were 😢.

  • @jameshayes4272
    @jameshayes42725 ай бұрын

    A jet built in the 70’s with NO RADAR is craaaaaazy

  • @michaeltelson9798
    @michaeltelson97988 ай бұрын

    The experimental Hawker Kestrel came before the Harrier. Kestrel being a great name for a VTOL due to the namesake falcon can hover in place.

  • @maultasche668
    @maultasche6688 ай бұрын

    Love your irony about the sowjets

  • @andy2950
    @andy29509 ай бұрын

    That's a MiG-29. And that's a Phantom, with a British engine and nothing like the USA version. 😮

  • @ivankrylov6270
    @ivankrylov62709 ай бұрын

    Gearing a turbine to a jet engine is one of those ideas that is obvious in retrospect but nobody figured it out till the 90s

  • @flightmaster999

    @flightmaster999

    9 ай бұрын

    Yeah, the gearing part is where things get complicated.

  • @ivankrylov6270

    @ivankrylov6270

    9 ай бұрын

    @@flightmaster999 it's only spinning at a few thousand RPMs, supports about half the weight and requires a reliable dis/engage It's pretty simple

  • @FDNY101202
    @FDNY1012029 ай бұрын

    12:33 mujahideen*

  • @andyberry4346
    @andyberry43469 ай бұрын

    also, its pretty easy for a teenage insurgent to toss a grenade into the lift engine intake.

  • @Redemptorchapter

    @Redemptorchapter

    9 ай бұрын

    You forgot to mention flipping the bird to pilot while you do it.

  • @AtheistOrphan

    @AtheistOrphan

    9 ай бұрын

    Well yes, but admittedly they’d have to smuggle said grenade (and themselves) aboard a soviet aircraft carrier in the first place, which I doubt is an easy task.

  • @usonumabeach300

    @usonumabeach300

    9 ай бұрын

    Somebody missed the reference... Wolverines!

  • @sureshot8399
    @sureshot83999 ай бұрын

    Is footage of the Harrier so rare that we have to use film of the Phantom while discussing it? Asking for a friend.

  • @eldritchmorgasm4018
    @eldritchmorgasm40189 ай бұрын

    So, in "Red Dawn", when one of the Wolverines throws a grenade into the cockpit of that, I think it was a Yak-38, it could have VTOLed, the pilot wanted to fly away, but didn't, because engine failure!? Now this makes way more sense to me... 😂

  • @kazeshi2
    @kazeshi29 ай бұрын

    i went to watch a couple of your old videos, the f16 and mig 25 videos but i couldnt find them. you did do videos on these right? i swear i remember you talking about them but maybe im just delusional?

  • @BoringAngler
    @BoringAngler9 ай бұрын

    The videos are competent, but I get the most enjoyment watching the AI graphic designer botch the vehicle images for the thumbnail.

  • @robwalsh9843
    @robwalsh98439 ай бұрын

    Soviet aircraft define the phrase "hit or miss"

  • @bensonofthunder9229
    @bensonofthunder92299 ай бұрын

    You could say the plane was nothing to "yack" about.😊

  • @chrismartin3197

    @chrismartin3197

    9 ай бұрын

    You could say that an actual yak could operate at a higher altitude

  • @nathaniellim9928
    @nathaniellim99289 ай бұрын

    nice lighting

  • @mikew1978
    @mikew19789 ай бұрын

    T-72 turrets are the best VTOL anywhere

  • @lewismooney3941
    @lewismooney39419 ай бұрын

    That was a good intro! Lol

  • @colintwyning9614
    @colintwyning96149 ай бұрын

    Harrier, absolutely Unique.

  • @paulmurray8922
    @paulmurray89229 ай бұрын

    "As for radar, the Harrier actually HAD it".😂😂😂

  • @Asghaad

    @Asghaad

    9 ай бұрын

    Except it didnt... only SeaHarriers did the ground strike variants dindnt

  • @AA-xo9uw

    @AA-xo9uw

    9 ай бұрын

    First generation GR.1s, GR.3s, AV-8As and AV-8Cs were not RADAR equipped. The first gen FRS.1s and FA.2s SHARs were RADAR equipped.

  • @camonty1
    @camonty19 ай бұрын

    The harrier was great in the movie with Arnold

  • @TheGillhicks
    @TheGillhicks9 ай бұрын

    Can you do a video about the seaway from Lake Superior to the Atlantic Ocean.

  • @nickkerr8775
    @nickkerr87759 ай бұрын

    The Harrier had extremely high accident rates and was terrible in certain weather situations.

  • @ivanski28
    @ivanski289 ай бұрын

    I only clicked cause I couldn't work out what promo picture was it ain't a Yak 38 that’s for sure. I'll give you one redeeming feature of the Yak 38. Landings were completely automatic, once the pilot got within a certain distance of the carrier, a special system on the ship took over the flight controls and the plane was landed without pilot input.

  • @aadixum
    @aadixum8 ай бұрын

    Just shows how difficult it is to make a VTOL aircraft.

  • @Flight_of_Icarus
    @Flight_of_Icarus9 ай бұрын

    If nothing else, the Yak-38 can contribute to Aircraft Development the same way the A-38 Valiant did to Armored Development. Throw some experienced pilot in it and have him write down everything he hated about it.

  • @crunks420
    @crunks4209 ай бұрын

    The ejection seat going off accidentally is hilarious...

  • @recoil53

    @recoil53

    9 ай бұрын

    It's not an accident, it's giving in to the inevitable.

  • @cesaravegah3787
    @cesaravegah37879 ай бұрын

    There is nothing that Ivan wont try to solve using brute force.

  • @rich1ell
    @rich1ell9 ай бұрын

    10 seconds in and cusps for not using the phrase ‘jump jet’. Good start, fingers crossed you don’t say it

  • @brs690
    @brs6909 ай бұрын

    Was the ejection seat that faulty or did the pilots hit the button because they didn't want to fly the trash can?

  • @flightmaster999

    @flightmaster999

    9 ай бұрын

    In soviet russia, plane ejects you!

  • @jmanj3917
    @jmanj39179 ай бұрын

    13:13 Well said, Brain Boy. Well said.

  • @ChadLuciano
    @ChadLuciano9 ай бұрын

    so basically it's a flying Lada

  • @HamSandwich277
    @HamSandwich2779 ай бұрын

    The Taliban didn't exist during the Soviet/Afghan conflict. The Taliban were founded in the power vacuum that followed the Soviet withdrawal. And no, "Taliban" is not a synonym for any/all types of Afghan Mujahedeen.

  • @errantalgae
    @errantalgae9 ай бұрын

    what about the Yak-28 bomber turned interceptor, I know it is not connected but I sure want a good story about it

  • @rustusandroid
    @rustusandroid7 ай бұрын

    The Yak-38 is an example where the Soviets tried to duplicate something that they hadn't stole the blueprints for, instead going on pictures alone. Unlike the B-1, Shuttle, or F-15 (among others) they could not improve on a design they had stolen and had to try and build it from scratch... Not as easy.

  • @Alex.The.Lionnnnn
    @Alex.The.Lionnnnn9 ай бұрын

    They tried their best! 😂

  • @Kroggnagch
    @Kroggnagch9 ай бұрын

    Above all, Arnold Schwarzenegger never launched a missile that had a terrorist hanging from it from the yak-38 and that’s the real difference.

  • @CaptainColdyron222

    @CaptainColdyron222

    9 ай бұрын

    “You’re fired!”

  • @RaderizDorret
    @RaderizDorret9 ай бұрын

    I can't help but think that Peter and Danny could design a better plane.

  • @gatorgaming3407
    @gatorgaming34074 ай бұрын

    6:35 Yak-38U cameo?!?!

  • @drgonzo305
    @drgonzo3059 ай бұрын

    The Soviets used to repaint tail numbers on these after they were taken into the carriers hanger to increase their numbers among nato ships watching. Just like they do with their Su-57’s

  • @worldoftancraft

    @worldoftancraft

    9 ай бұрын

    Source? "Troost me broov"? Or work based on other work that was based on other work that based on guy with dictionary, hate to this inferior language and a defector's Truthful testimony? The very guy who'd write a book where he'd write that "I accidentally once brought a can of cat food(mixed feed for swines + heavy addition of meaty smell" and it was so good that I didn't notice! Wow in Amêrikka ezerifin_g iz zo-o-o hood!" The pinnacle of SovIetology. Just like the spelling of word "Soviet" is the pinnacle of English being a determined language with certain identity - not a delusional, a self-loafing at some of its part salad of 4 European languages.

  • @NoahDVS

    @NoahDVS

    9 ай бұрын

    @@worldoftancraft Do you feel better now?

  • @drgonzo305

    @drgonzo305

    9 ай бұрын

    @@worldoftancraft yes the pinnacle of soviet technology is cheap unimpressive knock offs of western technology, I wholeheartedly agree with your statement. The repainting of the tail numbers was brought out in the open after the soviet system collapsed by former soviet admirals, its well known. The truth is without the wests support through lend lease for the Soviets, Russia would be speaking German now. Tanks, aircraft, ammunition, food and medical supplies + clothing got Russia through the war and captured German scientists provided a few decades of advancements after the war but after they died out Russia stagnated. Take modern Russia under Princess Putin, poisoning all the top scientists after their failures, who would want to risk innovation where a slight failure will mean your death?! He just poisoned his top space scientist after his lunar lander turned into a moon bunker buster!? Lots of American shit fails and then we learn and move in so the next time it works. Like I’m desert storm the Patriot system only intercepted 15% of all incoming scuds. Did then president Bush poison the head scientists in charge? No, he threw more money at them so now 30 years later the Patriots intercepts 95%+ including Putins “unstoppable” Kihnzals. That’s the problem with a dictatorship, especially when the dictator in question is a obviously repressed homosexual(the poisonings prove this beyond any shadow of a doubt)possible eunuch that Will sacrifice every man, woman & child in the Russian Empire to preserve his luxurious lifestyle and his properties.

  • @fredyellowsnow7492

    @fredyellowsnow7492

    9 ай бұрын

    @@worldoftancraft Russian troll or tool of the Kremlin.

  • @worldoftancraft

    @worldoftancraft

    9 ай бұрын

    @@NoahDVS as I never had compassion for elitists' nations before as I have none now. Eat the consequences of your chaotic and mindless creative by yourself and priâtnogo appêtita. Oh, sorry, forgot it must be classic Latin or French so this would work. Not the language, about which you are an expert in the accents. Just happened you never heard anything else than theatral attempts of recreating it by Jugoslavs.

  • @usonumabeach300
    @usonumabeach3009 ай бұрын

    When mom says we have a harrier jump jet at home