Combat aircraft. Pe-3 and Pe-3bis. Twice born against all odds

2024 Author: Matthew Elmers | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 21:49

For a very long time, I confess, I was getting close to this plane. No wonder, very, very little has been written about the Pe-3. If there is a book about the Pe-2, at best the Pe-3 will be given a chapter. They say it was. If an article, a few sentences will be enough. And there are no books and more or less serious research.

True, there is a hint of a certain ray of light in the dark kingdom, this is the work of Andrei Morkovkin. When the book is finished, I am sure it will please all lovers of our flying story.

We will not talk about this very controversial aircraft in as much detail as Morkovkin's, but links to ready-made chapters will be at the end of the material, so for anyone interested, there is a lot of useful and detailed information.

Pe-3. Heavy fighter

Few know that the forerunner was the "100" fighter, which was planned as a high-altitude interceptor. However, it turned out that the fighter was urgently converted into a dive bomber, and the aircraft went into service as the Pe-2.

However, in the summer of 1941, when the Germans were able to launch air strikes on Moscow, the forerunner aircraft was remembered again.

The Germans were by no means stupid, and they understood perfectly well that a raid on Moscow during the day was suicide. They appreciated the air defense of Moscow very quickly. But at night you could try to impose a battle on your own terms.

The first raid ended, to put it mildly, not very successfully. Firstly, the damage was minimal, and secondly, the loss of 20 or 22 aircraft is cool for such an operation, since about two hundred aircraft were involved.

But then the Luftwaffe began to work in small groups, and ours began to have difficulties.

A group of 6-9 planes is much more difficult to detect than a crowd of several hundred, this is understandable. It is easier for a single bomber to jump out of the searchlight, while it is more difficult for fighters to find it.

Considering that we did not have full-fledged "night lights" at all, the task turned out to be very difficult. Often, conventional fighters did not have time to gain altitude and catch up with the bomber at all.

The logical decision was, if not the creation of a night fighter, which in 1941 was simply unrealistic for a number of reasons, then at least a patrolling interceptor, which would be able to cover a certain area for a long time and attack bombers if they appeared.

It was then that they remembered that the Pe-2 was originally just such an aircraft.

And on August 2, 1941, by the decision of the State Defense Committee, the design group of V. M. Petlyakov was tasked with creating a heavy fighter. Deadline … August 6, 1941

That's right, it took 4 days to convert a dive bomber back to a heavy fighter.

But as usual, the Petlyakov KB coped with the task of the party and the government. And if we hadn't coped, I think everyone would have ended up in another “sharaga” again. Created specifically for the occasion.

But given that the enemy was already on the outskirts of the capital, no one had to rush.

No drawings were made, all modifications were carried out locally. Combat collective farm. The main goal of the modifications was to increase the range by lightening the design and increasing the amount of fuel, and strengthening the armament.

It was possible to increase the amount of fuel by 700 liters by installing additional tanks: one in the bomb bay and two in place of the gunner's cabin. The oval side windows and the upper hatch were sewn up, the lower machine-gun mount was removed. But the bottom hatch was left.

To facilitate the construction, the electric bomb dropping control system was dismantled, the brake grilles under the consoles, and the radio semi-compass were removed. Of the bomb racks, only four were left - two external and two in the engine nacelles. The radio station of the RSB-bis bomber was replaced with the RSI-4 fighter version.

With regard to the replacement of the radio station, there are several opinions. Morkovkin believes that everything is correct, since the Pe-3 was not a long-range escort fighter, he did not need a long-range radio station and a radio semi-compass. You can read about it from him.

I totally disagree with him. The aircraft was given a flight range of 2000+ km, respectively, the combat radius was obtained somewhere in the region of 700-800 km.

The aircraft's communication range with the ground using the RSI-4 was a maximum of 100-110 km, and even less with other aircraft - 50-60 km. Plus, the design is lightened by removing the radio half-compass.

To be honest, how it was planned to aim and correct such a night fighter is not entirely clear to me. In fact, it turned out to be some kind of blind poking in space in the hope of spotlighting the enemy by searchlights.

Amplification of armament turned out to be nominal. Or rather, the minimum. Added one BK machine gun in the bow and one ShKAS in a fixed tail mount (instead of the gunner, there were now gas tanks).

As a result, the aircraft had two offensive weapons BK (ammunition 150 rounds per barrel) and one ShKAS (750 rounds) and defensive two ShKAS, one of which was served by the navigator, and the second was fixed.

As a result, the aircraft remained in the same weight category as the Pe-2, although the range (2,150 km) and speed (530 km / h at an altitude of 5,000 m) increased slightly.

But on the whole, the plane came out badly so-so. Especially for 1941. The same stunted and feeble Messerschmitt Bf.110C with DB601A engines turned out to be stronger than the Pe-3. With practically the same range, flight speed at the ground (445 km / h) and climb time of 5000 m (8, 5-9 min), the 110th was 1350 kg lighter and had better maneuverability in the horizontal plane.

The armament of the Bf.110C was one and a half times more powerful in terms of the mass of a second salvo due to a 20-mm cannon and four machine guns of 7, 92-mm caliber.

And since the fall of 1941, when the Bf 110E with more powerful DB601E engines appeared in the sky, the 110 became faster in all altitude ranges.

Comparing it with the older American P-38 in terms of development time is generally sad. Battery of 20mm cannon and four 12.7mm machine guns, higher speed and - armor! Which the Pe-3 did not have at all.

Here it is appropriate again to recall the VI-100 created by Petlyakov, "Sotka", on the basis of which the Pe-2 bomber was made. The VI-100 was originally armed with 2 ShVAK 20-mm cannons with 300 rounds per barrel and 2 ShKAS 7, 62-mm machine guns with 900 rounds of ammunition.

The Pe-3 looks rather dull against its background. But that's the price to pay for a quick rework. After all, the Pe-3 was made on the basis of the Pe-2, not the VI-100, and for a dive bomber, just a large glazing area of the bow, which provided convenience in orientation and aiming, was very important.

Naturally, the rush and 4 days for everything simply did not allow redesigning the nose of the aircraft and placing more powerful weapons there. Experts from the Air Force Research Institute noted precisely these shortcomings in the reports: weak weapons, lack of reservation, weak radio station.

It was recommended to install one 20-mm ShVAK cannon, and the machine gun at the navigator of 7, 62-mm caliber should be replaced with a large-caliber Berezina.

But that was not all.

When shooting offensive machine guns, it turned out that the plexiglass nose of the fuselage could not withstand the pressure of the muzzle gases and collapsed. Cases that fly out when fired in the air hit the front wing skin and the lower surface of the fuselage. And during night firing, the flames of the shots blind the crew, and the reticle becomes invisible, you had to aim at the tracers.

The changes were made instantly. Flame arresters were installed on the barrels of the machine guns, the plexiglass toe was replaced with an aluminum one. The sleeves began to be collected together with the links in special boxes, sleeve collectors.

Curtains were made for the lower glazing, as it turned out that the searchlights blind the crew. On the Pe-3, for the first time in the USSR, ultraviolet lighting in the cockpit and phosphorescent compositions on the instrument scales were installed and tested.

But the armament, unfortunately, was left unchanged. And booking, or rather, its absence.

But the plane was needed, so with tears, it was launched into production.

The tactics of using the Pe-3 were also developed. The aircraft began to enter service with units where the flight personnel were trained in the use of the Pe-2 (95th SBAP, for example), respectively, the pilots imagined what could be expected from a fighter based on the Pe-2.

Various methods of combat use of the Pe-3 were proposed - from loitering in pairs as a kind of observation posts, destroying individual enemy vehicles and immediately calling for reinforcements in the event of the approach of large groups of enemy aircraft, to leading and radio guidance of single-engine fighters. If the radio station permits, of course.

The account of victories on the Pe-3 was opened on October 3, 1941 by the pilot of the 95th IAP (renamed the 95th sbap) Senior Lieutenant Fortov, who shot down the Ju.88.

In the same 95th IAP, the Pe-3 armament was finalized in the field, and several vehicles received a 20-mm ShVAK cannon and a BT machine gun instead of a ShKAS from the navigator. There were cases of field conversion of aircraft into reconnaissance aircraft, by installing AFA-B aerial cameras on them.

Pe-3s served in the air defense system of Moscow until March 1942. It is curious that the water from the radiators was not drained even on the coldest nights, since the regiment was considered a fighter regiment, and the “takeoff” command could arrive at any minute.

However, as soon as the Germans were driven away from Moscow, the Pe-3s began to bombard enemy troops, fortunately, the bomb racks on the external sling were not dismantled.

In fact, by 1943, all the Pe-3s that remained in service were transferred to training aircraft and sent to aviation schools that trained personnel for the Pe-2. Scouts with aerial cameras were used occasionally.

LTH Pe-3

Wingspan, m: 17, 13

Length, m: 12, 67

Height, m: 3, 93

Wing area, m2: 40, 80

Weight, kg

- empty aircraft: 5 730

- takeoff: 7 860

Engine: 2 х М-105Р х 1050 hp

Maximum speed, km / h

- near the ground: 442

- at height: 535

Practical range, km: 2 150

Combat radius of action, km: 1 500

Maximum rate of climb, m / min: 556

Practical ceiling, m: 8 600

Crew, people: 2

Armament:

- two 12.7 mm BK machine guns and one 7.62 mm ShKAS offensive machine gun;

- two 7, 62-mm machine guns ShKAS defensive;

- bomb load - 2 x 250 kg under the fuselage and 2x100 under the nacelles

Pe-3bis

What is an encore? It is believed that this is from the English abbreviation "Best Item in Slot (Best in Slot)" - which means "the best thing in terms of characteristics."

It seems logical, but most are inclined to believe that "bis" is a Russian transcription of the word "bis", which means "the second version". In Latin bis - twice.

This marking was used to designate a new version of an existing product, if for some reason the designation of a new model is not introduced.

The Pe-3bis fighter was born following an appeal by the commander of the 95th IAP, Colonel Pestov, and the squadron commander of the same regiment, Captain Zhatkov, directly to the Secretary of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks Malenkov with criticism of the Pe-3 aircraft.

As a communist to a communist.

Zhatkov described in great detail all the disadvantages of the Pe-3, duplicating the report of the Air Force Research Institute experts. Colonel Pestov criticized the complete lack of protection from enemy aircraft defensive fire.

According to the pilots, it was necessary to urgently install the armor protection of the bow, the ShVAK cannon on the fighter, and replace the upper installation of the navigator with the ShKAS with a turret with a BT heavy machine gun.

Zhatkov ended his appeal with the words: "Our pilots are ready to fight in any machine, including this one, but people and machines are too dear to us now, and there is no point in sacrificing for little enemy blood."

It is probably worth noting that the "critic" Zhatkov ended the war as a lieutenant colonel, commander of an air regiment.

Malenkov, instead of imprisoning, torturing and shooting Zhatkov and Pestov, who criticized Soviet technology, demanded that the Air Force command urgently understand the situation and report back.

Here, from the pilots of the 40th SBAP, which had also started re-equipping this aircraft, an expression of extreme displeasure came to the design bureau of plant # 39, where the Pe-3 was produced.

So after Malenkov's roar, the shortcomings should be eliminated, and eliminated urgently. The design bureau of plant # 39 was entrusted with the development of proposals, and as a result, an experimental improved aircraft Pe-3bis appeared.

The experienced Pe-3bis differed from the serial Pe-3 as follows:

- completely removed the glazing, which only interfered;

- instead of BK machine guns, two UBK machine guns (250 rounds per barrel) and a ShVAK cannon with 250 rounds of ammunition were installed in the bow;

- instead of the upper turret mount of the TSS-1 navigator with a ShKAS machine gun, a mobile unit with an UBT machine gun and 180 rounds of ammunition in a rotating turret was mounted; - - wing consoles equipped with automatic slats;

- reduced the length of the cockpit canopy, and also moved the anti-hood frame forward by almost half a meter;

- the system for filling gas tanks with nitrogen was replaced with the so-called system for filling tanks with cooled exhaust gases from engines;

- mounted protivoplazhitelny curtains on all windows of the cabin;

- installed an anti-icing system on the screws and the windshield of the lantern.

Reservation was strengthened: the pilot's front was covered with separate armor plates from 4 to 6.5 mm thick, the pilot's seat armor was made of steel 13 mm thick, the lower cockpit hatch was booked to protect against an accidental shot from the UBK at the time of boarding the plane.

The total mass of the armor increased to 148 kg, and the total mass of the Pe-3bis increased by 180 kg compared to the Pe-3.

The speed at altitude decreased to 527 km / h, but the speed at the ground increased to 448 km / h. Automatic slats somewhat simplified the piloting technique, especially on landing, because the Pe-3 inherited not the best features from the Pe-2 in this regard.

What about the plane? He was, he fought. The Pe-3 and Pe-3 bis were released in total about 360 units, so by and large, this is a drop in the bucket for a fighter.

Moreover, the Pe-3 fought basically not in this capacity. Only about 50 machines were used as fighters, the rest were fought by scouts, bombers, spotters, training aircraft.

By the end of the summer of 1944, the Red Army Air Force had no more than 30 Pe-3s of different variants, and no regiment was fully armed with them.

The aircraft were mainly used for visual and photographic reconnaissance. Pe-3s were still used by the Northern Fleet Air Force (95th IAP, 28th ORAE).

Here, perhaps, more valuable is the work that was carried out in Irkutsk to bring the car to mind. We admit that the Pe-3 was never delivered, but many things that were used for the first time continued to work on other aircraft.