Josef "Sepp" Wurmheller was a German Luftwaffe pilot during World War II, a fighter ace credited with 102 enemy aircraft shot down in over 300 combat missions.
29 Facts About Josef Wurmheller
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Josef Wurmheller claimed the majority of his aerial victories over the Western Front, and nine over the Eastern Front.
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Josef Wurmheller claimed his first aerial victory on the Western Front on 30 September 1939, a phase of World War II dubbed the Phoney War.
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Josef Wurmheller then served as a flight instructor before returning to JG 53 for the Battle of Britain.
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Josef Wurmheller was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 4 September 1941 after 32 victories.
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Josef Wurmheller claimed seven aerial victories during the Dieppe Raid on 19 August 1942 and after his 67th victory was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves on 1 October 1942.
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Josef Wurmheller was posthumously promoted to Major and was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords on 24 October 1944.
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Josef Wurmheller was born on 4 May 1917 in Hausham in the Kingdom of Bavaria, a federated state of the German Empire.
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Josef Wurmheller was an enthusiastic glider pilot and in 1937 he volunteered for military service in the Luftwaffe.
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Josef Wurmheller was posted to the Jagdfliegerschule at Werneuchen as an instructor in November 1939.
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Josef Wurmheller claimed four further victories in this campaign and was awarded the Iron Cross 1st Class on 16 October 1940.
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Josef Wurmheller was shot down three times himself by RAF fighters and each time had to bail out.
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Josef Wurmheller's unit was transferred to the Eastern Front in preparation for Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union, which began on 22 June 1941.
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Josef Wurmheller was transferred back to the Channel Front on 20 July 1941.
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Josef Wurmheller claimed his 20th aerial victory on 24 July 1941 and over a period of four weeks claimed a further 12 victories, all over Spitfires, including five in one day, making him an "ace-in-a-day".
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On 30 August 1941, Josef Wurmheller was awarded the Honor Goblet of the Luftwaffe, and on 4 September he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross for 32 aerial victories.
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At the time, Josef Wurmheller flew a Bf 109 F-2 from the airbase at St Pol-Bryas.
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Josef Wurmheller had to abort his first mission due to engine trouble, suffering a minor concussion in the forced landing.
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Josef Wurmheller returned from his second mission claiming two Spitfires and a Blenheim shot down.
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Josef Wurmheller claimed another Spitfire shot down on his fourth combat mission.
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Josef Wurmheller was promoted to Leutnant for bravery in the face of the enemy on 1 October 1942.
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Josef Wurmheller was the 146th officer or soldier of the Wehrmacht so honored.
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Josef Wurmheller claimed four Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bombers shot down on 3 January 1943.
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Josef Wurmheller claimed his first heavy bomber in the Defense of the Reich campaign on 8 February 1944 in the vicinity of Le Treport.
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Josef Wurmheller claimed further aerial victories following the Allied invasion of Normandy on 6 June 1944.
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Josef Wurmheller claimed the last three victories of his total of 102 on 16 June 1944.
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Josef Wurmheller was the 80th Luftwaffe pilot to achieve the century mark.
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Josef Wurmheller was killed in his Fw 190 A-8 on 22 June 1944, when he collided with his wingman, Feldwebel Kurt Franzke, during aerial combat with USAAF Republic P-47 Thunderbolt and Royal Canadian Air Force Spitfire fighters near Alencon.
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Josef Wurmheller was posthumously awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords and promoted to the rank of Major on 24 October 1944, which was back-dated to 1 June 1944.