Born in Hausham, Wurmheller was a glider pilot in his youth, and volunteered for military service in the Luftwaffe of Nazi Germany in 1937.

Wurmheller was born on 4 May 1917 in Hausham in the Kingdom of Bavaria, a federated state of the German Empire.

After growing up on his uncle's farm at Schliersee, he spent four years working as a miner like his father.

Following training as a fighter pilot, Wurmheller, holding the rank of Unteroffizier (sergeant), was posted to 2.

[1][Note 1] 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.

He claimed four further victories in this campaign and was awarded the Iron Cross 1st Class (Eisernes Kreuz 1.

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).

[5] 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.

[1] 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.

[7] Following a minor injury, Wurmheller was again posted to the fighter pilot school in Werneuchen as an instructor.

Wurmheller, whose right foot was plastered in an orthopedic cast, claimed seven victories during the course of four combat missions that day, six Spitfires and a Bristol Blenheim bomber.

[10] He had to abort his first mission due to engine trouble, suffering a minor concussion in the forced landing.

Staffel of JG 2 "Richthofen",[11] succeeding Hauptmann (Captain) Siegfried Schnell, who was transferred to III.

[13] "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.

[11] He claimed his first heavy bomber in the Defense of the Reich campaign on 8 February 1944 in the vicinity of Le Tréport.

Gruppe of JG 2 "Richthofen" on 8 June, succeeding Hauptmann Herbert Huppertz who was killed in action near Caen earlier that day.

[16] 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.

[17] He was posthumously awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern) and promoted to the rank of Major (major) on 24 October 1944, which was back-dated to 1 June 1944.

[18] 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.