1/48 Zvezda Yak-3, Flown by Guards Lieutenant Colonel Boris Nikolaevich Yeryomin, 31st GIAP, Prague, Czechoslovakia, May, 1945.

Major B. N. Yeryomin received from ‘Saratov kolchoz farmer Ferapont Petrovich Golovatyi’ two Yaks with inscriptions. The first was a Yak-1, delivered in December 1942. He successfully fought in this aircraft along with some of his colleagues from his unit up to May, 1944, when it was decided to allocate the aircraft to the city of Saratov for display. As a replacement, B. N. Yeryomin received the second machine, a Yak-3, directly from Saratov on May 29, 1944. He fought in this aircraft progressively from the Ukraine all the way to Germany. Over the span of 342 combat flights, he gained six aerial victories. In August, 1945, this aircraft was picked out for participation in a display of aerial strength in Moscow. This plane was preserved, and remained on display in Moscow until the nineties.

The appearance of this Yak changed with time. The dedication inscriptions ‘Ot Feraponta Petrovicha Golavatovo vtaroy samolyot na akanchatyelniy razgrom vraga’ (From Ferapont Petrovich Golovatyi, 2nd machine for the final destruction of the enemy) changed over the course of service, and by the end of the war, they were different on both sides of the fuselage from those when initially delivered, and small victory stars were added to denote kills by B. N. Yeryomin. In all, he got 23 kills over some seventy combat flights, fourteen of which were gained on the two dedicated birds. Among other awards, he received the Gold Star of the hero of the
Soviet Union.