Pe-3

Pe-3

Pe-3 (e)

Yak-2 KABB

Pe-3

Pe-3 (e)

Yak-2 KABB

USSR

I Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
2.3	2.0	2.7

Class:

Strike aircraft

Research:3 000

Purchase:6 300

This page is about the Russian twin-engine fighter Pe-3. For other versions, see Pe-3/E and Pe-3bis.

Description

The Pe-3 is a rank I Russian twin-engine fighter with a battle rating of 2.3 (AB), 2.0 (RB), and 2.7 (SB). It has been in the game since the start of the Open Beta Test prior to Update 1.27.

General info

Flight Performance

Describe how the aircraft behaves in the air. Speed, manoeuvrability, acceleration and allowable loads - these are the most important characteristics of the vehicle.

Characteristics
Stock
Max Speed (km/h at 5,100 m)		Max altitude (meters)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (meters/second)		Take-off run (meters)
AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
485	471	8400	27.4	28.7	7.2	7.2	326
Upgraded
Max Speed (km/h at 5,100 m)		Max altitude (meters)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (meters/second)		Take-off run (meters)
AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
???	???	8400	??.?	??.?	??.?	??.?	326

Details

Features
Combat flaps	Take-off flaps	Landing flaps	Air brakes	Arrestor gear
✓	✓	✓	X	X

Limits
Wing-break speed (km/h)	Gear limit (km/h)	Combat flaps (km/h)	Max Static G
			+	-
740	450	320	~9	~5

Optimal velocities
Ailerons (km/h)	Rudder (km/h)	Elevators (km/h)	Radiator (km/h)
< 380	< 380	< 440	> 307

Compressor (RB/SB)
Setting 1
Optimal altitude	100% Engine power	WEP Engine power
2,000 m	1,100 hp	1,186 hp
Setting 2
Optimal altitude	100% Engine power	WEP Engine power
4,000 m	1,050 hp	1,132 hp

Survivability and armour

Examine the survivability of the aircraft. Note how vulnerable the structure is and how secure the pilot is, whether the fuel tanks are armoured, etc. Describe the armour, if there is any, and also mention the vulnerability of other critical aircraft systems.

Armaments

Offensive armament

The Pe-3 is armed with:

• 2 x 12.7 mm Berezin UB machine guns, nose-mounted (250 rpg = 500 total)

Suspended armament

The Pe-3 can be outfitted with the following ordnance:

• Without load
• 2 x 100 kg FAB-100 bombs (200 kg total)
• 4 x 100 kg FAB-100 bombs (400 kg total)
• 2 x 250 kg FAB-250M43 bombs + 2 x 100 kg FAB-100 bombs (700 kg total)
• 6 x RS-132 rockets
• 6 x RBS-132 rockets

Defensive armament

The Pe-3 is defended by:

• 1 x 7.62 mm ShKAS machine gun, dorsal turret (750 rpg)
• 1 x 7.62 mm ShKAS machine gun, tail turret (250 rpg)

Usage in battles

Describe the tactics of playing in an aircraft, the features of using vehicles in a team and advice on tactics. Refrain from creating a "guide" - do not impose a single point of view, but instead, give the reader food for thought. Examine the most dangerous enemies and give recommendations on fighting them. If necessary, note the specifics of the game in different modes (AB, RB, SB).

Manual Engine Control

MEC elements
Mixer	Pitch	Radiator			Supercharger	Turbocharger
		Oil	Water	Type
Controllable	Controllable Not auto controlled	Not controllable Not auto controlled	Controllable Not auto controlled	Separate	Controllable 2 gears	Not controllable

Modules

Tier	Flight performance		Survivability	Weaponry
I	Fuselage repair	Radiator		Offensive 12 mm	DZ-40
II		Compressor	Airframe	New 12 mm MGs	RO-132
III	Wings repair	Engine		Turret 7 mm
IV		Engine injection	Cover	New 7 mm MGs (turret)

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Great armament
• Air spawn in realistic and simulator battles
• Carries rockets, fantastic for ground striking and bomber hunting
• Good roll rate for a larger aircraft

Cons:

• Bad top speed for a twin-engine fighter
• Bad acceleration
• Bad turn rate
• Lack of defensive armament
• Severe control stiffening above 600 kph IAS

History

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In-game description

Petlyakov Pe-3 Heavy Twin-Engine Fighter

When the Great Patriotic War began in the summer of 1941, the Air Force of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army urgently needed a patrol/interceptor aircraft to fight the enemy's bombers and scouts. But with a war in progress, troops could only quickly receive a twin-engined fighter if it were based on some plane currently in production. The older Pe-2's fighter design fit this need perfectly.

In August 1941, the Petlyakov Design Bureau was instructed to design a fighter version of the Pe-2. The first prototype Pe-3 fighter, redesigned from the production Pe-2 bomber, series 16, flew for the first time on August 7, 1941. Only seven days passed between the order for the aircraft and its delivery for trials!

Structurally, the Pe-3 fighter differed from the Pe-2 in the layout of its forward and middle fuselage and its armament. Additional fuel tanks were put in the plane's fuselage, with one located in the bomb bay and two others replacing the gunner's cockpit. The plane was modified to be a two-seater.

The fighter had increased offensive armament. The nose weapon mount of the prototype Pe-3 model consisted of two 12.7mm Berezin BK machine guns with 150 rounds each and one 7.62mm ShKAS machine gun with 450 rounds. The TSS-1 upper mount in the navigator's cockpit consisting of a 7.62mm ShKAS machine gun with 750 rounds was kept unchanged from the Pe-2. Since there was no one to provide fire from the lower rear of the aircraft, a fixed tail mount with a 7.62mm ShKAS machine gun with 250 rounds, which had been tested before on the VI-100 high-altitude fighter, was installed.

The plane's bombing armament was drastically simplified. Only four bomb racks remained from the Pe-2: two in the engine nacelle bomb bays and two (external) under the fuselage. The total bomb capacity was reduced to 400 kg for standard load and 700 kg (two 250-kg bombs and two 100-kg bombs) when overloaded. The brake covers under the wings were removed together with the gears, and, as a result, the ability to perform dive bombing was gone.

Production Pe-3s had the ShKAS nose machine gun removed, but the magazine capacity of the BK machine guns was increased up to 250 rounds each.

During armament testing of the nose mount, it was found that the Plexiglas fuselage nose section could not withstand the muzzle gas pressure, resulting in its destruction. Plexiglas was first replaced with duralumin and then with steel. The aircraft glazing was reduced when large observation blisters and the upper glass hatch of the gunner's cockpit were removed.

The heavy fighters were delivered from the factory to the front lines with equipment corresponding to the main production Pe-3 aircraft. The total number of Pe-3s built in 1941 was 196; 11 more planes were assembled from available stocks of parts in April 1942.

Media

Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.

See also

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• reference to the series of the aircraft;
• links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.

External links

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• topic on the official game forum;
• encyclopedia page on the aircraft;
• other literature.

USSR twin-engine fighters
I-29