| Pe-2 | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Pe-2FT in the Central Air Force Museum, Monino, Russia | |
| General information | |
| Type | Dive bomber |
| National origin | Soviet Union |
| Manufacturer | Plant No.22 (Kazan), Plant No.39 (Moscow), Plant No.124 (Kazan), Plant No.125 (Irkutsk) |
| Designer | |
| Primary users | Soviet Air Force |
| Number built | 11,070 (+ 360 Pe-3)[1] |
| History | |
| Manufactured | December 1940 - December 1945 |
| Introduction date | March 1941 |
| First flight | 22 December 1939 (VI-100) |
| Retired | 1951 (Soviet Air Force), 1957 (Polish Air Force) |
| Variants | Petlyakov Pe-3 |
The Petlyakov Pe-2 (Russian: Петляков Пе-2 — nickname «Пешка» (Pawn); NATO reporting name: Buck)[2] was a Soviet twin-engine dive bomber used during World War II. One of the outstanding tactical attack aircraft of the war,[3] it also proved successful as a heavy fighter, as a night fighter (Pe-3 variant) and as a reconnaissance aircraft.[4] The Pe-2 was, numerically, the most important Soviet bomber of World War II, at their peak comprising 75% of the Soviet twin-engine bomber force.[5] The Soviets manufactured Pe-2s in greater numbers (11,430 built) during the war than any other twin-engine combat aircraft except for the German Junkers Ju 88 and the British Vickers Wellington.[4][6] Several communist air forces flew the type after the war, when it became known by the NATO reporting name Buck.