Yak-9K was a Yak-9T modified with a 45 mm cannon NS-45 with 29 rounds and a distinctive muzzle brake to deal with the massive recoil.

Firing the cannon at speeds below 350 km/h (220 mph) caused dramatic loss of control and tossed the pilot back and forth in the cockpit; however, accurate shooting was possible at higher speeds and in 2–3 round bursts. The recoil also caused numerous oil and coolant leaks. The heavy cannon installation degraded performance, even more so at high altitudes, sufficiently to relegating the Yak-9K to be used as a heavy fighter and resulting in the need for a fighter escort of Yak-3s.

The Yak-9K saw only limited use due to the unreliability of the NS-45, the airframe performance issues caused by both the NS-45 and larger fuel tanks used on the Yak-9K, as well as a reduction of bombers used by the Germans.

Only 53 Yak-9K were produced.

Yak-9K, 274 iap, 278 iad, 3 iak, 1944 Poland

The plane is camouflaged according to the NKAP 1943 order with blue grey AMT-11 and dark grey AMT-12 on the upper surfaces with light blue AMT-7 on the bottom surfaces.
White sword with white wing and star on the nose and red cap on the tail are regimental marking of the 274 iap (source http://www.wio.ru/simbols/iak3.htm).
The profile in the full resolution should be published in the book Soviet Fighters of the Second World War by Jason Nicholas Moore.

Photos of the original plane:

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