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Petlyakov Pe-8 (TB-7)

1940 COLD WAR WORLD WAR 2

History

On the eve of World War II (1939-1945), the Soviet Union joined Germany and Italy in reducing the focus on powerful four-engine strategic heavy bombers. As a result, the only Soviet-derived design of this quality became the largely forgotten Petlyakov "Pe-8".

The Pe-8 was developed following specific Soviet Air Force requirements that emerged in 1934 to replace the phased-out Tupolev TB-3 series. Although not introduced until 1932, the bomber looked antique even by 1930s standards. A fairly healthy production of 818 aircraft was recorded.

Soviet authorities are now turning their attention to a more modern aircraft with a 4,400-pound bomb load, a speed of 270 mph and a range of 2,800 miles. This led to the provisional aircraft designation ANT-42, the design of which is credited to Vladimir Petlyakov and his team. A working prototype flew for the first time on December 27, 1936, and was eventually adopted by the Soviet Air Force under the codename TB-7. Officially commissioned in 1940. However, the imprisonment of Petlyakov (among others) in Stalin's "Great Purge" back in October 1937 only delayed the plan.

The purges helped to suppress the Communist Party officials who threatened Stalin's control, and many lives ended in imprisonment or execution.

While the Soviet Union played a role in crushing Poland during the German invasion of September 1939 (officially beginning World War II), when German troops invaded the Soviet Union through Operation Barbarossa in June 1941, the former ally be the enemy. For the retreating Soviets, the German offensive was swift and dire, using a variety of weapons against the attackers, but lost thousands of men, vehicles and aircraft in the disaster.

The Pe-8 program continued, albeit often plagued by shortages of available or capable engines (the plane needed four). The original planes were supposed to have superchargers for better high-altitude performance, but only four production planes were built with these types of engines. The other two airframes are equipped with Mikulin AM-34FRNV series engines, while the 18 airframes in stock will be powered by Mikulin AM-35A engines. While Mikulin M-30B diesel engines were also used, these provided better fuel economy but never achieved the desired performance results.

The Mikulin M-82FN is another engine version that offers fuel injection.

On January 12, 1942, Petlyakov, the chief designer of the TB-7, himself was killed in the crash of his Pe-2 dive bomber. Therefore, the TB-7 was renamed "Petlyakov Pe-8" in his honor - the heavy bomber as it is known today (December 2013). Changes were made on planes arriving after 1942.

The manufacture of Pe-8 was carried out from Kazan Plant No. 124 and the production time span was from 1936 to 1944. However, engine reliability, performance and availability were never fully elucidated and have plagued the aircraft throughout its service life. In fact, many were killed simply by mechanical failure and not by enemy fire. In an initiative in late 1942, the aircraft was equipped with a new Shvetsov ASh-82 radial piston engine rated at 1,850 hp, which improved reliability somewhat.

Further improvements included the removal of the nacelle-mounted defensive machine gun.

Base Pe-8 consists of 11 personnel. The length is 76 feet, the wingspan is 128.3 feet, and the height is 20.3 feet. When empty, the aircraft weighs 40,940 pounds and has an MTOW of 77,000 pounds. Power is typically provided by four Mikulin AM-35A series liquid-cooled V12 engines, each producing 1,340 horsepower.

This enables a top speed of 275 mph, a range of 2,300 miles and a service ceiling of 30,500 feet. The climb rate was reported to be 1,150 feet per minute. In terms of time period, the Pe-8 can be compared to the British Avro Lancaster or the American Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress.

Visually, the Pe-8 was wearing the form of a traditional heavy bomber at the time. Its wide-span wings housed four engines along its leading edge, and the internal mounts housed a retractable single-wheel main landing gear assembly. The fuselage features an aerodynamic profile, including a framed stepped cockpit and a heavily glassed nose assembly.

The tail has a vertical tail and a low-position horizontal tail.

In addition to an offensive internal bomb load of 11,000 pounds, the aircraft was equipped with defensive armament. 2 x 20mm ShVAK guns mounted on the rear and stern turrets. 2 x 12.7mm UBT machine guns have been mounted aft of the engine nacelles to counter the threat of trailing aircraft behind the wings (removed on some modified models).

2 x 7.62mm ShKAS machine guns are mounted in a bow turret to complete the defensive artillery network.

In practice, the Pe-8 performed its intended long-range strategic bombing role, attacking "extraordinary" enemy targets such as airfields and railway yards to reveal weaknesses in enemy defenses. In turn, successful missions were preached through the Soviet propaganda machine to boost local morale during ground combat. Missions are often daring and suicidal, with enemy pilots eager to seize every opportunity to locate, attack and destroy these hulking large aircraft.

This adjustment resulted in many losses of existing Pe-8 stocks.

As the loss increases, the number of tasks decreases. During 1944, many began to see new Allied bomber types being replaced through Lend-Lease agreements. As a result, the use of the Pe-8 dwindled, and some saw its use expanded at the end of the war as a modified VIP transport aircraft. In the postwar years, the Pe-8 served as a technical test bed or non-military role.

In addition to the base name Pe-8, there are VIP models Pe-8ON and a test bed with a piston engine Pe-8LL. All Pe-8s were quickly obsolete as more advanced large bomber designs appeared in the Soviet Air Force's inventory.