Pe | 2

In 1937, legendary engineer was arrested during Stalin’s Great Purge for allegedly delaying design work. While imprisoned in a sharashka (a secret laboratory within the Gulag system), he was ordered to design a high-altitude heavy fighter called the VI-100 .

The Pe-2 entered service in 1941 and quickly became the backbone of the Soviet Air Force. It was incredibly versatile: In 1937, legendary engineer was arrested during Stalin’s

: Squadrons of women pilots, such as those led by Maria Dolina, famously flew the Pe-2 in critical battles like the liberation of Borisov. Legacy of the Peshka Pe-2 Peshka Dive Bomber | World War II Database It was incredibly versatile: : Squadrons of women

: It was so fast that it could often outrun German Messerschmitts, a rare feat for a bomber. The story of the , famously nicknamed the

: Its handling allowed pilots to be exceptionally accurate, with some famously able to "plant a bomb down a chimney stack".

The story of the , famously nicknamed the " Peshka " (Pawn), is one of the most remarkable tales of aviation history, beginning not in a high-tech lab, but inside a Soviet prison. The Prison Design Bureau

The aircraft was a technical marvel for its time, featuring a pressurized cabin and all-metal construction. However, after witnessing the terrifying effectiveness of German "Stuka" dive bombers during the invasion of France in 1940, Stalin personally ordered Petlyakov to scrap the fighter and redesign it as a —and he gave him just 45 days to do it. A Masterpiece Under Pressure