21 January, 1944

Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-6 (WNr. 410292)
Morlaix airfield
(contributors : Erik Mombeeck, Frédéric Hénoff, Association Forced Landing, Phil Dufrasne, Daniel Dahiot)

Pilot

Photo collection Erik Mombeeck
Fahnenjunker Unteroffizier Arnold SIKLER - 5./JG 2.
born June 27, 1921 in Sigmaringen.

JG 2 cuff band of Arnold SIKLER.
Photo collection Erik Mombeeck

THE STORY

A few information is known about the crash ; we only know that the aircraft made a belly landing shortly after takeoff, due to engine failure.

ARNOLD SIKLER
In the volumes 3 and 4 of Erik Mombeeck's JG 2 "Richtofen" nice chronicle "Dans le Ciel de France", we can read about Arnold Sikler.
- On June 28, 1943, Arnold Sikler completed his training at Erg. Jagdgruppe West in Ossun near Pau and took a train with seven of his comrades from the 1^st Squadron to join JG 2 "Richtofen" in Beaumont-le-Roger. They arrived right in the middle of a birthday party celebrating Walter Oesau's 30^th birthday. Oesau received them and announced that he would be handing over his command to Kommandeur Egon Mayer.
- On July 6, 1943, the RAF launched attacks on the Netherlands and northern France. Arnold ZIKLER, then at 5./JG 2, took off with several other aircrafts (from 4. and 5./JG2, II./JG 26 and 3./JG 27) to face the numerically superior Spifires (Operation Rodéo 240 in the Dieppe - Amiens sector). SIKLER, aboard Me Bf 109 G-6 WNr. 19812, had to bail out during a dogfight near Poix.
- On September 6, 1943, Sikler claimed his first victory, a Boeing B-17 shot down at 7,000 meters at 1:25 p.m. over Saint-Léger (Pas-de-Calais).
- On January 21, 1944, Sikler was injured during a failed takeoff at Morlaix-Ploujean airfield.
- On March 2, 1944, II./JG 2 intercepted about a hundred B-17s near Saint-Quentin and then continued fighting toward Dieppe. Sikler, a caricaturist with the unit, was injured during a forced landing with his Bf 109 G-6 WNr. 162035.
- On March 21, 1944, Arnold Zickler was mistakenly shot down by German flak 800 m East of Chateaudun, aboard his Me Bf 109 G-6 WNr. 162012. He was killed. He was 22 years old.

AN UNUSUAL MOVING EXCHANGE WITH ARNOLD SIKLER'S SISTER
by Erik Mombeeck

Photo collection Erik Mombeeck

" Researching history is, above all, to be interested in the people who made it. Great people emerge from it, drawing attention to themselves thanks to the exploits, talents or simply luck that have left their mark on people's minds, but above all there are the mass of ordinary people who suffer it, people like you and me and who, in the case of a war, often disappear without a trace. But, some had gold in their hands or ideas in their heads, and we can only be dizzy when thiniking of what their loss means for humanity. What would Alain-Fournier, Charles Péguy and so many others have written if they had not been killed in 1914 ? What would Arnold Sikler have drawn and painted if he had not been shot down by his own Flak on the first day of spring 1944 above Châteaudun ?

After a long investigation, I obtained a phone number. I called and an elderly voice told me that Mrs. Sikler was her roommate. She put down the receiver and I heard her shout a female name in what I imagined to be a dark and old-fashioned stairwell. I waited a long time and then heard footsteps approaching. When I explained to the woman the reason for my call, she remained silent for a long time and then replied that no one had spoken to her about her brother since the 1940s. Not wanting to shock her any further, I asked her permission to write to her and for her postal address.

Her reply wasn't long in coming : a thick envelope containing a few photos, a superb sketchbook, and a "Richthofen" armband with a little note : Call me back if you like. Keep everything except the sketchbook; I value it very much.

Of course, I called her back from time to time and was able to tell her a little about her brother's short life as a pilot, and she told me about his youth and his drawing skills. I already knew about his skills because he had humorously sketched almost all of his squadron comrades in comical situations.

Photo collection Erik Mombeeck

The fact that Arnold Sikler was assigned to the 5. Staffel is perhaps not insignificant because, as I explain in the chronicle of JG 2, it brought together a large number of young fathers, and I think that the authorities of the "Richthofen" wanted not to expose its members too much. Did they recognize Arnold's talents by sending him there too ? It is not impossible, but what is certain is that fate spared almost none of the squadron's "protected". At most, they survived the terrible air dogfights a few weeks longer than their comrades in the other Staffeln.

Shortly after arriving at the front, Arnold claimed the destruction of a four-engine American B-17, his only "Abschuss." Six months later, he was dead.

The last time I tried to contact Mrs. Sikler, her roommate informed me that she passed away. I asked her if anyone had kept the sketchbook. "No, it all went in the trash because no one was interested, and she had no other family."

" What remains of a life ? " I wrote to conclude the JG 2 chronicle. Concerning Arnold Sikler, not much remains, but thanks to ABSA 39-45 for preserving her memory on this page. "

    
Arnold SIKLER was his unit's designated cartoonist.
In the cartoon on the left, he writes : "Our Lieutenant Zurmöhle hasn't revealed himself yet. But he's quiet and rather modest.
According to the principle of being more than we look, he should feel comfortable with us
and work up his courage with Tommy [the English ennemy nickname]."
"Zurmöhle," the name of this lieutenant killed on February 11, 1944, is probably a joke with "Zur Mühle" meaning "toward the mill."
The cartoon on the right is probably a very personal joke, perhaps related to a red beard that Hans Stich may have had.
The text says : "Knight Hans Stich of Stichlingen" "As Knight Rotbart [Redbeard] Lobesam…
also a Swabian of the noblest blood. Keep the Lady!"
("Rotbart Lobesam" was emperor. There is an 18^th-century ballad about him that speaks of a "crusade to the holy land.")
Documents collection Erik Mombeeck

APPENDICES
♦ German archival document certifying that Arnold SIKLER made a belly landing on 21 January 1944 in Morlaix. This document, dated 26 January 1944, is signed by Hauptmann Kurt Buhlingen, then Kommandeur of Gruppe II, to which 5./JG 2 was attached.

In the upper left part of the document (red frame), it is stated that the aircraft crashed on January 21, 1944, 1 km south of the Morlaix airfield,
and that it was not the result of an enemy aircraft. Zikler's service number was 68 420/171.
Zikler was born on June 27, 1921, in the Dettingen district of Sigmaringen.

In the upper right (green frame), we learn that the engine failed during takeoff, causing the aircraft belly landing near the airfield.
The last known residence is that of his father, Wilhelm Sikler, living in Weilburg/Lahn at 5 Bismark Street.

♦ SIKLER family documents attesting to the awards obtained by Arnold SIKLER.

 
Photos collection Erik Mombeeck

Document on the left : " Certificate of Distinction. On behalf of the Commander-in-Chief of the Luftwaffe, I award Unteroffizier Arnold Sikler, 5./JG 2, the Bronze Front Flying Clasp for Fighter pilots. Command Post, 30 September 1943. Captain and Deputy Wing Commander. " [This distinction was awarded for flying 20 missions or more]. The first two photos on this page show this clasp on Sikler's jacket, pinned to the left over his heart.
Document on the right : " On behalf of the Führer and Supreme Commander of the Wehrmacht, I award the Iron Cross, Second Class, to Unteroffizier Arnold Sikler. Command Post, 29 September 1943. Major General and Supreme Commander of Fighter Pilots on the Western Front. "

♦ German archival document certifying that Arnold SIKLER was killed on March 21, 1944.

To make the document easier to read, we have split it in two (below).

The text on the right states :
Intercepted by our own anti-aircraft guns approaching Châteaudun airfield.
Last residence and address of parents : Wilhelm Sikler, Weilburg/Lahn, Bismarkstrasse.
Toll collection office : A/B 12 Company Aviation School, Königsberg.
Burial site: Châteaudun Heroes' Cemetery.

♦ French archival document certifying that Arnold SIKLER was killed on March 21, 1944.
  (source : Association Forced Landing with courtesy of Stéphane Tessier)