Pe-3

This page is about the Russian twin-engine fighter Pe-3. For other versions, see Pe-3 (e) and Pe-3bis.

Pe-3

Pe-3 (e)

Yak-2 KABB

Pe-3

Pe-3 (e)

Yak-2 KABB

USSR

I Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
2.3	2.0	2.7

Class:

Strike aircraft

Research:3 000

Purchase:6 300

Show in game

Description

The Pe-3 is a rank I Russian twin-engine fighter with a battle rating of 2.3 (AB), 2.0 (RB), and 2.7 (SB). It has been in the game since the start of the Open Beta Test prior to Update 1.27.

General info

Flight performance

Max speed

at 5 100 m504 km/h

Turn time26 s

Max altitude8 400 m

Engine2 х Klimov VK-105R

TypeInline

Cooling systemWater

Take-off weight8 t

Characteristics	Max Speed (km/h at 5,100 m)		Max altitude (metres)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (metres/second)		Take-off run (metres)
	AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
Stock	485	469	8400	27.4	28.7	7.2	7.2	326
Upgraded	524	504		24.7	26.0	12.7	9.7

Details

Features
Combat flaps	Take-off flaps	Landing flaps	Air brakes	Arrestor gear
✓	✓	✓	X	X

Limits
Wing-break speed (km/h)	Gear limit (km/h)	Combat flaps (km/h)	Max Static G
			+	-
740	450	320	~9	~5

Optimal velocities
Ailerons (km/h)	Rudder (km/h)	Elevators (km/h)	Radiator (km/h)
< 380	< 380	< 440	> 307

Compressor (RB/SB)
Setting 1
Optimal altitude	100% Engine power	WEP Engine power
2,000 m	1,100 hp	1,186 hp
Setting 2
Optimal altitude	100% Engine power	WEP Engine power
4,000 m	1,050 hp	1,132 hp

Survivability and armour

Crew2 people

Speed of destruction

Structural740 km/h

Gear450 km/h

Examine the survivability of the aircraft. Note how vulnerable the structure is and how secure the pilot is, whether the fuel tanks are armoured, etc. Describe the armour, if there is any, and also mention the vulnerability of other critical aircraft systems.

Modifications and economy

Repair costBasic → Reference

AB254 → 321

RB329 → 416

SB717 → 907

Total cost of modifications5 940

4 500

Talisman cost410

Crew training1 800

Experts6 300

Aces80

Research Aces135 000

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

20 / 40 / 80 %

106 / 106 / 106 %

Modifications

Flight performance	Survivability	Weaponry
Fuselage repair Research: 300 Cost: 230 55 Radiator Research: 300 Cost: 230 55 Airframe Research: 330 Cost: 250 60 Compressor Research: 330 Cost: 250 60 Wings repair Research: 500 Cost: 380 95 Engine Research: 500 Cost: 380 95 Cover Research: 640 Cost: 480 120 Engine injection Research: 640 Cost: 480 120		ub_belt_pack Research: 300 Cost: 230 55 DZ-40 Research: 300 Cost: 230 55 ub_new_gun Research: 330 Cost: 250 60 RO-132 Research: 330 Cost: 250 60 shkas_turret_belt_pack Research: 500 Cost: 380 95 shkas_turret_new_gun Research: 640 Cost: 480 120

Armaments

Offensive armament

The Pe-3 is armed with:

• 2 x 12.7 mm Berezin UB machine guns, nose-mounted (250 rpg = 500 total)

Suspended armament

The Pe-3 can be outfitted with the following ordnance:

• Without load
• 2 x 100 kg FAB-100 bombs (200 kg total)
• 4 x 100 kg FAB-100 bombs (400 kg total)
• 2 x 250 kg FAB-250M43 bombs + 2 x 100 kg FAB-100 bombs (700 kg total)
• 6 x RS-132 rockets
• 6 x RBS-132 rockets

Defensive armament

The Pe-3 is defended by:

• 1 x 7.62 mm ShKAS machine gun, dorsal turret (750 rpg)
• 1 x 7.62 mm ShKAS machine gun, tail turret (250 rpg)

Usage in battles

Describe the tactics of playing in an aircraft, the features of using vehicles in a team and advice on tactics. Refrain from creating a "guide" - do not impose a single point of view, but instead, give the reader food for thought. Examine the most dangerous enemies and give recommendations on fighting them. If necessary, note the specifics of the game in different modes (AB, RB, SB).

Manual Engine Control

MEC elements
Mixer	Pitch	Radiator			Supercharger	Turbocharger
		Oil	Water	Type
Controllable	Controllable Not auto controlled	Not controllable Not auto controlled	Controllable Not auto controlled	Separate	Controllable 2 gears	Not controllable

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Great armament
• Air spawn in realistic and simulator battles
• Carries rockets, fantastic for ground striking and bomber hunting
• Good roll rate for a larger aircraft

Cons:

• Bad top speed for a twin-engine fighter
• Bad acceleration
• Bad turn rate
• Lack of defensive armament
• Severe control stiffening above 600 kph IAS

History

Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the aircraft in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the vehicle and adding a block "/ History" (example: https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Vehicle-name)/History) and add a link to it here using the main template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <ref></ref>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <references />. This section may also include the vehicle's dev blog entry (if applicable) and the in-game encyclopedia description (under === In-game description ===, also if applicable).

In-game description

Petlyakov Pe-3 Heavy Twin-Engine Fighter

When the Great Patriotic War began in the summer of 1941, the Air Force of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army urgently needed a patrol/interceptor aircraft to fight the enemy's bombers and scouts. But with a war in progress, troops could only quickly receive a twin-engined fighter if it were based on some plane currently in production. The older Pe-2's fighter design fit this need perfectly.

In August 1941, the Petlyakov Design Bureau was instructed to design a fighter version of the Pe-2. The first prototype Pe-3 fighter, redesigned from the production Pe-2 bomber, series 16, flew for the first time on August 7, 1941. Only seven days passed between the order for the aircraft and its delivery for trials!

Structurally, the Pe-3 fighter differed from the Pe-2 in the layout of its forward and middle fuselage and its armament. Additional fuel tanks were put in the plane's fuselage, with one located in the bomb bay and two others replacing the gunner's cockpit. The plane was modified to be a two-seater.

The fighter had increased offensive armament. The nose weapon mount of the prototype Pe-3 model consisted of two 12.7mm Berezin BK machine guns with 150 rounds each and one 7.62mm ShKAS machine gun with 450 rounds. The TSS-1 upper mount in the navigator's cockpit consisting of a 7.62mm ShKAS machine gun with 750 rounds was kept unchanged from the Pe-2. Since there was no one to provide fire from the lower rear of the aircraft, a fixed tail mount with a 7.62mm ShKAS machine gun with 250 rounds, which had been tested before on the VI-100 high-altitude fighter, was installed.

The plane's bombing armament was drastically simplified. Only four bomb racks remained from the Pe-2: two in the engine nacelle bomb bays and two (external) under the fuselage. The total bomb capacity was reduced to 400 kg for standard load and 700 kg (two 250-kg bombs and two 100-kg bombs) when overloaded. The brake covers under the wings were removed together with the gears, and, as a result, the ability to perform dive bombing was gone.

Production Pe-3s had the ShKAS nose machine gun removed, but the magazine capacity of the BK machine guns was increased up to 250 rounds each.

During armament testing of the nose mount, it was found that the Plexiglas fuselage nose section could not withstand the muzzle gas pressure, resulting in its destruction. Plexiglas was first replaced with duralumin and then with steel. The aircraft glazing was reduced when large observation blisters and the upper glass hatch of the gunner's cockpit were removed.

The heavy fighters were delivered from the factory to the front lines with equipment corresponding to the main production Pe-3 aircraft. The total number of Pe-3s built in 1941 was 196; 11 more planes were assembled from available stocks of parts in April 1942.

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the Pe-3 from live.warthunder.com.

Videos

Glorious Versatility! Pe-3!" - Jengar

See also

Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:

• reference to the series of the aircraft;
• links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.

External links

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

• topic on the official game forum;
• encyclopedia page on the aircraft;
• other literature.

USSR twin-engine fighters
I-29