Editing Petlyakov Pe-8 (section)

===Removal from combat===
The loss of Pe-8s to all causes—mechanical, combat, friendly fire—had steadily increased from one aircraft per 103 flights in 1942 to one per 46 sorties in 1944.<ref name=g8>Gordon (2008), p. 398</ref> Despite the losses, production kept pace with need. The number of aircraft belonging to the 45th DBAD continued to rise; 20 were on hand on 1 January 1944 and 30 on 1 June.<ref name="ADD"/> The Pe-8s flew 276 sorties in 1944 against such targets as [[Helsinki]], [[Tallinn]] and [[Pskov]]. Aviation historian Yefim Gordon maintains that the Pe-8 flew its last mission on the night of 1–2 August 1944,<ref name=g8/> but the Statistical Digest of the VVS contradicts this claim, showing 31 Pe-8s assigned to 45th DBAD on 1 January 1945 and 32 on hand on 10 May 1945.<ref name="ADD"/> However, during this period the 45th DBAD only had three regiments, none of which used the Pe-8 as their primary aircraft, so while the 45th DBAD may have had Pe-8s, these may not have been in use as the primary combat aircraft.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://allaces.ru/cgi-bin/s2.cgi/sssr/struct/d/addd45.dat|script-title=ru:45-я Гомельская авиационная дивизия дальнего действия 45-я тяжелая бомбардировочная Гомельская авиационная дивизия|date=30 March 2009|language=ru|publisher=allaces.ru|access-date=16 December 2009}}</ref>

The 890th began to fly [[Lend-Lease]] [[B-25 Mitchell]]s in the spring of 1944 and was itself re-designated as the 890th Bomber Aviation Regiment on 26 December 1944.<ref name=890ap/> The 362nd APDD was formed in early 1944 with four Pe-8s received from the other two regiments, but these were returned in the spring of 1944, when the regiment began to convert to the Lend-Lease Mitchells.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://allaces.ru/cgi-bin/s2.cgi/sssr/struct/p/apdd362.dat|script-title=ru:362-й Рижский авиационный полк дальнего действия 362-й бомбардировочный Рижский авиационный полк|date=15 August 2005|publisher=allaces.ru|language=ru|access-date=16 December 2009}}</ref>