Walther Wever ( general ) Walther Wever ( 11 November 1887 - 3 June 1936 ) was a pre - World War II " Luftwaffe " Commander . He was an early proponent of the theory of strategic bombing as a means to wage war , supporting the theories of Giulio Douhet . He died in an air crash in 1936 , and German efforts to build a strategic bomber force died with him . Early life . Walther Wever was born on 11 November 1887 in Wilhelmsort in the county of Bromberg ( now in north - central Poland ) . He was the son of Arnold Wever , the one - time director of a Berlin bank and the grandson of the Prussian Prosecutor - General Dr . Carl George Wever . After his final secondary examinations , he settled in Schweidnitz where he trained as an officer . Wever saw action in World War I and served as a staff officer for the OHL ( Oberste Heeresleitung , Army High Command ) . Luftwaffe . Wever became the Commander of the Reichsluftfahrtministerium on 1 September 1933 . On 1 March 1935 , Wever became Chief of Staff of the Luftwaffe shortly after its creation on 26 February 1935 , a post he held up until his death . Wever was a supporter of the Strategic bomber and recognised its importance as early as 1934 . He supported the aviation companies like Junkers and Dornier , in their respective projects to produce the Ju 89 and Dornier Do 19 competitors for the " Ural Bomber " production contract competition . Wever outlined five key points to air strategy : 1 . To destroy the enemy air force by bombing its bases and aircraft factories , and defeating enemy air forces attacking German targets . < br > 2 . To prevent the movement of large enemy ground forces to the decisive areas by destroying railways and roads , particularly bridges and tunnels , which are indispensable for the movement and supply of forces < br > 3 . To support the operations of the army formations , independent of railways , i . e , armoured forces and motorised forces , by impeding the enemy advance and participating directly in ground operations . < br > 4 . To support naval operations by attacking naval bases , protecting Germany ' s naval bases and participating directly in naval battles < br > 5 . To paralyze the enemy armed forces by stopping production in the armaments factories . However after his death , other strategists , like Ernst Udet and Hans Jeschonnek favoured smaller aircraft as they did not expend as much material and manpower . They were proponents of the dive - bomber ( Junkers Ju 87 ) and the doctrine of close support and destruction of the opposing airforces on the ' battle - ground ' rather than through attacking enemy industry . As a result , high - speed medium - bombers like Heinkel He 111 , Dornier Do 17 , Junkers Ju 88 were developed , with much initial success . On 3 June 1936 Wever flew from Berlin to Dresden , to give a lecture at the " Luftkriegsakademie " to a gathering of Luftwaffe cadets . When he received the news of the passing of a World War I German hero , he immediately set off for Berlin . On his return journey , the Heinkel He 70 Blitz that he was flying had not been properly examined during preflight checks , and the aileron gust lock s were not removed . The aircraft was airborne when the wing dipped , and the Heinkel stalled and went into a horizontal cartwheel ( akin to a ground loop , but at low altitude ) . It crashed and exploded in flames , killing Wever and his flight engineer . That same day , the RLM issued the " Bomber A " heavy bomber specification and design competition for what would become the " Luftwaffe ' s " only wartime heavy bomber in production and frontline service , the Heinkel He 177 . After Wever ' s death , a Luftwaffe bomber wing , Kampfgeschwader 4 " General Wever " was named after him , which fittingly enough in the later war years , would be equipped with and using the one aircraft created for the design competition that started on the day of General Wever ' s death , the Heinkel He 177 A in combat . His son , also named Walther Wever , was a fighter pilot who was killed in action in April 1945 .