Petlyakov Pe-2
Encyclopedia
The Petlyakov
Pe-2 was a Soviet
dive
bomber aircraft used during World War II
. It was regarded as one of the best ground attack aircraft of the war and it was extremely successful in the roles of heavy fighter, reconnaissance and night fighter. It was one of the most important aircraft of World War II, being in many respects similar to the British de Havilland Mosquito
, though the Pe-2 was manufactured in greater numbers: 11,400. It was fast, maneuverable and durable. Several Communist nations flew the type after the war, when it became known by the NATO reporting name
Buck. Six captured Pe-2s were also transferred from the Germans to the Finnish Air Force during the Continuation War
, with the serial code PE- and the unofficial nickname Pekka-Eemeli.
(sharashka); Vladimir Petlyakov
had been arrested and imprisoned in 1937 for allegedly deliberately delaying design work on the Tupolev ANT-42
bomber. In the sharashka, Petlyakov was put in charge of a team to develop a high-altitude fighter escort for the ANT-42 under the designation VI-100. The first of two prototypes flew on December 22, 1939 and was a very sophisticated aircraft for its time, featuring a pressurised cabin, all-metal construction, supercharger
s and many electrically-actuated systems. The prototypes proved so pleasing that production was ordered almost immediately. It is said that Petlyakov and his team could see the VI-100 prototype from their prison as it was put through its paces for the crowds watching the annual May Day
parade in 1940.
Just as production was ready to begin, the air force ordered a re-design of the aircraft. The value of tactical bombing had just been displayed by the Luftwaffe
in the Blitzkrieg
, and the need for such an aircraft suddenly became much more important than the need for a high-altitude escort fighter. Petlyakov's team was given 45 days to redesign their aircraft as a dive bomber
. Cabin pressurization and superchargers were deleted, dive brake
s and a bombardiers position were added, and other aerodynamic refinements. A fuselage bomb-bay was added, along with smaller bays in each engine nacelle. The aircraft was initially designated PB-100, but Joseph Stalin
was impressed enough with Petlyakov to free him, and his name was permitted to be used in the aircraft's designation. The first aircraft flew on December 15, 1940, rushed through production without a prototype under severe threats from Stalin if a Pe-2 did not fly by the end of the year. Deliveries to combat units began the following Spring.
While the Pe-2 generally featured favorable flying characteristics when airborne, it took a good amount of force to pull the elevators up to get the plane rotated off the runway during takeoff. Russian night bombing missions often flew with female pilots and some of the women were not strong enough to get the airplane airborne by themselves. When such a situation occurred, the procedure was to have one of the crew get behind the pilot's seat and wrap her arms around the control wheel and help the pilot pull the wheel back. Once the aircraft was airborne, the crew member returned to her duties and the pilot continued to fly the plane without assistance.
Its armament was clearly insufficient, however. The dorsal ShKAS machine gun was inadequate. It had a high rate of fire but it also had 48 ways of jamming. The ventral Berezin UB
had a very limited field of view and at the beginning was unreliable too. To give more protection, another ShKAS was added that could be moved between sockets on both sides of the fuselage and, in emergency, the gunner could fire upwards, but in this case he had to be quite strong to keep it in his arms. To improve the bomber's defences, a dorsal Berezin UBT
12,7 mm was mounted. This modification was reported to increase the life expectancy of a Pe-2 from 20 sorties to 54.
The aircraft did not show its true potential until the end of 1941, after the Soviet Air Force
had a chance to regroup after the German onslaught during the Winter. The Pe-2 quickly proved itself to be a highly capable aircraft, able to elude the Luftwaffes interceptors and allowing their crews to develop great accuracy with their bombing.
The records of the 16th and 39th BAPs of the Western Front Air Force note that the Pe-2s crews had the greatest success in repelling the attacks of enemy fighters in June and July 1941. On 1st July, for example, six Pe-2s fended off attacks by four Messerschmitt Bf 109
s, shooting down two of them. A week later a group of Pe-2s was attacked by four Bf 109 and again brought down two of the attackers. On both occasions the Petlyakovs suffered no losses. On southern front, a bombing mission against Ploesti, in Romania
, of six Pe-2s, led by Capt. A. Tsurtsulin, was a great success: 552,150 lb of petroleum were burnt in the raid. The Romanian information agency claimed tha at least 100 Soviet planes had bombed Ploesti. A German pilot shot down by a Petlyakov over Bobruysk, Maj. A. Mudin of JG 51, affirmed that the Pe-2 was the best Soviet aircraft: "It is a fast aircraft, with good armament, and it is dangerous to enemy fighters."
The Pe-2 regiments' operations were not always successful and the service pilots complained about insufficient defensive armament and survivability: there was a great risk of fire and insufficient armour protection, especially for the navigators and gunners.
German pilots soon discovered the limited sighting angles of the ventral gun mounting and its poor reliability. The ammo
belt of the UBT machine-gun often jammed after the first burst of fire when shooting in extreme positions. The navigator and the radio operator were poorly protected.
On average, ten Pe-2 gunners were wounded for every pilot, and two or three were killed for the loss of one pilot.
Throughout 1942 the design was steadily refined and improved, in direct consultation with pilots who were actually flying them in combat. Improved armour protection and a fifth ShKAS machine-gun were installed and fuel tanks modified.
Western sources use mark Pe-2FT for production series after 83 (where FT stands for Frontovoe Trebovanie (Frontline Request)), although Soviet documents do not use this identification.
Final versions Pe-2K (transitional version of Pe-2I) and Pe-2I were produced in small numbers, due to the unwillingness of Soviet industry to decelerate production numbers.
Finland purchased six war booty Pe-2 aircraft from Germany. These arrived at State Aircraft Factory
facilities at Härmälä in January 1942, where the airframes were overhauled and given Finnish serial numbers. The seventh Pe-2 was bought from the Germans in January 1944, and it was flown to Finland at the end of the month.
It was initially planned to use these planes as dive bombers in the 1st flight of LeLv 48
, which began to receive its aircraft in July 1942, but during the training it was found out that this caused too much strain for the engines. Thus, the role of Pe-2s was changed to fly long-range photographic and visual reconnaissance missions for the Army General Headquarters. These sorties began in late 1942, and were often flown with two 250 kg (551 lb) bombs for harassment bombing and in order to cover the true purpose of missions.
By the time the Soviet Fourth strategic offensive
started in June 1944, the secondary bombing role had already ended and the surviving Pe-2s began to be used solely at Karelian Isthmus
in escorted (normally by four FiAF Bf-109 Gs
) photographic reconnaissance flights in order to find out enemy troop concentrations. These vital missions were flown successfully, allowing artillery and Finnish Air Force
and Luftwaffes Gefechtsverband Kuhlmey
's bombers to make their strikes against the formations preparing for attack, which had an important impact on the outcome of the Battle of Tali-Ihantala
, where the Soviet advance was halted.
During the Continuation War, three Pe-2s were lost in accidents or technical failures, one was destroyed in bombing of Lappeenranta airfield
, one was shot down by Soviet fighters and one went missing in action. In the Lapland War
the only remaining machine flew a single reconnaissance sortie in October 1944. On average, the aircraft flew some 94 hours per plane during the war. The sparse usage was due to difficulties with obtaining spare parts.
The Finnish Air Force also operated one Petlyakov Pe-3
(PE-301) that had been captured in 1943.
PE-301 and PE-215 were destroyed when Soviet aircraft bombed the Lappenranta airfield on 2 July 1944. PE-212 went down in 1943, PE-213 was destroyed in an emergency landing in 1942. PE-214 was destroyed in a failed take-off attempt at Härmälä on 21 May 1942: as Härmälä airfield was quite short, the pilot had to try to lift off with too little speed, which caused the aircraft to stall and crash, killing the crew. PE-217 managed to shoot down a Soviet fighter in 1944. PE-216 was destroyed in a forced landing in 1944. PE-211 survived the war and was removed from FAF lists in 1946. It was still standing beside the Kauhava airfield in 1952, but further information on its fate is unknown.
PB-100
Pe-2
Pe-2B
Pe-2D
Pe-2FT
Pe-2FZ
Pe-2I
Pe-2K
Pe-2K RD-1
Pe-2M
Pe-2MV
Pe-2R
Pe-2S
Pe-2Sh
Pe-2VI
Pe-2UTI (UPe-2)
Pe-2 Paravan
Pe-3
Pe-4
Postwar
Petlyakov
V.M. Petlyakov Design Bureau for military aircraft, headed by designer Vladimir Petlyakov. Following his death in 1942, the bureau was controlled by Izakson, Putliov, and Myasishchyev before being dissolved in 1946.-Developments:*Pe-2 'Buck'/PB-100, 1941....
Pe-2 was a Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
dive
Dive bomber
A dive bomber is a bomber aircraft that dives directly at its targets in order to provide greater accuracy for the bomb it drops. Diving towards the target reduces the distance the bomb has to fall, which is the primary factor in determining the accuracy of the drop...
bomber aircraft used during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. It was regarded as one of the best ground attack aircraft of the war and it was extremely successful in the roles of heavy fighter, reconnaissance and night fighter. It was one of the most important aircraft of World War II, being in many respects similar to the British de Havilland Mosquito
De Havilland Mosquito
The de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito was a British multi-role combat aircraft that served during the Second World War and the postwar era. It was known affectionately as the "Mossie" to its crews and was also nicknamed "The Wooden Wonder"...
, though the Pe-2 was manufactured in greater numbers: 11,400. It was fast, maneuverable and durable. Several Communist nations flew the type after the war, when it became known by the NATO reporting name
NATO reporting name
NATO reporting names are classified code names for military equipment of the Eastern Bloc...
Buck. Six captured Pe-2s were also transferred from the Germans to the Finnish Air Force during the Continuation War
Continuation War
The Continuation War was the second of two wars fought between Finland and the Soviet Union during World War II.At the time of the war, the Finnish side used the name to make clear its perceived relationship to the preceding Winter War...
, with the serial code PE- and the unofficial nickname Pekka-Eemeli.
Design and development
The Pe-2 was designed in a prison campSharashka
Sharashka was an informal name for secret research and development laboratories in the Soviet Gulag labor camp system...
(sharashka); Vladimir Petlyakov
Vladimir Petlyakov
Vladimir Mikhailovich Petlyakov was a Soviet aeronautical engineer.Petlyakov was born in Sambek in 1891 , where his father was a local official...
had been arrested and imprisoned in 1937 for allegedly deliberately delaying design work on the Tupolev ANT-42
Petlyakov Pe-8
The Petlyakov Pe-8 was a Soviet heavy bomber designed before World War II, and the only four-engine bomber the USSR built during the war. Produced in limited numbers, it was used to bomb Berlin in August 1941. It was also used for so-called "morale raids" designed to raise the spirit of the Soviet...
bomber. In the sharashka, Petlyakov was put in charge of a team to develop a high-altitude fighter escort for the ANT-42 under the designation VI-100. The first of two prototypes flew on December 22, 1939 and was a very sophisticated aircraft for its time, featuring a pressurised cabin, all-metal construction, supercharger
Supercharger
A supercharger is an air compressor used for forced induction of an internal combustion engine.The greater mass flow-rate provides more oxygen to support combustion than would be available in a naturally aspirated engine, which allows more fuel to be burned and more work to be done per cycle,...
s and many electrically-actuated systems. The prototypes proved so pleasing that production was ordered almost immediately. It is said that Petlyakov and his team could see the VI-100 prototype from their prison as it was put through its paces for the crowds watching the annual May Day
May Day
May Day on May 1 is an ancient northern hemisphere spring festival and usually a public holiday; it is also a traditional spring holiday in many cultures....
parade in 1940.
Just as production was ready to begin, the air force ordered a re-design of the aircraft. The value of tactical bombing had just been displayed by the Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
in the Blitzkrieg
Blitzkrieg
For other uses of the word, see: Blitzkrieg Blitzkrieg is an anglicized word describing all-motorised force concentration of tanks, infantry, artillery, combat engineers and air power, concentrating overwhelming force at high speed to break through enemy lines, and, once the lines are broken,...
, and the need for such an aircraft suddenly became much more important than the need for a high-altitude escort fighter. Petlyakov's team was given 45 days to redesign their aircraft as a dive bomber
Dive bomber
A dive bomber is a bomber aircraft that dives directly at its targets in order to provide greater accuracy for the bomb it drops. Diving towards the target reduces the distance the bomb has to fall, which is the primary factor in determining the accuracy of the drop...
. Cabin pressurization and superchargers were deleted, dive brake
Dive brake
Dive brakes or dive flaps are deployed to slow down an aircraft when in a dive. They usually consist of a metal flap that is raised against the air flow, thus creating drag and reducing dive speed....
s and a bombardiers position were added, and other aerodynamic refinements. A fuselage bomb-bay was added, along with smaller bays in each engine nacelle. The aircraft was initially designated PB-100, but Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
was impressed enough with Petlyakov to free him, and his name was permitted to be used in the aircraft's designation. The first aircraft flew on December 15, 1940, rushed through production without a prototype under severe threats from Stalin if a Pe-2 did not fly by the end of the year. Deliveries to combat units began the following Spring.
While the Pe-2 generally featured favorable flying characteristics when airborne, it took a good amount of force to pull the elevators up to get the plane rotated off the runway during takeoff. Russian night bombing missions often flew with female pilots and some of the women were not strong enough to get the airplane airborne by themselves. When such a situation occurred, the procedure was to have one of the crew get behind the pilot's seat and wrap her arms around the control wheel and help the pilot pull the wheel back. Once the aircraft was airborne, the crew member returned to her duties and the pilot continued to fly the plane without assistance.
Its armament was clearly insufficient, however. The dorsal ShKAS machine gun was inadequate. It had a high rate of fire but it also had 48 ways of jamming. The ventral Berezin UB
Berezin UB
Berezin UB was a 12.7 mm caliber Soviet aircraft machine gun widely used during World War II.-Development:...
had a very limited field of view and at the beginning was unreliable too. To give more protection, another ShKAS was added that could be moved between sockets on both sides of the fuselage and, in emergency, the gunner could fire upwards, but in this case he had to be quite strong to keep it in his arms. To improve the bomber's defences, a dorsal Berezin UBT
Berezin UB
Berezin UB was a 12.7 mm caliber Soviet aircraft machine gun widely used during World War II.-Development:...
12,7 mm was mounted. This modification was reported to increase the life expectancy of a Pe-2 from 20 sorties to 54.
Operational service
Soviet Air Force
The Soviet Air Force, officially known in Russian as Военно-воздушные силы or Voenno-Vozdushnye Sily and often abbreviated VVS was the official designation of one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Soviet Air Defence Forces...
had a chance to regroup after the German onslaught during the Winter. The Pe-2 quickly proved itself to be a highly capable aircraft, able to elude the Luftwaffes interceptors and allowing their crews to develop great accuracy with their bombing.
The records of the 16th and 39th BAPs of the Western Front Air Force note that the Pe-2s crews had the greatest success in repelling the attacks of enemy fighters in June and July 1941. On 1st July, for example, six Pe-2s fended off attacks by four Messerschmitt Bf 109
Messerschmitt Bf 109
The Messerschmitt Bf 109, often called Me 109, was a German World War II fighter aircraft designed by Willy Messerschmitt and Robert Lusser during the early to mid 1930s...
s, shooting down two of them. A week later a group of Pe-2s was attacked by four Bf 109 and again brought down two of the attackers. On both occasions the Petlyakovs suffered no losses. On southern front, a bombing mission against Ploesti, in Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
, of six Pe-2s, led by Capt. A. Tsurtsulin, was a great success: 552,150 lb of petroleum were burnt in the raid. The Romanian information agency claimed tha at least 100 Soviet planes had bombed Ploesti. A German pilot shot down by a Petlyakov over Bobruysk, Maj. A. Mudin of JG 51, affirmed that the Pe-2 was the best Soviet aircraft: "It is a fast aircraft, with good armament, and it is dangerous to enemy fighters."
The Pe-2 regiments' operations were not always successful and the service pilots complained about insufficient defensive armament and survivability: there was a great risk of fire and insufficient armour protection, especially for the navigators and gunners.
German pilots soon discovered the limited sighting angles of the ventral gun mounting and its poor reliability. The ammo
AMMO
AMMO may refer to:* The AMMO Munitions Systems Specialist career field, as part of the United States Air Force* Ammunition as fired from projectile weapons, typically guns* Ammo * Ammo...
belt of the UBT machine-gun often jammed after the first burst of fire when shooting in extreme positions. The navigator and the radio operator were poorly protected.
On average, ten Pe-2 gunners were wounded for every pilot, and two or three were killed for the loss of one pilot.
Throughout 1942 the design was steadily refined and improved, in direct consultation with pilots who were actually flying them in combat. Improved armour protection and a fifth ShKAS machine-gun were installed and fuel tanks modified.
Western sources use mark Pe-2FT for production series after 83 (where FT stands for Frontovoe Trebovanie (Frontline Request)), although Soviet documents do not use this identification.
Final versions Pe-2K (transitional version of Pe-2I) and Pe-2I were produced in small numbers, due to the unwillingness of Soviet industry to decelerate production numbers.
Finnish Air Force
In 1941, after the outbreak of Continuation WarContinuation War
The Continuation War was the second of two wars fought between Finland and the Soviet Union during World War II.At the time of the war, the Finnish side used the name to make clear its perceived relationship to the preceding Winter War...
Finland purchased six war booty Pe-2 aircraft from Germany. These arrived at State Aircraft Factory
Valtion lentokonetehdas
' was a Finnish aircraft manufacturing company that was founded on 23 February 1928 from the IVL or I.V.L. factory . The company was transferred from being subordinate to the Finnish Air Force to being subordinate to the Ministry of Defence...
facilities at Härmälä in January 1942, where the airframes were overhauled and given Finnish serial numbers. The seventh Pe-2 was bought from the Germans in January 1944, and it was flown to Finland at the end of the month.
It was initially planned to use these planes as dive bombers in the 1st flight of LeLv 48
No. 48 Squadron, Finnish Air Force
No. 48 Squadron , renamed No. 48 Bomber Squadron was a bomber squadron of the Finnish Air Force during World War II. The squadron was part of Flying Regiment 4.-Continuation War:...
, which began to receive its aircraft in July 1942, but during the training it was found out that this caused too much strain for the engines. Thus, the role of Pe-2s was changed to fly long-range photographic and visual reconnaissance missions for the Army General Headquarters. These sorties began in late 1942, and were often flown with two 250 kg (551 lb) bombs for harassment bombing and in order to cover the true purpose of missions.
By the time the Soviet Fourth strategic offensive
Fourth strategic offensive
The Vyborg–Petrozavodsk Offensive or Karelian offensive was a strategic operation by the Soviet Leningrad and Karelian Fronts against Finland on the Karelian Isthmus and East Karelia fronts of the Continuation War, on the Eastern Front of World War II. The Soviet forces captured East Karelia and...
started in June 1944, the secondary bombing role had already ended and the surviving Pe-2s began to be used solely at Karelian Isthmus
Karelian Isthmus
The Karelian Isthmus is the approximately 45–110 km wide stretch of land, situated between the Gulf of Finland and Lake Ladoga in northwestern Russia, to the north of the River Neva . Its northwestern boundary is the relatively narrow area between the Bay of Vyborg and Lake Ladoga...
in escorted (normally by four FiAF Bf-109 Gs
Messerschmitt Bf 109
The Messerschmitt Bf 109, often called Me 109, was a German World War II fighter aircraft designed by Willy Messerschmitt and Robert Lusser during the early to mid 1930s...
) photographic reconnaissance flights in order to find out enemy troop concentrations. These vital missions were flown successfully, allowing artillery and Finnish Air Force
Finnish Air Force
The Finnish Air Force is one of the branches of the Finnish Defence Forces. Its peacetime tasks are airspace surveillance, identification flights, and production of readiness formations for wartime conditions...
and Luftwaffes Gefechtsverband Kuhlmey
Detachment Kuhlmey
Detachment Kuhlmey was a temporary unit of the German Luftwaffe during World War II. The unit was commanded by Oberstleutnant Kurt Kuhlmey and the detachment was built around the unit Schlachtgeschwader 3, which also was commanded by Kuhlmey....
's bombers to make their strikes against the formations preparing for attack, which had an important impact on the outcome of the Battle of Tali-Ihantala
Battle of Tali-Ihantala
The Battle of Tali-Ihantala was part of the Continuation War , which occurred during World War II. The battle was fought between Finnish forces—using war material provided by Germany—and Soviet forces...
, where the Soviet advance was halted.
During the Continuation War, three Pe-2s were lost in accidents or technical failures, one was destroyed in bombing of Lappeenranta airfield
Lappeenranta Airport
Lappeenranta Airport is an international airport in Lappeenranta, Finland. In 2010, approximately 61,000 passengers used the airport. Opened in 1918, Lappeenranta Airport is Finland's oldest still operating airport...
, one was shot down by Soviet fighters and one went missing in action. In the Lapland War
Lapland War
The Lapland War were the hostilities between Finland and Nazi Germany between September 1944 and April 1945, fought in Finland's northernmost Lapland Province. While the Finns saw this as a separate conflict much like the Continuation War, German forces considered their actions to be part of the...
the only remaining machine flew a single reconnaissance sortie in October 1944. On average, the aircraft flew some 94 hours per plane during the war. The sparse usage was due to difficulties with obtaining spare parts.
The Finnish Air Force also operated one Petlyakov Pe-3
Petlyakov Pe-3
The Petlyakov Pe-3 was the long-range, night fighter version of the successful Petlyakov Pe-2 high-speed bomber used by the Soviet Union during World War II....
(PE-301) that had been captured in 1943.
PE-301 and PE-215 were destroyed when Soviet aircraft bombed the Lappenranta airfield on 2 July 1944. PE-212 went down in 1943, PE-213 was destroyed in an emergency landing in 1942. PE-214 was destroyed in a failed take-off attempt at Härmälä on 21 May 1942: as Härmälä airfield was quite short, the pilot had to try to lift off with too little speed, which caused the aircraft to stall and crash, killing the crew. PE-217 managed to shoot down a Soviet fighter in 1944. PE-216 was destroyed in a forced landing in 1944. PE-211 survived the war and was removed from FAF lists in 1946. It was still standing beside the Kauhava airfield in 1952, but further information on its fate is unknown.
Variants
In total, around 11,400 Pe-2s were built, large number of minor variants were also developed.PB-100
- Prototype of the Pe-2 modified from the VI-100 in .
Pe-2
- First production variant.
Pe-2B
- Standard bomber version from 1944.
Pe-2D
- Three-seat bomber version, powered by two VK-107A piston engines.
Pe-2FT
- Main production variant. In Czechoslovakia known as the B-32. Improved defensive armament (7.62 mm machine gun in dorsal turret), removal of the dive brakes, and an uprated engine. Nose glazing was also reduced.
Pe-2FZ
- Built in small numbers.
Pe-2I
- Improved version designed by Vladimir Myasishchev. VK-107 engines; revised wing profile; remote-controlled tail gun. Top speed 656 km/h (408 mph). Could carry 1,000 kg (2,204 lb) bombs. Five examples built.
Pe-2K
- Radial-engined version, small number built.
Pe-2K RD-1
- One Pe-2K equipped with additional RD-1 rocket engine. The 300 kg (661 lb) Glushko RD-1 rocket engine was installed in the tail of the aircraft.
Pe-2M
- Variant of Pe-2I with heavier armament.
Pe-2MV
- This version was armed with 20 mm ShVAK cannons and two 12.7 mm (0.5 in) in an underfuselage gondola, it also had one 7.62 mm (0.3 in) machine gun in the dorsal turret.
Pe-2R
- Three-seat photo reconnaissance version, with a larger fuel tanks and extended range. small number built.
Pe-2S
- Two-seat training version.
Pe-2Sh
- The PB-100 prototype was fitted with two 20 mm ShVAK cannons, and a single 12.7 mm (0.5 in) machine gun was fitted beneath the fuselage.
Pe-2VI
- High altitude fighter version.
Pe-2UTI (UPe-2)
- Dedicated trainerTrainer (aircraft)A trainer is a class of aircraft designed specifically to facilitate in-flight training of pilots and aircrews. The use of a dedicated trainer aircraft with additional safety features—such as tandem flight controls, forgiving flight characteristics and a simplified cockpit arrangement—allows...
version, small number built. In Czechoslovakia known as the CB-32.
Pe-2 Paravan
- Anti-barrage balloon version.
Pe-3
Petlyakov Pe-3
The Petlyakov Pe-3 was the long-range, night fighter version of the successful Petlyakov Pe-2 high-speed bomber used by the Soviet Union during World War II....
- Fighter version, small number built.
Pe-4
- Fighter version, small number built.
Operators
World War II- Czechoslovakian Air Force operated some Pe-2FT aircraft in the 1st Czechoslovakian Mixed Air Division in Soviet Union (1. československá smíšená letecká divize v SSSR). Aircraft were used operationally since 14 April 1945.
- Finnish Air ForceFinnish Air ForceThe Finnish Air Force is one of the branches of the Finnish Defence Forces. Its peacetime tasks are airspace surveillance, identification flights, and production of readiness formations for wartime conditions...
operated seven captured aircraft (given the Finnish serial numbers PE-211 to PE-217).
- Soviet Air ForceSoviet Air ForceThe Soviet Air Force, officially known in Russian as Военно-воздушные силы or Voenno-Vozdushnye Sily and often abbreviated VVS was the official designation of one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Soviet Air Defence Forces...
Postwar
- Bulgarian Air ForceBulgarian Air ForceThe Bulgarian Air Force is a branch of the Military of Bulgaria, the other two being the Bulgarian Navy and Bulgarian land forces. Its mission is to guard and protect the sovereignty of Bulgarian airspace, to provide aerial support and to assist the Land Forces in case of war. The Bulgarian Air...
- People's Liberation Army Air ForcePeople's Liberation Army Air ForceThe People's Liberation Army Air Force is the aviation branch of the People's Liberation Army, the military of the People's Republic of China...
- Czechoslovakian Air Force operated 32 Pe-2FT and 3 UPe-2 between May 1946 and mid 1951. First aircraft arrived to Prague-Kbely airfield in April 1946 and formed two squadrons ot the 25 Air Regiment in Havlíčkův BrodHavlíckuv BrodHavlíčkův Brod , Německý Brod until 1945 is a town in the Vysočina Region of the Czech Republic. It is also the capital of the Havlíčkův Brod district. It is located on the Sázava River in the Bohemian-Moravian Highlands and has a population of 24,321 as of 2003...
. Czechoslovakian aircraft were known under designation B-32 (Pe-2FT) and CB-32 (UPe-2).
- Hungarian Air ForceHungarian Air ForceThe Hungarian Air Force is the air force branch of the Hungarian Army.- 1918 to Pre–World War II :Following the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy in 1918, a small air arm was established operating surviving aircraft from Hungarian factories and training schools...
- Air Force of the Polish ArmyAir Force of the Polish ArmyThe Air Force of the Polish Army , unofficially known as the People's Polish Air Force was the name of the Soviet-controlled Polish Air Force in the USSR between 1943 and 1947 created alongside the Polish People's Army , a subordinate to the Red Army...
(after 1947 Polish Air ForcePolish Air ForceThe Polish Air Force is the military Air Force wing of the Polish Armed Forces. Until July 2004 it was officially known as Wojska Lotnicze i Obrony Powietrznej...
) - Polish NavyPolish NavyThe Marynarka Wojenna Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej - MW RP Polish Navy, is the branch of Republic of Poland Armed Forces responsible for naval operations...
- Soviet Air ForceSoviet Air ForceThe Soviet Air Force, officially known in Russian as Военно-воздушные силы or Voenno-Vozdushnye Sily and often abbreviated VVS was the official designation of one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Soviet Air Defence Forces...
- SFR Yugoslav Air ForceSFR Yugoslav Air ForceThe Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Yugoslav Air Force , was the air force of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia . Formed in 1945, it was preceded by the Yugoslav Royal Air Force which was disbanded in 1941, following the German occupation of Yugoslavia...
operated 123 Pe-2FT and 9 UPe-2 between 1945 and 1954.- 41st Bomber Aviation Regiment (1945-1948)
- 42nd Bomber Aviation Regiment (1945-1948)
- 43rd Bomber Aviation Regiment (1947-1948)
- Night Bomber Aviation Regiment (1948)
- 88th Bomber Aviation Regiment (1948-1952)
- 97th Bomber Aviation Regiment (1948-1952)
- 109th Bomber Aviation Regiment (1948-1952)
- 185th Mixed Aviation Regiment (1949-1952)
- 715. Independent Reconnaissance Squadron (1949-1952)