What did Josef Würmheller do at Dieppe?

Short answer

On 19 August 1942, the day of the failed Allied attack on the port of Dieppe, Josef Wurmheller flew with his right foot in a cast and claimed eight victories in four combat sorties: seven Spitfires and one Bristol Blenheim bomber. The next day he scored his 60th aerial victory.

Published: November 5, 2026 · Updated: November 5, 2026 · Edited by Above Ten Thousand · Editorial policy

Focke Wulf Fw 190 D-13R11 (cn 836017, 10- - (ge)) 1989-06-01 Andre Gerwing Collection IDAndré Gerwing (CC BY SA), vía commons

The day of the Allied attack on Dieppe

On 19 August 1942 the Allies unsuccessfully attacked the port of Dieppe, in German-occupied France. Josef Wurmheller flew that day with his right foot in an orthopedic cast. Over four combat sorties that day he claimed eight victories: seven Spitfires and one Bristol Blenheim bomber.

The 60th victory and the German Cross in Gold

The following day, 20 August 1942, he claimed his 60th aerial victory. That victory earned him the German Cross in Gold (Deutsches Kreuz in Gold), awarded on 21 August. After his 67th aerial victory, achieved in around 150 combat missions, he received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves.

An ace with 102 credited victories

Wurmheller was a Luftwaffe pilot during the Second World War, a fighter ace credited with 102 enemy aircraft shot down in more than 300 combat missions. He claimed his first aerial victory on the Western Front on 30 September 1939.