Petlyakov Pe-3

Bimoteur, développement du Pe 2

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The Petlyakov Pe-3 was the long-range heavy fighter version of the successful [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] tactical bomber, a
Soviet duplication of the same development path the Germans took with the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] and the British with the
[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].

A crash-development program began after the first German night bombing of Moscow in July 1941 to field a fighter with heavy armament and long endurance and the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] was selected for modification.

It was initially used for daylight ground attack missions during the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], but this proved to be costly since the aircraft was unarmored.

Armor and additional guns were retrofitted to the existing aircraft to make them more effective, but the evacuation of the sole factory building the Pe-3 in October limited the number of aircraft available and many units were either disbanded or converted to other types.

Most of the later production runs were given to reconnaissance units.

Although production was stopped and started several times the aircraft remained in service throughout [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].

Development


A crash-development program began after the first German night bombing of [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] in July 1941 to field a fighter with heavy armament and long endurance.

Only an aircraft currently in production could be used to satisfy the extremely tight deadline and the Pe-2 was selected for modification as the fastest twin-engined aircraft in Soviet service by the NKO
(Narodnyy Komissariaht Oborony—State Commissariat for Defence).

The order only authorized four days to modify the aircraft's fuel, armament and radio systems, but this deadline was met when the modified aircraft made its first flight on 7 August and it passed its manufacturer's trials the following day.


Three additional fuel tanks, with a capacity of 700 litres (154 imp gal; 185 US gal) were fitted in the prototype, one in the fuselage bomb bay and the other two replaced the ventral gunner's position.


The nose armament was reinforced with an additional 12.7 mm (0.50 in) [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]K [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] with 150 rounds and a fixed 7.62 mm (0.300 in) [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] with 250 rounds was added in the tailcone.

Two of the fuselage bomb racks were removed which reduced the maximum bomb load to 700 kg (1,500 lb),
one 250 kg (550 lb) bomb on each of the fuselage racks and one 100 kg (220 lb) in the engine [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].

The electric bomb release system was removed and the bombs had to be dropped using the mechanical emergency system.

The dive brakes under the wings were also removed.

The BSBbis radio was exchanged for the RSI-4 model commonly used in single-seat fighters and the radio direction finder was also removed to save weight.

The prototype weighed 5,890 kg (13,000 lb) empty and it had a normal take-off weight of 7,800 kg (17,000 lb), slightly heavier than the Pe-2 version then in production.

During testing it demonstrated a maximum speed of 530 km/h (329 mph) at 5,000 metres (16,404 ft), a service ceiling of 9,000 metres (29,528 ft) and a maximum range of 2,150 km (1,336 mi).

This was considered adequate and Factory (Zavod) Nr. 39 was ordered on 14 August to build five pre-production aircraft for delivery by 25 August.

This process was difficult as drawings had not been made for many of the new parts and they had to be fitted by hand, which slowed down the production rate.

Slightly more extensive testing of a pre-production aircraft was done by the NII VVS
(Naoochno-Issledovatel'skiy Institoot Voyenno-Vozdooshnykh Seel—Air Force Scientific Test Institute) between 29 August and 7 September and they confirmed the initial performance figures.

However other problems were revealed, including cracking of the lower nose [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] windows when the lower UBK machine gun was fired which was cured by replacing some of the glazing with a duralumin skin, but this proved to be insufficiently strong and it was itself replaced by a steel panel.

Another problem was that the large-caliber casings and links damaged the skin of the wings and sometimes entered the radiator intakes where they could damage the radiators.

Revising the shape of the ejector chutes did not help and the casings had to be collected in the nose.

A number of specific weaknesses were also identified that had to be introduced on the production line.

Its offensive firepower was too weak and a 20 mm (0.79 in) [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] was needed.

The dorsal ShKAS machine gun was too weak and should be replaced by a 12.7 mm Berezin UBT machine gun.

Frontal armor was needed for the crew and the navigator's armor should be extended to the rear.

The RSI-4 radio should be replaced by a model with longer range and a camera should be installed for the reconnaissance role. Most of the initial aircraft were delivered without these changes and were modified in the field by teams sent out by the factory.

The first Pe-3s were issued to the 95th High-Speed Bomber Regiment in the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] and their experiences revealed other problems with the aircraft.

Firing the guns at night dazzled the pilot and destroyed his night vision and the glare from searchlights through the lower nose glazing also blinded the pilot.

Crews complained bitterly that the lack of frontal armor made them vulnerable to defensive fire from German bombers.

Flash hiders installed on the guns and curtains covering the windows cured the first problems, but the lack of armor
could not be rectified immediately.

Many aircraft were also fitted with launchers for 4-6 RS-82 and RS-132 [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] for ground attack missions.

Another common addition was a launcher for DAG-10 aerial grenades mounted in the tail.

The Petlyakov design bureau addressed these concerns in September and they were tested in the Pe-3bis prototype between September and October.

The armament was upgraded with 250 rounds provided for each of the UBK machine guns, a 20 ShVAK cannon with
250 rounds was mounted in the nose and a 12.7 mm Berezin UBT machine gun with 180 rounds in boxes replaced the 7.62 mm ShKAS in the dorsal position.

Frontal armor was installed and the navigator's seat armor was thickened with a total weight of 136 kilograms (300 lb).

Automatic[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] were fitted and the nitrogen fuel tank pressurization system was replaced by one that used inert gases from the engine exhaust. The crash pylon was moved forward .48 metres (1 ft 7 in) and the cockpit canopy shortened.

Many of these changes were made to aircraft before Pe-3bis production began again in April 1942 and combat
use revealed several problems that had to be addressed in a second Pe-3bis prototype that began its State acceptance tests in May 1942.

Reloading the nose guns proved to be very time consuming, up to 45 minutes, and the port UBK continued to blind
the pilot when fired at night.

These problems prompted the transfer of both UBK guns to the wing center section where they were installed in a compartment that was hinged at the front to drop down and allow easier access to the guns and their ammunition.

The starboard gun was given 230 rounds and the port gun had 265 rounds.

This change reduced the capacity of the Nr. 7 fuel tank by 100 litres (22 imp gal; 26 US gal), but an asbestos bulkhead was added to protect the tank from heat generated by the guns.

The cartridge cases from the ShVAK cannon could not be collected and the skin of the wing center section and lower fuselage was reinforced with steel sheets to minimize the damage inflicted by the cases.

The original mounting for the dorsal UBT machine gun provided an excellent field of fire, but no aerodynamic balance was provided to allow the gunner/navigator to use all of it.

They could not traverse it more than about 40–50° from the centerline because of the pressure exerted by the airstream.
A twin-petal compensator was provided, but it was mostly ineffective.

The crash pylon was removed to give the gunner more working space.

The ammunition box of the UBT was too small, only 30 rounds, and took about a minute to reload.

The boxes were deleted and the UBT was given a 200 round belt with an electric drive to help to prevent feed problems.

A [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] system was added for the propellers and the pilot's windscreen. The nose glazing was removed entirely and the crew's armor was increased to a total weight of 148 kilograms (330 lb).

These changes moved the aircraft's [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] forward and the landing gear breaker struts were lengthened, which moved the wheels 60 millimetres (2.4 in) forward, which helped to reduced the chance of the aircraft tipping over.

Production



Zavod Nr. 39 built 16 Pe-3s in August, including the prototype, 98 in September and 82 in October before the
factory was evacuated to [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] late in October.

Production was restarted in April 1942 with a total of 132 built during the year.

All were Pe-3bis models except for eleven Pe-3s that had not been completed before the evacuation.

Thirteen were built in 1939 before production was cancelled in favor of [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] bombers.

A final production batch of 19 was built at Factory Nr. 22 in early 1944, but these were more lightly armed than earlier versions as they had a single ShVAK cannon in the wing center and one UBK in the nose.

The bomb racks in the engine nacelles were eliminated as was the fixed ShKAS machine gun in the tail.

Two DAG-10 launchers were fitted in the rear fuselage, each with ten grenades.

Operational history


The first Pe-3s were issued to the 95th High-Speed Bomber Aviation Regiment in August 1941 and were initially committed to the ground attack and escort roles after retraining through September.

It was redesignated as the 95th Fighter Aviation Regiment on 25 September and assigned to the 6th Fighter Aviation Corps of the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] defending [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].

A few days later six Pe-3s escorted [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] carrying a British military delegation flying from [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] to Moscow and defeated several German attacks on the transports.

Pe-3s strafed German troops columns as they approached Moscow during [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] and attacked airfields as well.

On 24 October the 95th and 208th Fighter Aviation Regiments, with a total of 27 Pe-3s between them attacked the
airfield at [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], claiming 30 German aircraft destroyed for the loss of five on their own, including the commander of the 208th Regiment, Major S. Kibirinym.

The 9th, 40th, 54th and 511th Bomber Aviation Regiments also received Pe-3s during September and performed
similar missions.

Approximately 50 aircraft were lost during the Pe-3's first three months of combat, about 25% of the aircraft produced thus far.

This was a very high loss rate and a number of units began to conduct less risky reconnaissance missions to minimize casualties.

Pe-3s were issued to the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Reconnaissance Aviation Regiments in October as well.

I follow later. [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir cette image]

With production terminated in October with the evacuation of the factory, the number of available Pe-3s could not sustain so many units and many began to convert to other aircraft or roles.

The 40th Fast Bomber Aviation Regiment was redesignated as the 40th Separate Long-range Reconnaissance Aviation Regiment on 15th December and mustered five Pe-3s on 1 May 1942 and eleven Pe-3s on 1 January 1943.

The 9th Bomber Aviation Regiment was directly assigned to the Chief of Staff of the Air Force at the end of November 1941 and received the additional task of leading groups of fighters and attack aircraft to their targets because their
pilots could not navigate on their own.

Over 2000 aircraft were led to their targets in this manner before the regiment was converted to other roles.

The 54th Bomber Aviation Regiment appears to have been disbanded on or after 20 May 1942.

The 208th Short-Range Bomber Regiment lost ten aircraft before it transferred its surviving pilots and aircraft to the 95th Fighter Aviation Regiment in mid-January 1942 and reformed on the Ilyushin Il-2.

On 5 February 1942 the 511th Bomber Aviation Regiment was based at [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] and lost three of its eight Pe-3s on strength to a German air raid.

It was disbanded in late March 1942 for lack of aircraft.

The 95th Fighter Aviation Regiment was transferred on 1 March 1942 to the Air Force of the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] where it
performed convoy escort, ground attack and reconnaissance missions in support of the Fleet.

It operated Pe-3s as late as the end of 1942 when some of its crews, which had just picked up new aircraft, were diverted to participate in the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], although most of the 1942 production aircraft were given to the 2nd, 4th, and 40th Separate Long-Range Reconnaissance Regiments.

Dessins du Pe 3

Source :

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A single Pe-3 was captured by the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] when one had to make a forced landing in marshy ground near [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], in Finland, on 28 November 1942.

It was relatively undamaged and was recovered, repaired and placed into service as 'PE-301'.

It served with PLeLv 48 and was converted into a photo-reconnaissance aircraft in 1944 before being destroyed by a Soviet bombing raid on the airfield at Lappenranta on 2 July 1944.

It had flown over 222 hours in Finnish service.

The Gneiss-2 airborne [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] was evaluated in the Pe-3 beginning in July 1942 and it was sent to both Moscow and Stalingrad for combat trials in late 1942.

Another round of trials was conducted by aircraft of the 2nd Guards Fighter Corps of the PVO in [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] between February and May 1943 and it was approved for service the next month. Very few appear to have been deployed as only fifteen were fitted on Pe-3s.

Dessins, source :


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Dessin, source :

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Specifications (Petlyakov Pe-3bis)


Data from Gordon, Soviet Airpower in World War 2

General characteristics

• Crew: 2
  
• Length: 12.66 m (41 ft 6 in)
  
• Wingspan : 17.13 m (56 ft 2 in)
  
• Wing area : 40.5 m² (436 sq ft)
  
• Empty weight : 5,858 kg (12,915 lb)
  
• Gross weight : 8,000 kg (17,637 lb)
  
• Powerplant: 2 × [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]RA liquid-cooled [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], 820 kW (1,100 hp) each
  
• Propellers: 3-bladed