Ural bomber
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The Ural bomber was a program to develop a long-range bomber for the Luftwaffe, created and led by General Walter Wever in the early 1930s. Weaver died in an air crash in 1936, and the program ended almost immediately. Ernst Udet took over his position in the Luftwaffe, abandoning most of his designs and turning others into tactical bombers.
Wever, the chief of staff of the newly-formed Luftwaffe in 1933, realized the importance that strategic bombing would play in any future conflict. In a war with the Soviet Union he expected that German forces would not attempt to move very far east of Moscow, which would leave much of Stalin's recently re-located industry out of reach of existing bombers. Wever proposed using a dedicated strategic bomber to reduce these factories, ending their ability to fight even without the need for ground forces to advance.
Under the Ural bomber program, he began secret talks with two of Germany's leading aircraft manufacturers, Dornier and Junkers, requesting designs for a long-range bomber. The two companies responded with the Dornier Do 19 and the Junkers Ju 89 respectively, and the RLM (Reichsluftfahrtministerium, "Reich Aviation Ministry") ordered prototypes for both aircraft in 1935.
Weaver was killed in an air crash in April 1936, and the dream of a strategic bomber force died with him. His replacement, Albert Kesselring, saw no need for such a force, and was much more interested in building a larger number of smaller tactical aircraft instead. He canceled the program outright on April 29, 1937, and the prototypes of the Ju 89 and Do 19 were used for flight research and cargo duties.
The Ju 89 also inspired the Junkers Ju 90 after Lufthansa requested a passenger version with lower-powered engines. When the Ural bomber program was canceled, the partially completed 3rd prototype was converted to passenger layout and served as a Ju 90 prototype instead. Ironically the Ju 90 was later pressed into military service as a patrol aircraft, as it was one of the few really long-range designs available in Germany. The Ju 90, in turn, led to the development of the Junkers Ju 390, which was one of the entrants in the Amerika Bomber project.
