Pe — 2

Working under the threat of execution, Petlyakov’s team met the impossible deadline. They stripped the VI-100 of its pressurized cabin, added dive brakes, and modified the fuselage to hold a bomb bay. Stalin was so impressed with the result that he granted Petlyakov his freedom.

: It was so fast that it could often outrun German Messerschmitts, a rare feat for a bomber. Working under the threat of execution, Petlyakov’s team

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 . : It was so fast that it could

The Pe-2 entered service in 1941 and quickly became the backbone of the Soviet Air Force. It was incredibly versatile: The Pe-2 entered service in 1941 and quickly

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