* 16.04.1918, Borotín.
† 26.01.1976, Zlín.
Pre WW2:
Jaroslav Šika was born on 16 April 1918 in the village of Borotín, near Tábor, a historic town about 75 km South of Prague. His parents, Josef Šika, and Antonia, née Peišková, had a small farm there. Jaroslav’s was educated at the municipal school in Tábor and then went onto a trade school where he trained as a blacksmith. During this period, he developed an interest in aviation and aspired to become a pilot.
Czechoslovak Air Force:
On reaching 18, that aspiration motivated him to apply to the Military Aviation Academy at Prostějov as cadet. He was accepted and on 1 October 1936 he joined and underwent his basic military training. He was was selected for pilot training and then continued to train to become a fighter pilot. On graduation, at the rank of svobodník (LAC), he was posted on 15 June 1938 to the 45th Fighter Squadron of the 3rd (M. R. Štefánik) Air Regiment, which was deployed at Piešťany airbase in the Slovakia region of the country and equipped with Avia B-534 biplane fighter aircraft.
German Occupation:
The German occupation of Czechoslovakia on 15 March 1939 meant that the Bohemia and Moravia regions of the country were now the Reich Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia – Protektorat Böhmen und Mähren – and Slovakia became a German ‘puppet’ state. The Czechoslovak Air Force was disbanded and all personnel demobilised; the same fate befell most of those serving in the Czechoslovak Army. As Jaroslav was a Czech he was returned to the German Protectorate. By this time he had achieved a total of 195 of flying hours experience.
Germanisation of Bohemia and Moravia began immediately. For the military personnel and many patriotic Czech citizens, this was a degrading period. Many sought to redress this shame and humiliation and wanted to fight for the liberation of their homeland. But by 19 March 1939, former senior officers of the now-disbanded Czechoslovak military had started to form an underground army, known as Obrana Národa [Defense of the Nation]. Obrana Národa worked in co-operation with Svaz Letců, the Airman Association of the Czechoslovak Republic. One of their objectives was to assist as many airmen and soldiers as possible to get to neighbouring Poland where Ludvík Svoboda, a former distinguished Czechoslovak Legionnaire from WW1, was planning the formation of Czechoslovak military units to fight for the liberation of their homeland. Within Czechoslovakia, former military personnel and civilian patriots covertly started to arrange for former Air Force and Army personnel to be smuggled over the border into Poland to join these newly formed Czechoslovak units.
To Poland:
With the help of those two organisations, on 18 June, Jaroslav successfully managed to covertly cross the border into Poland and reported for duty at the Czechoslovak Consulate at Kraków.
Polish Disappointment:
However, the Polish Authorities, who recognised the new State of Slovakia, had shown little interest in the Czechoslovak Air Force airmen who were crossing into their country in groups and would not allow independent Czechoslovak units to be established on its territory. Only after lengthy negotiations between Czechoslovak Diplomats, in France and Great Britain, and the French government did the French agree to permit 4,000 Czechoslovaks to join the French Foreign Legion. A condition of this agreement was that that they had to enlist for 5 years into the Legion, but with the undertaking that in the event of war being declared, they would be released from that service and transferred into French units.
In the interim, whilst travel arrangements to France where made, Jaroslav and the other escaped Czechoslovak military were transferred to Małe Bronowice, a former Polish Army barracks on the outskirts of Kraków which was being utilised as a temporary transit camp. Jaroslav arrived there on 7 July and was to find that, due to the poor conditions in the camp, morale was not high.
To France:
On 26 July a total of 188 Czechoslovak airmen, including Jaroslav, boarded the Swedish steamship the SS ‘Kastelholm’, a 921 ton Swedish coastal-cruising ship, and sailed to France. Part of the voyage down the Baltic Sea was very rough, even to airmen who were used to flying in turbulent conditions, and so the shiped stop at the Danish port of Frederikshaven to re-supply was a welcome relief for the Czechoslovaks onboard.
France:
The ‘Kastleholm’ arriving at Calais on 31 July. On arrival, the Czechoslovaks boarded a train which took them to Paris and to Place Balard, the Foreign Legion’s recruitment depot at Paris, to undergo medical checks, whilst the necessary documentation was prepared for their enlistment into the Legion pending their transfer to the Legion’s training base at Sidi Bel Abbès, Algeria. During this period, they were required to attend French classes and classroom tuition about the Foreign Legion. Any free time was usually spent in Paris exploring the sights and practising their newly learnt French with the girls they met.
l’armée de l’air
Before that processing could be completed, war was declared and instead Jaroslav and the other Czechoslovak airmen were released from their Foreign Legion contract, and they were transferred to the l’Armée de l’Air at their recruitment centre at Dugny, near Paris. On 29 September, Jaroslav was transferred to Chartres, the l’Armée de l’Air training airbase, 80km West of Paris, for training on the Morane-Saulnier MS-406c fighter aircraft. On 16 November he was promoted to the rank of caporal.
After 39.34 flying hours, he had completed his re-training and on 8 March 1940 was posted, together with fellow Czechoslovak Otto Špaček, to GC I/8 who were deployed at Maupertus airbase, near Cherbourg, North West France. They were and equipped with MB-151C.I and MB-152C.I fighter aircraft.
The Germans invaded France on 10 May, 1940, and the lightning speed and ferocity of their Blitzkrieg attack resulted in l’Armée de l’Air retreating rapidly Westwards. His next promotion, to sergent, was on 16 November.
During the Battle of France, he achieved combat success with three confirmed kills:
| Date | Time | Aircraft | Action |
| 17/05/40 | 17:45 | MB-152 | a Hs 126 shared victory near La Capelle, Belgium |
| 25/05/40 | 18:00 | MB-152 | a He 111, shared victory near Trélon, Belgium. |
| 25/05/40 | 19:13 | MB-152 | a Do 17, shared victory 2 km south of Amiens. |
On 3 June, shortly after take off for a flight between Nancy to Thieux, he was shot-down by ‘friendly’ anti-aircraft gunfire which damaged his aircraft and injured his head. He managed to crash-land his aircraft and was taken to the Military Hospital at Troyes. After twelve days he was discharged from hospital.
By mid-June GC I/8 had redeployed Westwards nine times and were now at Corme-Écluse airbase at Royan, about 100km North of Bordeaux, in south-west France.
Evacuation from France:
On 19 June, with France’s capitulation imminent, Jaroslav and the remaining Czechoslovak airmen in GC I /8 – Eduard Prchal, Otto Špaček, Rudolf Holeček and Stanislav Zimprich – were released from l’Armee de l’Air service and were instructed to get to the port at Bayonne, about 160 km South of Bordeaux, for evacuation by ship to Britain before the advancing German army reached the port. With GC I/8 Jaroslav had flown a total of 25 hrs 10 min. On 22 June, they boarded the ‘Königin Emma‘, a Dutch passenger ship, which two days later brought them to Plymouth, England.
RAF:
Because of the head wound he had received in France, on arrival to England he was taken initially to the RAF Hospital at Padgate, Lancs, for further treatment and recuperation, arriving there on 28 June and being discharged on 18 July. He was accepted into the RAF Volunteer Reserve, at the rank off AC2 on 25 July and transferred to the Czechoslovak airmen’s depot at Cosford, near Wolverhampton. On 21 September, at the rank of Sgt, he was posted to 6 OTU at Sutton Bridge for re-training onto Hurricane Mk I fighter aircraft.
Battle of Britain:
His re-training was completed on 7 October and he was posted to 43 (China-British) Sqn on 10 October 1940 who were now in No.13 Group of Fighter Command and deployed at RAF Usworth, near Washington, Northumberland. The Group was there for a rest period following their demanding involvement with covering the Dunkirk evacuation and in the Battle of Britain. They were equipped with Hurricane Mk I fighter aircraft.
His first flight with the squadron came that day in Hurricane V7206, for a 50-minute formation flight. Jaroslav’s operational flight in the Battle of Britain was achieved on 13 October with a 70-minute patrol flying Hurricane V7206. During these final days of the Battle of Britain he flew 20.6 hours, but without any engagement with enemy aircraft.
After the Battle:
With the Battle of Britain now over, 43 (China-British) Sqn’s role was now mainly convoy patrols over the North Sea covering the North East coast of England. The squadron redeployed to Drem, Scotland, in March 1941, where they had a similar role protecting Aberdeen and the Royal Navy base on the Orkney Islands.
During a flight on 9 February 1941, his Hurricane Mk I V6925 suffered coolant leakage problems and he had to make a forced landing at 15:00 north of Berwick. He was uninjured in the crash but the aircraft had Cat E damage and was struck off charge.
On 19 May 1941 he was posted to the newly formed 313 (Czechoslovak) Sqn who were deployed at Catterick and equipped with Spitfire Mk Is. Unfortunately, the head injury he had incurred in France continued to give him medical problems, causing him to step down from operational flying on 8 August 1941. He was posted to 57 OTU at Harwarden, North Wales, as a combat instructor, a post he held until 23 March 1942 when, after detailed examination by the RAF Medical Branch, he was declared fit to return to operational flying.
He was posted to 452 Sqn, a Royal Australian Air Force squadron deployed at Kirton-in-Lindsey, Lincs, but the following day he was posted to 72 Sqn which was deployed at Biggin Hill, equipped with Spitfire Mk Vbs and commanded by W/Cmdr Adolpe ‘Sailor’ Milan, DSO & bar, DFC & bar, from South Africa.
72 Sqn:
With 72 Sqn he was to achieve combat success with a Me 109 shot down during Circus 60. Circus operations were daytime sorties undertaken by bombers escorted by fighters against close targets. The aim was to keep enemy fighters in the area and keep them busy.
At 19:40 on 23 July, 11 Spitfires took off from Biggin Hill, to provide fighter cover for Circus 60 which comprised six Blenheim bombers from 114 Sqn for a raid on the oil refinery Mazingarbe, in the Pas de Calais. Jaroslav was flying Spitfire W2418. At about 21:10 on the return flight, flying at 15,000 feet, North of Boulogne, a pair of Me 109Fs attacked him. Jaroslav responded, with his first burst of fire hitting the first Me109F’s engine, the 2nd burst the tail area. The Me 109F went into a slow spiral, smoking from the engine and appeared to be out of control.
Jaroslav landed back at Biggin Hill at 21:25 and found that the left half of his wing had been hit by a canon, whilst the right wing and tail surfaces had been shot up with machine gun fire.
On completion of his operational tour, for his rest period, he was posted, on 2 August, back to 57 OTU as a combat instructor. On 1 September he was promoted to the rank of F/Sgt. Jaroslav’s next posting was on 22 March 1942 to 310 (Czechoslovak) Sqn who were now deployed at Perranporth, Cornwall and equipped with Spitfire Mk Vb’s.
To No 2 Delivery Flight:
Unfortunately, due to reoccurring problems with his head wound from France he had to return to hospital, this time the RAF Hospital at Matlock. Jaroslav was discharged from hospital on 1 June 1942 and posted for non-operational duties with No 2 Delivery Flight, at Colerne, Wiltshire as a ferry pilot. On 1 July, he was posted to the 2 Flying Instructors School at Upavon , Pewsey for a flying instructors course. On completion of his training, he was posted, on 26 August, to 11 (Pilot) Advanced Flying Unit at Wittering for No 146 Course, a refresher pilot’s course.
Jaroslav was promoted to W/O on 1 March 1943, and his next posting, on 12 March, was back to 310 Sqn who were now deployed at Exeter and equipped with Spitfire Mk Vbs. The squadron’s role was now providing fighter cover for Allied bombers on raids over North West France. He completed his operational tour on 3 July and for his rest period, was posted to the Czechoslovak Depot at RAF Cosford. He received his commission, at the rank of P/O on 24 July 1943.
Because of his aerial-gunnery experience, Jaroslav’s next posting, on 5 December 1944, was for a gunnery instructor’s course at the Central Gunnery School at Catfoss, Yorkshire, and then to 18 Armament Practice Camp at Fairwood Common, near Swansea, South Wales. He wanted to return to operational flying but due to medical reasons he was unable to return to daytime operational flying; so instead he volunteered to become a night-fighter.
Night Fighter:
On 5 December 1944 he was posted to 12 Advanced Flying Unit for training on twin-engined fighter aircraft. Jaroslav’s next posting was on 9 January 1945 when he was posted to 51 OTU at Cranfield for night-fighter training. His final RAF promotion was on 24 January 1944, to the rank of F/O.
On 18 March 1945, when on a training-flight, in Mosquito NF Mk XII HK280, Jaroslav had to make a belly-landing at 12:45 when returning to Cranfield, due to undercarriage failure. Neither he or W/O Oldřich Kaňovský, his radar operator, were injured.
On completion of that training course, he was posted, on 17 May, for operational duties to 25 Sqn who were deployed at RAF Castle Camps in Cambridgeshire and equipped with Mosquito NF Mk 30’s.
Return to Czechoslovakia:
Jaroslav returned to Czechoslovakia on 21 August 1945, with the Czechoslovak Air Force at the rank of poručík [P/O] and remained in the Czechoslovak Air Force. He was posted to the Military Aviation Academy at Prostějov as a gunnery instructor. On 1 March 1946 he was promoted to the rank of nadporučík (F/O) and on 3 August 1946 to kapitán (F/Lt). On 31 January 1947 he left the Czechoslovak Air Force and joined Baťa as a pilot in their commercial air fleet.
Communist Victim:
Following the Communist take-over in February 1948, the Czechoslovaks who fought for the Allies in WW2 were regarded as being tainted by Capitalism and many were arrested, imprisoned and subjected to other persecution.
For Jaroslav, in January 1949 the Communist authorities cancelled his pilot’s licence as they considered that he was politically unreliable. Consequently, he was to find that he was only permitted to work as a labourer and driver for ZPS, a Czechoslovak company producing machines for the shoe making industry in Gottwaldov, now nationalised under the Communist regime. On 10 October 1950, he was to have a further indignity when he was demoted in rank.
Jaroslav Šika died on 26 January 1976 at Gottwaldov, now Zlín, Czechoslovakia; he was 57 years old.
Medals:
1939 – 45 Star with Battle of Britain clasp
Air Crew Europe Star with France and Germany clasp
Defence Medal
War Medal
Válečný kříž 1939 and 2 bars
Za chrabrost and 2 bar
Za zásluhy I.stupně
Pamětní medaile se štítky F–VB
Croix de Guerre avec palme
Remembered:
Czech Republic:
Borotin
He is rememembered on a Memorial Plaque at his former school at Borotin.
Prague – Klárov :
In November 2017, his name, along with the names of 2533 other Czechoslovak men and women who had served in the RAF during WW2, was unveiled at the Winged Lion Monument at Klárov, Prague.
Great Britain :
Capel-le_Ferne:
He is commemorated, along with the other 2940 Battle of Britain aircrew, on the Christopher Foxley-Norris Memorial Wall at the National Battle of Britain Memorial at Capel-le-Ferne, Kent:
Hawkinge:
Alexander is remembered on the Czechoslovak Battle of Britain pilots memorial at the Kent Battle of Britain Museum at Hawkinge, Kent. It was unveiled on 28 October 2025, to commemorate the 88 Czechoslovaks who flew in that battle.
London – Battle of Britain Memorial:
He is also commemorated on the London Battle of Britain Memorial:
Article last updated: 31.10.2025.
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Narodila jsem se v této chalupě, jako pilot Jaroslav Šika ( byl to můj prastryc). Děkuji za tento článek. Znám ho jen z vyprávění od mého otce a jeho zesnulé dcery Dagmar