When the first model of the new Petlyakov 2 combat aircraft was presented to the public in 1939, the specialized observers were amazed. The aircraft presented a very modern, polished and fast line, which was absolutely unusual for a high-altitude bomber aircraft (this was the classification of the aircraft), which clearly revealed the intention of using the Pe 2 as a high-altitude fighter aircraft. But the main source of such amazement was the high degree of sophistication of the aircraft, which featured the most modern findings of the aeronautical science and a finish which was truly unusual for a Soviet aircraft, which ensured a high degree of comfort for the crew. The Russian designers had always paid great attention to the functionality of their constructions to achieve good operational characteristics. In this way, they had often achieved exceptional results, as with the Tupolev SB 2 twin-engine bomber aircraft in 1936, or with the Polikarpov I 16 fighter aircraft (the famous "Rat" of the Spanish Civil War) in 1933. But they paid little attention to the habitability of their aircraft, adapting the finish and the non-essential accessories to an austere conception, which on the one hand wanted to be a "label" of the products made by the new regime, but on the other hand revealed the lack of specialized manpower and raw materials. As aforementioned, the Pe 2 high-altitude bomber aircraft raised admiration among the experts due to its advanced technology, but shortly after its presentation it was modified for being used as a dive bomber. This happened due to two reasons: the first one was the lack of aiming devices which could be effectively used for altitude bombing, and the second one was the impression caused by the German Stuka, which determined, in Russia as well as in other countries, a strong impulse in the construction of airplanes which were intended to play this new role in warfare activities. The debut of the "Petya" (as it was called by the crews) against the Germans was excellent, because of the quality of the aircraft as well as the surprise which it constituted for the enemy. But over time the fighter aircraft of the Luftwaffe were made increasingly powerful, and it was necessary to modify the Pe 2 as well to prevent that it succumbed to the German aircraft. Hence the armament, the armor and the engine power were increased, until in 1944 it was decided to abandon the fighter-bomber formula to return to the initial one of high-altitude fighter aircraft. Structurally, the Pe 2 was a low-wing twin-engine aircraft (until 1944, when the structure was revised and the wing was moved to the middle position), with a tail boom fitted with two sideward vertical planes for the steering rudders. The construction was of entirely metallic type, even in the ailerons, which were made of a light alloy. The engines, of Klimov type, were initially of 1100 horsepower each, and later of 1650 horsepower. The armament, which initially comprised three weapons, apart from the bombs, was later increased to six weapons (two in the nose, one in dorsal position, one in ventral position and two in the sides). The cockpit, in the high-altitude version, was a pressurized one, and the aircraft, on its whole, was fitted with up to sixteen servo-control electrical devices. Designed in 1938 by engineer Vladimir Petlyakov (who would die in 1942, when crashing during a flight effectuated precisely onboard a Pe 2), this excellent aircraft would survive the war for being subsequently used as an experimental aircraft in Russia, whereas in the satellite countries of the Eastern Bloc it would be assigned to the reinforcement of the operational units.