Josef Wurmheller

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Josef "Sepp" Wurmheller (born May 4, 1917 in Hausham ; † June 22, 1944 near Alençon ( northern France )) was a German air force officer and fighter pilot in World War II .

Military career

In 1937 Wurmheller joined the Air Force , where he trained as a pilot based on his previous experience in gliding . In September 1939 he was assigned to the I. Group of Jagdgeschwader 53 , where he achieved his first aerial victory on September 30, 1939 . He then worked from November 1939 to June 1940 as a flight tactics instructor at an aircraft pilot's school. After returning to his squadron, he experienced the Battle of Britain in the same . Wurmheller was shot down twice over the English Channel by British hunters, the last time on November 23, 1940. After being rescued by a German search boat, he was in a hospital until March 1941 to recover from his injuries. Until the squadron was relocated to the Eastern Front in June 1941, Wurmheller increased the number of his aerial victories to a total of 19.

In July 1941, Wurmheller returned to northern France and became the III. Group of Jagdgeschwader 2 assigned. Here he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on September 4, 1941 in the rank of Sergeant Major for now 24 aerial victories . In May 1942 alone, he achieved ten aerial victories. In the following month their number was twelve. On August 19, 1942, despite a broken leg and concussion, he achieved another seven victories at Dieppe . On November 13, 1942, he was awarded the Knight's Cross Oak Leaves for his 60th victory in the air, now with the rank of lieutenant . In April 1943 Wurmheller rose to squadron captain of the 9th squadron of JG 2. From June 8, 1944 he then acted as commander of the III. Group of this squadron.

death

On June 22nd, 1944, he collided with his Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A-6 near Alençon with his Rottenflieger and died in the crash with the fighter's impact fire. He was posthumously awarded the Knight's Cross on October 24, 1944. In total, Wurmheller achieved 102 aerial victories, of which at least twelve were against four-engine bombers and nine on the Eastern Front.

Awards

See also

literature

  • Ernst Obermaier: The Luftwaffe Knight's Cross Carriers 1939–1945, Volume I, Jagdflieger , Dieter Hoffmann Verlag 1966, p. 45
  • Florian Berger: With oak leaves and swords - the most decorated soldiers of the Second World War , self-published by Florian Berger 2000, ISBN 3-9501307-0-5 , pp. 386–387

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c David A. Miller: Die Schwerterträger Der Wehrmacht: Recipients of the Knight's Cross with Oakleaves and Swords . 5th edition. Merriam Press, Bennington 1988. p. 45
personal data
SURNAME Wurmheller, Josef
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Wurmheller, Sepp
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German major and fighter pilot in World War II
DATE OF BIRTH May 4, 1917
PLACE OF BIRTH Hausham
DATE OF DEATH June 22, 1944
Place of death Alencon