Soviet Pe-2 Light Bomber

By Crusader1307

Considered by some to have been one of the best Ground Attack Aircraft of World War II, The Soviet Petlyakov (or ''Buck'' as it was identified by The Allies) was a combination of several aircraft ideas. These being the iconic British ''Mosquito'' deHavilland and Germany's Hunker Ju Bomber. Fast, The Petlyakov was very reliable and remained in Soviet Military Service until it was retire in 1954. A fully electrical system that was powered by supercharged engines, it was Stalin himself that ordered it's production. Over 11,000 Pe-2 Bombers were made. First deployed to The Western Front against Germany in 1942, The Pe-2 proved capable against Germany's vaunted Messerschmitt Fighters and greatly helped in breaking Germany's hold of air superiority over Russia during The War. Crewed by (3), The ''Buck'' was 43-feet long with a wingspan of 56-feet. It was powered by Twin Kilnov 105 liquid cooled V12 Engines that could generate 1,210 HP each. It could achieve over 300-mph of airspeed. The Pe-2 could range to an operational ceiling of 29,000-feet. The Pe-2 could carry over 3,000-pounds of Bombs with a support defense package of (7) Machine Guns and Cannons. They could also be deployed with parachute stabilized timed grenades. (20) related variants were produced by Russian during and after The War.