Editing Petlyakov Pe-2 (section)

=== PB-100 ===
The value of tactical dive bombing had been proven by the [[Junkers Ju 87]] ''Stuka'' dive bombers of the ''[[Luftwaffe]]'' during the [[Blitzkrieg]] campaigns of 1939 and 1940, and the need for such an aircraft in the VVS-RKKA ([[Red Army|Workers & Peasants' Red Army Air Force]]) suddenly became very apparent. Furthermore, following the [[Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact|Molotov–Ribbentrop Non-Aggression Pact]], Soviet experts were able to visit German aircraft factories, where they discovered that Germany had no large-scale development of high-altitude long-range bombers underway. Existing aircraft were also judged to be within the capabilities of single-engined fighters like the I-200.<ref name="Smith pp. 17.">Smith 2003, pp. 17.</ref>

Consequently it was decided in May 1940 that a dive-bomber using the good aerodynamics of the VI-100 would be designed and put into production. The new aircraft, now designated the '''PB-100''' (''Pikiruyushchiy Bombardirovshchik'' — "Dive-Bomber"), was required to achieve a maximum speed of 535&nbsp;km/h at an altitude of 4800–4900&nbsp;m, a range of 1,600&nbsp;km at an altitude of 5,000&nbsp;m, and a ceiling of 8000&nbsp;m.<ref name="Smith pp. 17.">Smith 2003, pp. 17.</ref> Petlyakov and his team were instructed to redesign the two-seat high-altitude fighter into a three-seat dive-bomber within 45 days.<ref name="Khazanov and Medved pp. 8.">Khazanov and Medved 2013, pp. 8.</ref> In order to meet this deadline, Petlyakov's team were assisted by some 300 specialists from other OKBs.<ref name="Smith pp. 17.">Smith 2003, pp. 17.</ref>

The fuselage of the VI-100 had to be redesigned for the dive-bombing role. Initially, the PB-100 had three pressurised cabins for the three-man crew, but the VVS judged that pressurisation was an inessential luxury for the dive-bombing role, and was dropped. Furthermore, the high-altitude performance provided by the turbo-superchargers was also unnecessary, and these too were dropped. Extensive glazing was added to the lower portion of the nose to give the pilot maximum visibility during a dive-bombing attack. A bomb bay for a single 100&nbsp;kg bomb was added in each engine nacelle, while the engines remained the same. The wing was modified, with dive brakes added. The cockpit was redesigned, bringing the navigator and pilot together, and given extensive glazing, while a defensive machine gun was added in the ventral position, operated by a gunner.<ref name="Smith pp. 17.">Smith 2003, pp. 17.</ref>

The redesign was completed in time, and the PB-100 was ordered into production without the construction of a prototype (only static tests were conducted for new components such as the fuselage), with the first two series production PB-100s completed by Zavod 39 in the late autumn of 1940.<ref name="Smith pp. 18.">Smith 2003, pp. 18.</ref> The trials of the lead machine (No. 390101) began on 15 December 1940. In accordance with the new rules also adopted in December 1940, the aircraft was also redesignated '''Pe-2 2M-105'''.<ref name="Smith pp. 18.">Smith 2003, pp. 18.</ref>