11. The Pe-2 Performed As Advertised
The first Pe-2s entered service in the spring of 1941, but most ended up destroyed on the ground during the early days of Operation Barbarossa, the surprise German invasion of the USSR. However, by late 1941, when the German advance was finally halted and the Soviets regrouped, Pe-2s began appearing in numbers, and and proving their worth as elusive and highly accurate light bombers. The Soviets were unique among WWII belligerents in that that they made significant use of women in combat, and many Pe-2s were flown by females. Indeed, various Pe-2 squadrons were even commanded by women.
Pe-2 squadrons frequently devastated German supply and troop convoys by first destroying the lead vehicles to block the road, working over the rest of the stalled column, then fleeing before German fighters arrived. Another favored tactic was known as the “Carousel”, in which Pe-2s circled a target, making repeated diving attacks until they ran out of munitions or were forced to scatter by the arrival of German fighter protection. However, as the war progressed, the Soviets began to wrest aerial supremacy and Pe-2s came to operate under an increasingly effective umbrella of Soviet fighters. Pe-2s played a significant role from late 1941 onwards, from the Battle of Moscow, to Stalingrad, to Kursk, and helped pave the way for the Soviet juggernaut as it rolled to Berlin.
