Quick Facts
Aircraft	Yakovlev Yak-7B (Flugwerk reproduction, ZK-YKB)
Status	Only airworthy Yak-7B in the world
First Flight	March 26, 2026 — Omaka Aerodrome, Blenheim, NZ
Owner	Mike O’Rourke (New Zealand)
Restored By	JEM Aviation, Blenheim (Jay McIntyre)
Colours	Normandie-Niemen Free French fighter squadron
Airshow Debut	Warbirds Over Wanaka, April 3–5, 2026

On March 26, 2026, a sound not heard in eight decades filled the sky over Blenheim, New Zealand. A Yakovlev Yak-7B — the only airworthy example of its type on Earth — lifted off from Omaka Aerodrome wearing the colours of a Free French squadron that fought alongside the Soviet Union against Nazi Germany.

Days later, the aircraft made its public debut at Warbirds Over Wanaka, the legendary biennial airshow in the mountains of Otago. For the warbird community, this is more than a restoration milestone. It is a resurrection.

A Fighter That Won the Eastern Front

The Yak-7 entered service in 1942 during the most desperate phase of the Eastern Front. The Yak-7B variant was the definitive model: powered by a Klimov M-105PF inline engine, light, agile, and easy to fly — critical when the Soviet Union was training thousands of new pilots under wartime pressure. It carried a 20mm ShVAK cannon and a 12.7mm UBS machine gun.

Over 6,300 Yak-7s were built between 1941 and 1944. They bridged the gap between the Yak-1 and the legendary Yak-9, holding the line during 1942 and 1943 while more advanced types entered production. Without the Yak-7, the air war over Stalingrad and Kursk would have looked very different.

The Normandie-Niemen Connection

The colour scheme on this Yak-7B represents the Normandie-Niemen regiment — Free French volunteer pilots who flew Soviet aircraft on the Eastern Front from 1943 to 1945, earning 273 confirmed aerial victories. Owner Mike O’Rourke chose the scheme because his wife Chantal is French — a personal tribute woven into a historical one.

Seven Years to Fly Again

O’Rourke brought the aircraft to New Zealand in 2019 as a Flugwerk reproduction. Getting it to flying condition required years of work by Jay McIntyre and his team at JEM Aviation. The restoration went far beyond cosmetics — numerous upgrades transformed it from an average warbird to an outstanding flying machine. The historically accurate paint scheme was researched and applied by Marty Nicoll at JEM.

When ZK-YKB lifted off from Omaka, it was the culmination of seven years of work and the birth of the only Yak-7B flying anywhere in the world. At Wanaka it joins Spitfires, Mustangs, and Cold War jets — but nothing else on the field carries quite the same historical weight. The Eastern Front has come to the Southern Alps.

Sources: Warbirds Over Wanaka, Scramble Magazine, Vintage Aviation News