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Preview
April 17, 2006
Pe-2
and Pe-3 for IL-2 Forgotten Battles
by Guest Writer Ian
Boys
Disclaimer:
In line with SimHQ's interest disclosure policy I would like
to state that I have a commercial relationship with 1C, the
parent company of Maddox Games who have produced the Pe-2/Pe-3
Add-On for IL-2. 1C are the Russian distributors for my Ostfront
product. - Ian Boys
Add-on Contents
- 4 flyable Pe-2 variants
- 2 flyable Pe-3 variants
- Extensive Read-me for the new aircraft
- 4 campaigns - 2x Pe-2 (Airforce
and Navy), 1x fighter, 1x IL-2
- 5 Pe-2 Cooperative multiplayer
missions
- 5 Pe-2 and Pe-3 Single player missions
- A Pe-2 Bombsight Training Mission
- Many new skins for the Pe-2, Pe-3,
Yak-1b, La-5 and others
- New German and Russian vehicular
and static AA guns
- New German and Russian artillery
and antitank pieces
The Pe-2
Vladimir Petlyakov, the designer who
produced the most widespread and versatile of the many Soviet
bomber designs of World War II, was a prisoner of the NKVD
when he first drew the "100" high altitude fighter,
the forerunner of the Pe-2 and Pe-3 aircraft and it was in
a special prison camp that the twin-engined, twin-rudder aircraft
progressed from concept to reality (see Soviet
Combat Aircraft of WW2 by Ye. Gordon and D. Khazanov, Volume 2).
The "100" was designed as
a fast interceptor not unlike the Messerschmitt Bf-110. However
the successes in Poland and France of the Ju-87 and Ju-88
dive bombers meant that the Russians were looking for a precision
instrument of their own. Polikarpov's SPB was proving unsuccessful
and Archangelskiy's conversion of the Tupolev SB was looking
pessimistic. The Russian purchase in 1940 of a Ju-88 suggested
the similar "100" as a possible conversion. Petlyakov
was released from prison in the summer of 1940 and with a
host of designers from the competing but unsuccessful design
teams drafted in, he set to work. The navigator and pilot
were moved into a single cockpit and glass was placed in the
nose to aid landing and target spotting. Sights for level
and dive bombing were added, together with defensive machine-guns
for the upper and lower hemispheres.
The PB-100 was redesignated the Pe-2
in December 1940, the same month as its first flights. Testing
by the Red Airforce revealed 187 defects. Most were quickly
resolved but some remained as "features" of the
Pe-2 throughout its service. Chief among them was the tendency
to stall during landing if the angle of attack exceeded 11
degrees. This was caused by the wing design originally intended
for the high-altitude fighter and kept for the Pe-2
The bomber entered service at Moscow
and Kiev but by the time of the German invasion, 180 were
serving in the frontier Military Districts. First encounters
with German aircraft were encouraging — unlike the SB,
the Pe-2's could parry enemy attacks and gain rare victories
even over the nimble Messerchmitt Bf-109's. A raid on Ploesti
in Rumania confirmed the bomber's ability — 250,00 tons
of oil was set alight. Nevertheless, the defects were also
apparent: insufficient defensive armament, a high fire risk
and insufficient armor for the navigator and gunner.
Defensive armament was improved —
from August 1941, three defensive guns were carried. One was
fired by the Navigator from his position in the main cockpit.
The Radio Operator/Gunner in the fuselage had two guns —
one covering behind and below from the ventral hatch and one
that could be switched from side to side to fire from small
portholes. These guns were initially of 7.62mm caliber but
the turret and ventral guns were later upgraded to 12.7mm.
Armor was improved, especially for the Navigator and Gunner,
as was the inert gas system that protected against fire. Still,
ten gunners were wounded for each wounded pilot, and two or
three gunners killed for each dead pilot.
The Pe-2 first came to prominence
during the battle to defend Moscow that began in October 1941,
where they flew the most important attack missions. A number
of modifications were also attempted, from rockets to airborne
searchlights to counter German night bombing. Thereafter the
Pe-2 spread to every front, carrying the burden of daylight
bombing, reconnaissance and maritime surveillance until the
end of the war.
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