World War II in Europe began on Friday, 1 September 1939, when German forces
invaded Poland. On 30 September, elements of I.
Gruppe (1st group) of JG 53 encountered a formation of five
Royal Air Force (RAF)
Fairey Battle single-engined bombers in the vicinity of
Saarbrücken during the early
Phoney War period. Wurmheller claimed his first victory during this encounter. The Fairey Battle
K9283, of
No. 150 Squadron flown by
Squadron Leader William MacDonald, was on an
aerial reconnaissance mission in the area from
Metzing to Saarbrücken and crash-landed at
Écury-sur-Coole. For this victory, Wurmheller received the
Iron Cross 2nd Class () on 19 October 1939. He was posted to the
Jagdfliegerschule (fighter pilot school) at
Werneuchen as an instructor in November 1939.
Battle of Britain and Eastern Front Following a tour as an instructor at the Luftwaffe fighter pilot school, Wurmheller returned to 5.
Staffel of JG 53 in June 1940. During the
Battle of Britain, he flew combat missions as a fighter pilot and as a
fighter-bomber pilot. He claimed four further victories in this campaign and was awarded the Iron Cross 1st Class () on 16 October 1940. He was shot down three times himself by RAF fighters and each time had to
bail out. On the third occasion, he was shot down in
Messerschmitt Bf 109 E-4 (
Werknummer 5242—factory number) at approximately 5:10 pm on 23 November over the
English Channel and had to swim for four-and-a-half hours before he was rescued by a
Schnellboot (E-boat) of the
Kriegsmarine (Navy). Hospitalized until March 1941, he returned to combat duty and claimed two
Supermarine Spitfires shot down on 7 May 1941, his 9th and 10th victories. Wurmheller's unit was subsequently transferred to the
Eastern Front in preparation for
Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union, which began on 22 June 1941. During Barbarossa he was deployed in the southern sector of the German advance. He added nine victories—eight bombers and one
Polikarpov I-16 "Rata" fighter—in this theater of operations. His last victory on the Eastern Front, his 19th overall, was claimed on 15 July 1941.
Channel Front Wurmheller was transferred back to the Channel Front on 20 July 1941. He was assigned to the
Stab (headquarters unit) of II.
Gruppe of
Jagdgeschwader 2 "Richthofen" (JG 2—2nd Fighter Wing), named after the
World War I fighter ace
Manfred von Richthofen. He 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". On 30 August 1941, 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. His former unit, 5.
Staffel of JG 53, had nominated him for the Knight's Cross, but the nomination was not approved until he was assigned to JG 2 "Richthofen". On the same day, his fellow II.
Gruppe pilot
Oberfeldwebel Kurt Bühligen also received the Knight's Cross. At the time, Wurmheller flew a
Bf 109 F-2 from the airbase at
St Pol-Bryas. Following a minor injury, Wurmheller was again posted to the fighter pilot school in Werneuchen as an instructor. Upon his return to front line duty in May 1942, he was posted to 1.
Staffel and claimed 10 victories during May 1942 and a further 12 victories the following month. Among these claims were four Spitfires shot down on 31 May and five on 5 June 1942. Most of these missions were flown with
Rudolf Pflanz as his
wingman. Wurmheller's most successful day as a fighter pilot was during the
Dieppe Raid on 19 August 1942. On that day, the Allies unsuccessfully attacked the German-occupied port of
Dieppe. Over 6,000
infantrymen, predominantly Canadian, were supported by a Canadian
armored regiment and a strong force of
Royal Marines and smaller RAF landing contingents. Wurmheller, whose right foot was plastered in an
orthopedic cast, claimed eight victories during the course of four combat missions that day, seven Spitfires and a
Bristol Blenheim bomber. The Blenheim most likely was a misidentified
Martin Baltimore. He had to abort his first mission due to engine trouble, suffering a minor concussion in the forced landing. He returned from his second mission claiming two Spitfires and a Blenheim shot down. His third mission resulted in the destruction of three more Spitfires, his 56th to 58th victories. Wurmheller claimed another Spitfire shot down on his fourth combat mission. The next day, 20 August, he claimed his 60th aerial victory, which earned him the
German Cross in Gold (); it was awarded on 21 August. Wurmheller was promoted to
Leutnant (second lieutenant) for bravery in the face of the enemy on 1 October 1942. Following his 67th aerial victory, achieved in about 150 combat missions, he was awarded the
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves () on 14 November 1942. He was the 146th officer or soldier of the Wehrmacht so honored. The
United States Army Air Forces (USAAF), in particular the
Eighth Air Force, began regular combat when the
VIII Bomber Command attacked the
Rouen–Sotteville
marshalling yards in France on 17 August 1942. Wurmheller claimed four
Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bombers shot down on 3 January 1943. On 1 April 1943 he was appointed
Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) of 9.
Staffel of JG 2 "Richthofen", succeeding
Hauptmann (Captain)
Siegfried Schnell, who was transferred to III.
Gruppe of
Jagdgeschwader 54 (JG 54—54th Fighter Wing). Wurmheller claimed his 70th victory on 17 May, when he shot down a B-17. On 23 September, Wurmheller was wounded by bomb splinters while making an emergency landing in his
Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A-6 during a bombing raid at
Vannes–
Meucon. "Sepp", as he was named by his comrades, was promoted to
Oberleutnant (first lieutenant) on 1 August 1943 and to
Hauptmann on 1 November 1943. He claimed his first
heavy bomber in the
Defense of the Reich campaign on 8 February 1944 in the vicinity of
Le Tréport. By March 1944, his total number of aerial victories had reached 92 claims.
Group commander and death Wurmheller claimed further aerial victories following the Allied
invasion of Normandy on 6 June 1944. He was appointed
Gruppenkommandeur (group commander) of III.
Gruppe of JG 2 "Richthofen" on 8 June, succeeding
Hauptmann Herbert Huppertz who was
killed in action near
Caen earlier that day. Wurmheller claimed the last three victories of his total of 102 on 16 June 1944. He was the 80th Luftwaffe pilot to achieve the century mark. Wurmheller was killed in his
Fw 190 A-8 (
Werknummer 171 053) on 22 June 1944, when he collided with his wingman,
Feldwebel (Staff Sergeant) Kurt Franzke, during aerial combat with USAAF
Republic P-47 Thunderbolt and
Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) Spitfire fighters near
Alençon. He was
posthumously awarded the
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords () and promoted to the rank of
Major (major) on 24 October 1944, which was back-dated to 1 June 1944. According to Goss, his victor may have been Pilot Officer J.W. Flemming from
No. 441 Fighter Squadron. Wurmheller and Franzke were buried beside each other at the
Champigny-Saint-André German war cemetery, near
Saint-André-de-l'Eure, in plot 9, graves 1704 and 1705 respectively. Command of III.
Gruppe of JG 2 was then given to
Hauptmann Siegfried Lemke. ==Summary of career==