44", with an aerial mast, at first in 296th Fighter Aviation Regiment and then with 73rd Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment, until her death in combat on 1 August 1943. Another ace who flew the Yak-1 was Mikhail Baranov, who scored all his 24 victories with it, including five in a day (four Bf 109s and a Ju 87, on 6 August 1942). The Yak-1 was also the first type operated by the (1st Polish Fighter Regiment "Warsaw"). Soviet naming conventions obscure the fact that the Yak-1 and its successors – the Yak-7, Yak-9 and Yak-3 – are essentially the same design, comparable to the numerous Spitfire or Bf 109 variants. Were the Yaks considered as one type, the 37,000 built would constitute the most produced fighter in history. That total would also make the Yak one of the most prolific aircraft in history, roughly equal to the best known Soviet ground attack type of World War II, the IL-2 Shturmovik. Losses were the highest of all fighter types in service in the USSR: from 1941 to 1945, VVS KA lost 3,336 Yak-1s: 325 in 1941, 1,301 the following year, 1,056 in 1943, 575 in 1944 and 79 in 1945. Variants I-26 (also known as Ya-26) – The first prototype of the Yak-1 and progenitor of all Yakovlev's piston-engined fighters of World War II. Of mixed steel tube and wood construction the lightweight I-26 displayed promising performance and was produced as the Yak-1. UTI-26 – The third and fourth I-26s were completed as dual control trainers, produced as a fighter as the Yak-7. I-28 () – High-altitude interceptor prototype with Klimov M-105PD engine developed from I-26-2. Differed from I-26 in having an all-metal fuselage and tail and automatic, leading-edge slats on slightly smaller and reshaped wings. One aircraft was built, first flying on 1 December 1940. It did not enter production due to many deficiencies of the engine but served as the basis for high-altitude versions of Yak-7 and Yak-9. I-30 (Yak-3) – Development of I-26 with an all-metal wing with leading-edge slats, weight and space savings were used for additional armament and greater fuel capacity. Two prototypes built – I-30-1 armed with 3 × ShVAK cannons and 2 × ShKAS machine guns, and I-30-2 with two additional ShKAS. It did not enter production. The name Yak-3 was re-used for a different fighter. See Yakovlev Yak-3. Yak-1 – Single-seat fighter aircraft.