Walter Blume Walter Blume ( 10 January 1896 – 27 May 1964 ) was a German fighter ace of World War I . During World War I , he flew with Jastas 26 and 9 , gaining 28 aerial victories and earning the Iron Cross and the Pour le Merite . Post World War I he became a prominent aircraft designer for both Albatros and Arado , being one of the pioneers of jet propulsion design in airplanes . Early life and World War I service . Walter Blume was born in Hirschberg , Silesia , and originally served in the 5th Silesian Jaeger Battalion in September 1914 . After being wounded early in the conflict , he trained as a pilot beginning 30 June 1915 . He began his flying career in two - seater Aviatik aircraft with " Feldflieger abteilung " ( Field Flier Detachment ) 65 from 18 June 1916 through 20 January 1917 . He received an Iron Cross Second Class during this time , on 24 July 1916 . He then successfully asked for a transfer to flying single - seat fighters for Jasta 26 in January 1917 . In August 1916 , he was promoted to Vizefeldwebel . On 31 January 1917 , he was commissioned a leutnant . This was also the month he would shift to Jasta 26 . He scored his first victory for Jasta 26 on 10 May 1917 . On 14 August , he received the Iron Cross First Class . He became an ace on 24 October 1917 , and on 29 November 1917 received a serious chest wound in combat with No . 48 Squadron RFC ' s Bristol F . 2 Fighter s . He was hospitalised for over 3 months . After a spell with " Fliegerersatz - Abteilung " ( Replacement Detachment ) 3 , on 5 March 1918 Blume returned to active duty , commanding Jasta 9 . He scored a further 22 victories , all with his new unit . With the exception of double scores on 31 August 1918 and 14 September 1918 , he accumulated his successes singly , mostly fighters . Only four of his victories were over two - seater aircraft . He flew in both Albatros fighters and the Fokker D . VII . Blume was awarded the Knight ' s Cross of the House Order of Hohenzollern on 7 August 1918 . This was followed by his receipt of the German Empire ' s most prestiguous medal , the Pour le Merite on 2 October 1918 , the same day as his 27th and penultimate victory . He resigned from military service on 15 January 1919 . Post war and World War II . After World War I , he remained in aviation . He trained as an aeronautical engineer at the Technical University at Hanover , and subsequently joined the German Arado Flugzeugwerke in the mid - 1920s . He was involved in the design of the Arado Ar 96 , Ar 95 and also the Ar 196 . In early 1933 , he was appointed Chief Design Engineer of Arado Flugzeugwerke . Over the next 10 years he was responsible for the design of some of the world ' s first jets , such as the Ar 234 Jet Twin - Jet reconnaissance aircraft , which he saw through its development in several different prototypes and finally to the Twin - Jet bomber which was assigned the name Ar 234d Blitz . Towards the end of World War II he led the Arado Design team to upgrade the Ar 234 to a Four - Jet Bomber variant but which only reached " Proof of Concept " form . He attempted to revive one of his designs for Arado as a light civil aircraft , the Blume Bl . 502 , but met with no commercial success . After the German surrender he was captured by the Soviet Army and taken to the Soviet Union where for several years he helped develop their fledgling jet aircraft program .