Petlyakov Pe-3

what is it?

The Petlyakov Pe-3 was the long-range heavy fighter version of the successful Petlyakov Pe-2 high-speed dive bomber used by the Soviet Union during World War II. Its design and use followed a comparable path to those taken by the German Luftwaffe with the Junkers Ju 88 and the British Royal Air Force with the De Havilland Mosquito. The Soviets realized the need for a night fighter after the first night bombing of Moscow during Operation Barbarossa. The Petlyakov Pe-2 was selected for modification as the most suitable aircraft available.

🔎How to recognise it: 2 piston engines with propellers · 17.1 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 530 km/htop speed
• range 1,500 kmwithout refuelling
• size 8,000 kgmax take-off weight
• built 360made in total

Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).

fun facts

• 🎂First flew 85 years ago, in 1941.
• 🏎️Top speed is 4.1× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
• 🚗Wingspan of 17.1 m: about 4 cars parked nose to tail.
• 🌍Range of 1,500 km: 8× Amsterdam to Brussels.
• 🏔️Can fly 1.0× higher than Mount Everest (8,849 m).

piston: A car-like piston engine turning a propeller: simple and cheap, the classic small plane.

spec sheet

first flight

1941-08-07

introduced

1941

retired

1950

status

retired

number built

360

role

heavy fighter, night fighter

origin

🇷🇺 Soviet Union

makers

Moscow Aviation Plant № 39, Kazan Aircraft Production Association, Irkutsk Aviation Plant

engines

2× Klimov M-105RA

crew

2

length

12.7 m

wingspan

17.1 m

max take-off weight

8,000 kg

top speed

530 km/h

range

1,500 km

ceiling

9,100 m

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.