It was initially used for daylight ground attack missions during the Battle of Moscow, but this proved to be costly since the aircraft was unarmored. Armor and additional guns were retrofitted to the existing aircraft to make it more effective, but the evacuation of the sole factory building the Pe-3 in October 1941 limited the number of aircraft available and many units of the Soviet Air Forces flying the Pe-3 were either disbanded or converted to other aircraft.
It was initially employed for daylight ground attack missions during the Battle of Moscow, but this proved to be expensive because the aircraft lacked armor. Armor and additional guns were retrofitted to the existing aircraft to enhance its effectiveness, yet the evacuation of the sole factory building the Pe-3 in October 1941 restricted the number of available aircraft, leading to some units of the Soviet Air Forces flying the Pe-3 being disbanded or converted to other types.