Warbird Information Exchange

Read virtually any biography or description of the American racing and test pilot Al Williams and it calls him "the father of dive bombing" or "the inventor of dive bombing." Yet when I read extensive on-line articles about the development of dive bombing, Williams is never so much as mentioned, though his friend Ernst Udet is often referenced.

Is Williams's dive-bombing involvement simply one of those aviation myths that has survived simply through frequent re-telling, or was he actually important in the development of dive bombing?

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dive_bomber

The origins of the Dive Bomber are perhaps best spelled out in the Wiki page above. While many others saw the utility of the dive bomber in the 1930’s I feel that the USN’s “inspiring” of Ernst Udet was the point where the immortal Ju-87 was born. After the shattering use of that aircraft a requirement for dive bombing affected many German aircraft designs negatively for years (He-177 for example) and spawned many hoped for imitators...A-35 Vengence, and saved the Mustang production line with the A-36.

I think this aircraft is the overlooked father of the modern dive bomber....