Starting with the modified Yak-6, this
enlarged transport was designed by a
small team led by Oleg K Antonov,
who both before and after the war had
been a designer in his own right. The
extra power of two 145hp M-11FM
engines, driving VISh-327 propellers,
enabled the fuselage to be made larger,
to enable the main cabin to seat six
passengers. The nose and rear fuselage
were little altered, and the width
of the central portion remained 1.24m, but its length was increased
by 1m and the depth from 1.5
to 1.76m. This gave much
better headroom, and access was
simplified by fitting a large door on
the left behind the wing. The cabin had four windows on each side. It was
strengthened with box frames 80mm
deep, with 2mm ply skin
throughout. The tail was enlarged,
with straighter edges.
The prototype was painted in VVS
markings and began Factory testing in
early 1944. It subsequently passed
NII-VVS evaluation, with a recommendation
for production, but like the
Yak-5 it was eventually decided that
future aircraft should be all-metal.
The ASCC allocated the name
'Crib'.