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The Petlyakov Pe-2 ((ロシア語:Петляков Пе-2)) was a Soviet light bomber used during World War II. It was regarded as one of the best ground attack aircraft of the war〔Ethell 1996, pp. 152–153.〕 and it was extremely successful in the roles of heavy fighter, reconnaissance and night fighter.〔Angelucci and Matricardi 1978, p. 234.〕 It was one of the most important aircraft of World War II, similar in many respects to the British de Havilland Mosquito. Pe-2s were manufactured in greater numbers (11,427 built) during the war than any other twin-engined combat aircraft except for the German Junkers Ju 88 and British Vickers Wellington.〔〔Guston 1980, p. 173.〕 (Fourth in production numbers was the American Lockheed P-38 Lightning with 10,037 built.) The Pe-2 was fast, maneuverable and durable. Several Communist nations flew the type after the war, when it became known by the NATO reporting name ''Buck''. Six captured Pe-2s were also transferred from the Germans to the Finnish Air Force during the German invasion to the Soviet Union, with the serial code ''PE-'' and the unofficial nickname ''Pekka-Eemeli''. ==Design and development== The Pe-2 was designed in a prison design bureau (''sharashka''); Vladimir Petlyakov had been arrested and imprisoned in 1937 for allegedly deliberately 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 December 22, 1939 and was a very sophisticated aircraft for its time, featuring a pressurised cabin, all-metal construction, superchargers and many electrically-actuated systems. The prototypes proved so pleasing that production was ordered almost immediately. 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.〔Pe-2 Guards Units of World War 2, Dmitriy Khazanov, Andrey Yurgenson, Aleksander Medved page 7〕 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 and a bombardier's position were added, and other aerodynamic refinements. 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 December 15, 1940, rushed through production without a prototype under severe threats from Stalin if a Pe-2 did not fly by the end of the year. 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.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Interview with L. L. Popova, Navigator of the 125th Guards Bomb Air Regiment )〕 Its armament was great, and the aircraft was ahead of its time. The dorsal ShKAS machine gun had a very high rate of fire; but its 7.62 mm rounds began to become slightly less effective against the heavy armor protection seen on a few rare modern fighters as the war progressed, but was still quite effective, when armor piercing rounds became standard, and had better armor piercing capabilities than a larger caliber gun. The mounting for the ventral Berezin UB had a somewhat limited field of view. 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 he had to be quite strong to keep it in his arms, though this was never a huge concern for the Russian gunners. To improve the bomber's defences, a dorsal Berezin UBT 12,7 mm was mounted. This modification was reported to increase the life expectancy of a Pe-2 greatly.〔http://www.militaryfactory.com/aircraft/detail-page-2.asp?aircraft_id=298〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Petlyakov Pe-2」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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