Probably, any person will agree that during the Great Patriotic War, Soviet aviation played a huge role in the victory over an extremely dangerous, skillful and cruel enemy. But if some aircraft, for example, the Il-2 or Yak-3, are constantly at the hearing, and almost everyone who is at least a little interested in history knows about them, then others do not enjoy such fame, if only because they were released significantly smaller. The latter include the Pe-8 heavy bomber. But for its time, it was an advanced aircraft. And he made a huge contribution to the cause of victory. Therefore, it deserves attention.
A little about the plane
This aircraft was designed as a high-speed, high- altitude heavy bomber capable of flying a considerable distance to the target - before that, the Soviet Union simply had no really reliable analogues.
However, thanks to the principles used in its creation, the aircraft could be used not only for bombing, but also for various military transport purposes, including the transportation of personnel and cargo over long distances. In all respects, it could be classified as conditionalcategory, dubbed the "flying fortress".
Compared to previous Soviet experience in building heavy aircraft, the Pe-8 no longer resembled angular machines with corrugated skin. Instead, he received a streamlined shape, which further improved the performance of the aircraft. The designers managed to combine in it the best features of the TB-3, DB-A and SB - three aircraft, each of which had certain advantages, but still did not meet the requirements of the selection committee.
History of Creation
The importance of creating a truly powerful and practically invulnerable long-range heavy bomber in the USSR was understood even earlier than in the USA - in 1930, while overseas allies began work on the creation only in 1934.
The Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute received a number of requirements that the new bomber had to meet. First of all, this is a significant flight range - at least 4500 kilometers. At the same time, he had to reach speeds of up to 440 kilometers per hour, have a ceiling of about 11 kilometers and a bomb load of 4 tons or more.
Work began immediately, and the first result was TB-3. However, he did not meet the requirements - although the bomb load even exceeded the required one (about 10 tons), but the speed and ceiling were 250 kilometers per hour and 7 kilometers, respectively.
Three years later, TB-7 was created. But he did not satisfy the requirements of the selection committee.
As a result, the Soviet long-range bomber Pe-8was created and maximally improved only in 1939. Immediately after that, it was put into production. True, initially it had the name TB-7. It received a new and familiar name only in 1942.
The Red Army Air Force received the plane in the spring of 1941. And they removed it from production in 1944 - many more promising developments appeared. However, during this time, 97 aircraft were created, including two prototypes.
Specifications
Now it is worth briefly describing the characteristics of the Pe-8 bomber.
Start at least with his size. The length of the aircraft was 23.6 meters with a wingspan of 39 meters. The total area of the wing was about 189 square meters. The empty plane weighed 19986 kilograms and had a very good carrying capacity - 5 tons according to the documents, but if necessary, it could carry 6 tons. Thus, when fully loaded and refueled, the aircraft had a mass of about 35 tons.
During tests, the aircraft demonstrated a cruising speed of 400 kilometers per hour, but if necessary, it could reach a maximum speed of up to 443.
The combat radius was impressive - 3600 kilometers. No analogue of that time could boast of such a flight range. For example, the pride of the US Air Force B-17, also known as the "flying fortress", had an indicator of only 3200 kilometers, and the British counterparts did from 1200 to 2900 kilometers.
Thanks to such impressive performance, it is safe to say that the aircraft was indeed ahead of its time by at leastten years - many experts, both domestic and foreign, agree on this.
Power plant
Of course, to lift such a massive aircraft into the air, really powerful engines were required. Therefore, the experts decided to use AM-35A 12-cylinder V-shaped carburetor engines. They had really high power - 1200 horsepower, or 1000 kW each. And four of these engines were installed on the plane!
On the first versions of the aircraft there was also a fifth engine, called the "central pressurization unit". It was located inside the fuselage and was used to operate the compressor, which pumped air into the rest of the engines. Thanks to this, the problem of aircraft flying at a considerable height was solved. Subsequently, it became possible to abandon the fifth engine due to the use of an integrated turbocharger.
Bombing weapons
The main purpose of any bomber is to destroy objects on enemy ground. Therefore, great attention was paid to the armament of the aircraft - up to 40 FAB-100 bombs were placed in the bomb bays. But heavier ones could also be used. Hangers were also located on the planes and the external suspension, which made it possible to carry two bombs per ton or two.
FAB-250, FAB-500, FAB-1000 or FAB-2000 bombs were mainly used. However, according to the comments of the pilots, when using bombs of calibers of 1000 kilograms or more, problems regularly arose. The reset mechanism did not work, due to which the ejector lock had to berelease manually.
It was for the Pe-8 that a particularly powerful bomb was developed - a caliber of 5000 kg. It was named FAB-5000NG. The bomb turned out to be so large that it did not fit in the entire bomb bay, which is why the plane flew with the bomb bay doors slightly open. Only Pe-8s were used to transport bombs, equipped with M-82 engines as the most powerful.
As practice has shown, even with the maximum bomb load, the aircraft demonstrated the declared characteristics, which was extremely important in the harsh realities of the war.
Weapons for protection
Of course, when creating the Pe-8 heavy bomber, the developers paid a lot of attention to its protection. Still, such an aircraft has always been a desirable prey for interceptor fighters. The bomber could not compete with them in terms of speed and maneuverability, so it had to have powerful and reliable weapons to conduct air combat.
The most powerful armament of the aircraft was two 20-mm ShVAK cannons located in the stern and upper fuselage. In addition, two large-caliber UBT machine guns - 12.7 mm were installed in the rear of the chassis nacelles. Finally, two 7.62 mm ShKAS machine guns were placed on the nose of the vehicle.
Alas, the powerful defensive system had its drawbacks. First of all, they turned out to be associated with the location of firing points. It was not possible to ensure the most dense shelling in all directions - some of them are relatively badshot through, which posed a danger to the car and crew.
Comparison with foreign analogues
After the appearance of the Pe-8, many experts agreed that the aircraft is far ahead of most foreign aircraft of this class. Indeed, if you study the description of the Pe-8 bomber, you can see that the British counterparts Wellington, Lancaster, Halifax and Stirling were seriously inferior in altitude and flight range. The German Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor lost in all important respects. Could not compete with the Pe-8 and the world famous American B-17.
It is important that the Soviet aircraft was much easier to manufacture than the American bomber. And he also had significant reserves, allowing him to significantly upgrade it in the future. Unfortunately, the lack of technology did not allow the creation of higher- altitude and more powerful engines that would fully reveal the full potential of a reliable and powerful aircraft.
Interesting innovations
The plane was really advanced for its time. For example, he had an autopilot, which very few analogues could boast of.
In case of oxygen starvation when flying at maximum altitude, the aircraft was equipped with two dozen oxygen cylinders of 8 liters each. There were also four 4 liter and two portable.
Pe-8 had 19 fuel tanks, the total volume of which was 17 thousand liters. To solve the problem of possible ignition on impact, aa special system for supplying cooled exhaust gas from engines to tanks. Filling the empty space, the gas eliminated the possibility of an explosion.
First Person Bomber
In addition to the standard Pe-8 bomber, the photo of which is attached to the article, there were other modifications.
For example, two Pe-8 OHs were produced. They were used to transport dignitaries. Therefore, there was not only a special salon for 12 people, but also a triple sleeping cabin. The passenger cabin had its own oxygen supply and heating system. Instead of the upper fuselage gun mount, the developers installed a lantern-type fairing.
It was on such a machine that in 1942 the People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs of the USSR V. M. Molotov, together with a delegation, was taken to Great Britain for negotiations. The plane flew over all of Europe, occupied by German troops, to land in Northern Scotland.
Use during the Second World War
The combat use of the Pe-8 bomber was very difficult. He was often thrown into the most difficult sections of the front. The 45th long-range aviation division consisted of just such bombers and received orders directly from the high command, that is, the aircraft were classified as strategic bombers.
For example, on August 10, 1941, Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin set the task: to strike at Berlin. Ten Pe-2 planes (more precisely, then still TB-7) set off on their way. However, only six managed to reach the target and complete the combat mission. And only two returned to the base in Pushkin. Eight planeswere shot down by enemy aircraft and anti-aircraft artillery or were forced to land due to lack of fuel at other airfields.
In August 1942, the captured Smolensk airport was attacked.
Also in the summer of 1942, aircraft were used during the Rzhev-Sychevsk operation.
In April 1943, the FAB-5000 NG bomber, which was already mentioned earlier, was dropped on the German Koenigsberg by a Pe-8 bomber. Later it was also used on the Kursk Bulge.
In the summer of 1943, they provided support during the strategic operation "Kutuzov", which took place near the town of Orel.
From August to September 1943, they showed themselves perfectly in the Dukhovshchinsko-Demidov operation.
Losses among heavy bombers were very high - the Luftwaffe command threw all their forces against them, and the German aces considered it a great success to destroy such a formidable machine. As a result, 27 aircraft were lost by mid-1943.
Post-war use
In 1944, it was decided to discontinue the Pe-8. It was replaced by more modern TU-4s. But still, there were still quite a few heavy aviation veterans. And it was too early to write them off.
Therefore, they were actively used to transport special cargo, as well as to deliver supplies to the Arctic. With a takeoff weight of 35 tons, the weight return was about 50 percent, which was considered excellent.indicator.
Conclusion
This article comes to an end. Now you know more about the Soviet Pe-8 heavy bomber. Specifications, photos and a detailed description will allow even a person far from the army to make a definite impression about this glorious aircraft that has come a long way.
