DESCRIPTION

Pe-2 Bomber Of The Finnish Air Force Plastic Model Kit 

UniModels 102

1:72 Scale

Manufacturer: UniModels

Material: Plastic

Condition: New in original packaging

Historical reference

The Petlyakov Pe-2 (Russian: Петляков Пе-2) was a Soviet twin-engined dive bomber used during World War II. One of the outstanding tactical attack aircraft of the war, it also proved successful as a heavy fighter, as a night fighter (Pe-3 variant), and as a reconnaissance aircraft. In many respects, it resembled the wooden British de Havilland Mosquito. The Soviets manufactured Pe-2s in greater numbers (11,430 built) during the war than any other twin-engined combat aircraft except for the German Junkers Ju 88 and the British Vickers Wellington. The Pe-2 was fast, maneuverable, and durable. Several Communist air forces flew the type after the war when it became known by the NATO reporting name Buck. The Germans transferred six captured Pe-2s to the Finnish Air Force during the Continuation War of 1941-1944; the Finns gave them the serial code prefix PE- and the unofficial nickname Pekka-Eemeli (equivalent to "Peter-Emil").

The Pe-2 was designed in a prison design bureau (sharashka); Vladimir Petlyakov had been arrested and imprisoned in 1937 for allegedly delaying design work on the Tupolev ANT-42 bomber. In the sharashka, Petlyakov was put in charge of a team to develop a high-altitude fighter escort for the ANT-42 under the designation VI-100. The first of two prototypes flew on 22 December 1939 and was a sophisticated aircraft for its time, featuring a pressurized cabin, all-metal construction, superchargers, and many electrically actuated systems. It is said that Petlyakov and his team could see the VI-100 prototype from their prison as it was put through its paces for the crowds watching the annual May Day parade in 1940.

Just as production was ready to begin, the air force ordered a re-design of the aircraft. The value of tactical bombing had just been displayed by the Luftwaffe in the Blitzkrieg, and the need for such an aircraft suddenly became much more important than the need for a high-altitude escort fighter. Petlyakov's team was given 45 days to redesign their aircraft as a dive bomber. Cabin pressurization and superchargers were deleted, dive brakes, a bombardier's position, and other aerodynamic refinements were added. A fuselage bomb-bay was added, along with smaller bays in each engine nacelle. The aircraft was initially designated PB-100, but Joseph Stalin was impressed enough with Petlyakov to free him, and his name was permitted to be used in the aircraft's designation. The first aircraft flew on 15 December 1940, rushed through production without a prototype under severe threats from Stalin. Deliveries to combat units began the following spring.

While the Pe-2's flying characteristics were generally favorable once it was airborne, it took a good amount of force to pull the elevators up to rotate the plane for takeoff. Russian night bombing missions often flew with female pilots and some of the women were not strong enough to get the airplane airborne by themselves. When such a situation occurred, the procedure was to have the navigator get behind the pilot's seat and wrap her arms around the control wheel and help the pilot pull the wheel back. Once the aircraft was airborne, the navigator returned to her duties and the pilot continued to fly the plane without assistance. Its armament was clearly insufficient, however. The dorsal ShKAS machine gun had a very high rate of fire; however, its 7.62 mm rounds proved inadequate against the armor protection of modern fighters as the war progressed. In addition, it often jammed. The mounting for the ventral Berezin UB had a very limited field of view and the gun was initially unreliable. To give more protection, another ShKAS was added that could be moved between sockets on both sides of the fuselage and, in an emergency, the gunner could fire upwards, but in this case, they had to be quite strong to keep it in their arms. To improve the bomber's defenses, a dorsal Berezin UBT 12,7 mm was mounted. This modification was reported to increase the life expectancy of a Pe-2 from 20 sorties to 54.

With love from Ukraine