was thrown about in the cockpit, banging his head on the canopy, and the needles fell off all the flight instruments. The tailplane section was changed with much improved results. Worse yet, both its rivals, the Lavochkin La-15 and rival swept-wing MiG-15 had superior performance, with the Mig-15 selected for mass production and the La-15 produced in relatively small numbers (235). Yakovlev was never again to build a single-engine fighter superior to the rival aircraft coming from OKB Mikoyan-Gurevich, though neither was OKB Lavochkin. Development was halted, but two of the prototypes were used for test and development purposes. The Yak-25 never received an ASCC reporting name or USAF type number despite being known to the west at the time. Experimental work Further development, replacing the straight wing with one of 35° sweepback, was undertaken as the Yak-30. Yak-25E The Yak-25E (Eksperimentalnyi) was the Yak-25-II specially modified to be towed by a Tupolev Tu-4 strategic bomber. This came in response to a proposal by the headquarters of Long Range Aviation, calling for a method of towing short-range jet fighters, code-named Burlaki (barge hauler). Production aircraft would have used Klimov RD-500 engines. At the same time the Soviets were developing the Yak-25E, the U.S. Air Force was experimenting with a similar system known as Project Tom-Tom. The U.S. system would have employed either a specially modified F-84 or an XF-85 Goblin parasite aircraft. Early attempts differed by attaching two fighters to the bomber's wingtips. Later plans called for a parasite aircraft to be stowed internally within the belly of a B-36. Specifications (Yak-25 c/n 115001) See also References Bibliography Gordon, Yefim. "Early Soviet Jet Fighters". Hinkley: Midland. 2002. Green, William & Swanborough, Gordon. "The Complete Book of Fighters". London: Salamander Books. 1994. Gunston, Bill. The Osprey Encyclopedia of Russian Aircraft 1875-1995. London: Osprey, 1995. . Gunston, Bill. Yakovlev Aircraft since 1924. London, UK: Putnam Aeronautical Books, 1997. . 1940s Soviet fighter aircraft Yak-025 1947 Abandoned military aircraft projects of the Soviet Union Single-engined jet aircraft Mid-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1947