Open main menu
Home
Random
Recent changes
Special pages
Community portal
Preferences
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Incubator escapee wiki
Search
User menu
Talk
Dark mode
Contributions
Create account
Log in
Editing
Petlyakov Pe-2
(section)
Warning:
You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you
log in
or
create an account
, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.
Anti-spam check. Do
not
fill this in!
=== VI-100 === Because the Russian word for "100" is "sto"("ΡΡΠΎ"), the STO was later renamed KB-100, and there Petlyakov proposed the development of a twin-engine interceptor against high-altitude long-range bombers, particularly those being developed in Germany such as the [[Junkers Ju 86]]P and [[Henschel Hs 130]]. His proposal was accepted in March 1938, with the requirement that the first prototype be ready for its first flight before the end of 1939. The project was initially given the name '''''Samolyot''''' '''''100''''' ({{lit|Aircraft 100}}) and later called '''VI-100''' (''Vysotnyi Istrebitel'' β "High-Altitude Fighter").<ref name="Smith pp. 11.">Smith 2003, pp. 11.</ref> The VI-100 project was an ambitious one for its time, with advanced features such as a pressurised cabin, all-metal construction, [[Turbosupercharged|turbo-superchargers]], and many electrically actuated systems. The performance requirements were also quite demanding: it was to be capable of reaching 630 km/h (391 mph) at an altitude of 10,000 m, a ceiling of 12,500 m, and a range of 1,400 km. The aircraft would also need a reinforced structure in order to withstand the Mach stresses of making diving attacks from high altitude against enemy bomber formations. In order to assist with the challenging development of the "100", other OKBs such as those of [[Alexander Sergeyevich Yakovlev|Yakovlev]], [[Artem Mikoyan|Mikoyan]] and [[Mikhail Gurevich (aircraft designer)|Gurevich]], and [[Pavel Sukhoi|Sukhoi]] were also enlisted. The first full-scale VI-100 mock-up was completed in May 1939, and the first flight of the prototype occurred on 22 December 1939.<ref name="Smith pp. 10-12.">Smith 2003, pp. 10β12.</ref> The VI-100 was an all-metal [[low-wing]] [[cantilever]] monoplane powered by two [[Klimov M-105]]R engines, licence-built [[Hispano-Suiza 12Y]] engines that were the most advanced then available in the Soviet Union, driving VISh-42 three-blade [[Variable-pitch propeller (aeronautics)|variable-pitch propellers]], enhanced by two TK-3 turbo-superchargers fitted in the engine nacelles. Its primary armament were two [[ShVAK cannon|20 mm ShVAK]] cannon and two 7.62 mm [[ShKAS machine gun]]s, with another ShKAS in a fixed mounting in the tailcone for self-defence. The first prototype VI-100 was also designed to carry KS-76 (48 modified 76 mm artillery shells with timed fuses) or KS-100 (96 AO-25 bomblets) cassettes in the fuselage for dropping on enemy bomber formations. The second prototype was instead fitted with external bomb racks for 1,000 kg of bombs and internal bomb bays for 600 kg of bombs.<ref name="Smith pp. 11-13.">Smith 2003, pp. 11β13.</ref> The first VI-100 prototype was demonstrated publicly during the 1940 [[International Workers' Day|May Day]] parade, flown by [[Pyotr Stefanovsky|Maj. Stefanovsky]], as Petlyakov and his team watched on from the roofs of their ''sharashka''.<ref name="Smith pp. 15.">Smith 2003, pp. 15.</ref> During testing in 1940, the second prototype VI-100 suffered a cockpit fire due to an improperly tightened nut in the fuel supply, and crashed into a kindergarten, killing a group of young children and a teacher.<ref name="Smith pp. 14.">Smith 2003, pp. 14.</ref> Despite the loss of the second prototype and several defects being found in the first prototype, the VI-100 was judged satisfactory and suitable for further development. Its performance was superior to other Soviet high-altitude fighters such as the Mikoyan-Gurevich I-200 (the future [[Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-3|MiG-3]]), and compared favourably with contemporary aircraft such as the [[Potez 630]], [[Messerschmitt Bf 110|Messerschmitt Bf 110 C]], and [[Bristol Beaufighter|Bristol Beaufighter Mk. I]].<ref name="Smith pp. 15-16.">Smith 2003, pp. 15β16.</ref> However, events led to substantial changes in the direction of the VI-100 project.
Edit summary
(Briefly describe your changes)
By publishing changes, you agree to the
Terms of Use
, and you irrevocably agree to release your contribution under the
CC BY-SA 4.0 License
and the
GFDL
. You agree that a hyperlink or URL is sufficient attribution under the Creative Commons license.
Cancel
Editing help
(opens in new window)