Petljakov Pe-2 – Kotelnikov Vladimir (2018)

In the summer of 1938, the Soviet state allowed "the enemy of the people" Vladimir Mikhailovich Petlyakov to return to design work at the STO, or Special Technical Department of the NKVD. Under its auspices, experimental design offices were established, focusing on the design and development of new types of aircraft. These offices employed condemned aircraft designers and engineers who were concentrated in the former KOSOS CAGI building, which had been converted into a prison. Petlyakov began working on the project for a heavy high-altitude fighter aircraft designated VI-100. At that time, the command believed that the next air war would take place at high altitudes, which was reflected in the specifications of the new machine: a long-range escort fighter and high-altitude interception fighter. The number 100 in the aircraft's designation was derived from the abbreviation STO, which subsequently gave rise to the familiar name of the project, "Stovka." The publication describes the emergence, development, and deployment of the Petlyakov Pe-2 aircraft, originally a fighter aircraft that ultimately became the most widely used frontline bomber of the Soviet Air Force. This publication complements AERO No. 9, which described the service of this aircraft in the Czechoslovak Air Force.