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 while some planes, for example, Il-2 or Yak-3, are constantly heard, and almost everyone who is at least a little interested in history knows about them, then others are not so famous if only because they were significantly released less. The latter include the heavy Pe-8 bomber. But for his time he was an advanced aircraft. And he made a huge contribution to the cause of victory. Therefore, it is worthy of attention.
A bit 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 this, the Soviet Union simply did not have reliable counterparts.
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 attributed to the conditional category, called the "flying fortress."
Compared with previous Soviet experience in creating heavy aircraft, the Pe-8 no longer resembled angular cars with corrugated lining. Instead, it got a streamlined shape that further improved aircraft performance. 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 heavy long-range bomber in the USSR was understood even earlier than in the USA in 1930, while the 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 4, 500 kilometers. Moreover, 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 (about 10 tons), but the speed and ceiling were 250 kilometers per hour and 7 kilometers, respectively.
Three years later, the TB-7 was created. But he did not satisfy the requirements of the selection committee.
As a result, the Soviet long-range bomber Pe-8 was created and maximized only in 1939. Immediately after that he was put into production. True, it was originally called TB-7. He received a new and familiar name only in 1942.
The Red Army Air Force received the aircraft in the spring of 1941. And they removed it from production in 1944 - a lot of more promising developments appeared. However, during this time, 97 aircraft were created, including two prototypes.
Specifications
Now it’s worth briefly describing the characteristics of the Pe-8 bomber.
Start at least with its size. The length of the aircraft was 23.6 meters with a wingspan of 39 meters. The total wing area was about 189 square meters. An empty plane weighed 19986 kilograms and had a very good carrying capacity - 5 tons according to 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 testing, the aircraft demonstrated a cruising speed of 400 kilometers per hour, but if necessary could reach a maximum speed of 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 English counterparts altogether from 1200 to 2900 kilometers.
Thanks to such impressive characteristics, it is safe to say that the plane really was ahead of its time by at least ten years - many experts, both domestic and foreign, agree on this.
Power point
Of course, really powerful engines were required to take such a massive aircraft into the air. Therefore, the experts decided to use the 12-cylinder V-shaped carburetor engines AM-35A. They had really high power - 1200 horsepower, or 1000 kW each. And four such engines were installed on the plane!
The first versions of the aircraft also had a fifth engine, dubbed the “central pressurization unit”. It was located inside the fuselage and was used to operate the compressor, which injected air into the remaining engines. Thanks to this, the problem of aircraft flight at a considerable height was solved. Subsequently, it became possible to abandon the fifth engine through the use of an integrated turbocharger.
Bombardment weapons
The main purpose of any bomber is to destroy objects on enemy land. Therefore, much attention was paid to the armament of the aircraft - up to 40 FAB-100 bombs were placed in the bomb bay. But heavier ones could also be used. Suspension was 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 pilots, when using bombs of calibers of 1000 kilograms or more, problems regularly occurred. The reset mechanism did not work, because of which it was necessary to release the reset lock manually.
It was for the Pe-8 that a particularly powerful bomb was developed - with a caliber of 5000 kg. She received the name FAB-5000NG. The bomb turned out to be so large that it did not fit in the entire bomb bay, which caused the plane to fly with the bombs slightly open. For transportation of bombs, only Pe-8s were used, equipped with M-82 engines as the most powerful.
As practice has shown, even with a maximum bomb load, the aircraft demonstrated the declared characteristics, which was extremely important in the harsh realities of the war.
Armament for defense
Of course, when creating the heavy Pe-8 bomber, the developers paid a lot of attention to its protection. Still, such an aircraft has always been a welcome prey for fighter interceptors. The bomber could not compete with them in speed and maneuverability, so he had to have powerful enough and reliable weapons to conduct an air battle.
The most powerful weapons of the aircraft were two 20-mm ShVAK guns located in the stern and upper part of the fuselage. In addition, two large-caliber UBT machine guns were installed in the rear of the chassis nacelles - 12.7 mm. Finally, two ShKAS machine guns of 7.62 mm caliber were put on the nose of the car.
Alas, the powerful defensive system also had drawbacks. First of all, they were associated with the location of the firing points. It was not possible to ensure the most dense shelling in all directions - some of them were relatively poorly shot, 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 English 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 to significantly upgrade it in the future. Unfortunately, the lack of technology did not allow the creation of higher 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 during flights 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 fire in the event of a hit, a special system for supplying cooled exhaust gas from engines to tanks was used. Filling the empty space, the gas excluded 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 launched. 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 shooting installation, 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 the delegation, was delivered to Great Britain for negotiations. A plane flew over all of Europe occupied by German troops to land in Northern Scotland.
Application during the Second World War
The combat use of the Pe-8 bomber was very difficult. He was often thrown into the most difficult sectors of the front. 45 the long-range aviation division consisted of precisely such bombers and received orders directly from the high command, that is, the planes 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 set off on the road (more precisely, then TB-7). However, only six were able to reach the goal and complete the combat mission. And only two returned to the base in Pushkin. Eight aircraft were 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, a blow was struck at the captured Smolensk airport.
Also in the summer of 1942, aircraft were used during the Rzhev-Sychev operation.
In April 1943, the FAB-5000 NG bomb, which was mentioned earlier, was dropped on German Koenigsberg by a Pe-8 bomber. Later, it was also used on the Kursk Bulge.
In the summer of 1943, they supported during the strategic operation "Kutuzov", which took place near the city of Oryol.
From August to September 1943, they showed themselves perfectly in the Dukhovshchinsko-Demidov operation.
The losses among the heavy bombers were very large - the Luftwaffe command threw all their forces against them, and the German aces considered it a great luck to destroy such a formidable machine. As a result, by mid-1943, 27 aircraft were lost.
Post-war use
In 1944, it was decided to discontinue the Pe-8. He was replaced by Bole modern TU-4. 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 for the transportation of special goods, as well as for the delivery of supplies to the Arctic. With a take-off weight of 35 tons, the weight return was about 50 percent, which was considered an excellent indicator.
