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If you are a nerd of aviation and history like I am, you'd know that sometimes it becomes really hard to find documents and resources about the past. But when it comes to the TurAF of the Ottoman Empire and early times of the Republic, it is impossible to find these; there are only limited pictures. So, considering that how hard it is for us to find these and how limited and restricted the resources are; I decided to gather everything I can find in here. But please don't hesitate to help if you have anything revelant with the topic since I can't do a one-man job here.
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Summary:
The Turkish Air Force has a vivid and honorable history. The Turkish military first encountered hostile military aircraft in 1911 when Italy invaded Libya, at that time part of the Ottoman Empire. Italian aircraft performed reconnaissance and bombing missions against the Ottoman Army. Ottoman forces, however, had the honor of being the first to force down a warplane and capture the pilot. Earlier that year, the Turkish Minister of War directed establishment of an aircraft commission in Istanbul. The first airfield was near Istanbul and is now Ataturk International Airport. Two hangars were built, and training on and purchase of French, German and British aircraft began.
The fledgling TAF saw action in the Balkan War in September 1912 to October 1913, with only 17 aircraft, which primarily flew reconnaissance. In 1914, the first U.S. aircraft, a Curtiss seaplane, was sold to Turkey. Soon, however, Europe would be embroiled in the Great War. At the beginning of the war, Turkey had only five aircraft and six pilots. With the help of German and Austrian allies, the TAF expanded to 450 aircraft, many piloted by Germans. At the war's end, Turkey had almost 100 pilots and 17 land-based and three seaplane companies of four aircraft each. During the conflict, Turkish and German pilots had considerable success, sinking several British ships in the Aegean and destroying numerous British, French and Russian aircraft. Following the Armistice, the Ottoman Empire was dismantled, and most of the Army, including the air forces, disarmed.
Western powers moved to occupy many of the regions of Anatolia. Mustafa Kemal, later known as Ataturk, rallied forces against the invaders. In 1919, at the beginning of the national struggle, the Turks had no aircraft. In March 1920, the TAF was reestablished when pilots and others met to assemble aircraft from smuggled parts. Soon there were 17 aircraft, a mixture of Albatros, Breguet, Fiat, De Havilland and Spad models, which made limited strikes and conducted reconnaissance. When the War of Independence ended in 1922, the Air Force had grown to a group consisting of companies at Izmir, Afyon and Bandirma. In 1928, an Air Ministry was established with three battalions raised to regiment level in 1932, and brigade level in 1939. The three main bases were Eskisehir, Diyarbakir and Izmir.
Before World War II, an aircraft factory was built to build American Curtiss Hawk fighters and Turkey purchased Polish PZL and French Morane fighter planes. The Turks also acquired a number of bombers - German Heinkels, British Blenheims and American Martins and Vultees. Turkey remained neutral until the final days of World War II. As a result, the TAF obtained aircraft from axis and allied powers. They even acquired a few American B24 bombers interned after forced landings following the Ploesti raid of 1943.
Due to expansion, the Air Force became an independent service in 1944. After the war, Turkey purchased surplus Spitfires, Mosquitoes and Beaufighters before the United States became a major supplier of modern aircraft. In 1946, after the "Truman Doctrine" was declared, the Joint American Mission for Aid to Turkey was established in Ankara. In 1948, Turkey received P-47, B-26 and C-47 aircraft with training, supply and maintenance systems. In 1951, Turkey entered the jet age with the F-84...
R.E.P. in Turkish Service:
(When searching in the internet about this plane, I thought it was a version of the Bleriot XI but it was clearly written that it was a different plane in the resources that I could find. So, I included both of them.)
The R.E.P. are the first planes deployed at the Turkish Air Force or “The Supreme Ottoman Armed forces” as it was called in those days. The plane was designed by Robert Esnaoult-Pelterie and its first flight took place in 1912 and they entered service during the same year in France. In accordance with the agreement reached in between the producer and the Ottoman Ministry of War 7 planes were purchased and the first one was planned to join Ottoman Armed Forces on March 15, 1912, The enthronement anniversary of Sultan Reshad (Mehmet V.)
Five of the seven purchased were single seaters and the remaining two were two-seaters. One of the single seaters were planned only for ground practicing. The last plane was confiscated by the Serbians while being brought to Istanbul by train. A report written by Captain Mehmet Cemal is as follows:
The 1st REP...........It is a two-seater school plane. It cannot climb to more than 200 meters.
The 2nd REP..........It is a single-seat trainer. Its clyinders cracked during trials and they were replaced by spares.
The 3rd REP...........It is a ground rolling plane deployed for teaching cadets hıw to maneouver them on ground.
The 4th REP...........It is a war plane. It was flown to Saloniki by Nuri and it was left there during the Balkan War.
The 5th REP.........It was used by me. While flying over Ayastefanos(Yeşilköy) its engine stopped. Necessary care for reconstruction was not taken.
The 6th REP...........It was commanded by Nuri. It has no military significance since it cannot lift more than a single man.
The 7th REP...........It was a war plane but it was confiscated by the Serbians.
The R.E.P.s were left out of service in 1914.
Bleriot XI in the Turkish Service:
Designed by Louis Blériot and Raymond Saulnier (of Morane-Saulnier), the Blériot XI was a light and sleek monoplane constructed of oak and poplar. The flying surfaces were covered with cloth. The original XI was designed and built in 1908 and made its public debut at a Paris airshow in December of that year. The aircraft's original configuration included a R.E.P. engine spinning a four blade metal paddle type propeller which proved to be unsatisfactory.
On July 25, 1909, Louis Bleriot accomplished the historic flight over the British Channel. The plane which attracted great attention started to being deployed at the French and the Italian armed forces. In 1912, The Ottoman Empire started to use the same plane.Two of the two-seater version of the Bleriot XI-b were used in the Ottoman Armed Forces first of which was presented by Supreme Commander Rıza Pasha. Three of a different two-seat model named Xl-2 and three of the single-seat model called ''Penqouin'' were also deployed at the Ottoman Armed Forces.
Deperdussin in Turkish Service:
Bristol Monoplane in Turkish Service:
Harlan in Turkish Service:
D.F.W. Mars Pfeil in Turkish Service:
If you guys support this discussion, I am thinking about covering the TuAF inventory in WW1, pre-WW2 and in the WW2 as well.
(P.S. I've gathered everything I could about the FW-190A3 in the TuAF before deciding to cover the TuAF between the periods instead of randomly doing it. I was about the delete all of this work but after spending some time thinking about it, I decided to keep it. But if you guys want me to cover it randomly, feel free to notify. So, Enjoy
)
Focke-Wolf FW-190A3 in Turkish Service
In 1941, Germany made an arms export offer to Turkey which included aircraft to modernize the Turkish air force. The negotiations were led by Franz von Papen, who had been chancellor of Germany before Hitler and then shuttled off to an ambassadorship to keep him out of German politics. The negotiations were concluded in July 1942, and resulted in a barter deal whereby Germany would provide 72 Focke-Wulf Fw-190 fighters in exchange for chromium and high-grade iron.
The raw materials were badly needed by the German arms industry. Additionally, Hitler hoped to woo Turkey into the Axis to join the attack on the USSR, or, at least keep Turkey neutral with a favorable posture towards Germany. For Turkey, the deal was excellent, as it was getting a world-class plane without having to directly use cash for the buy. In 1941, the Fw-190 was certainly the Luftwaffe’s best fighter and was one of the top fighters in the world. It was at least a full generation ahead of the Curtiss Hawks which it replaced. A side benefit was that it goaded the western powers into making generous arms sales themselves to keep Turkey neutral; and the Fw-190s were soon joined by British Spitfires and American P-40 Tomahawks. The end result was that between 1941-1944, Turkey went from having one of Europe’s worst air forces to one of it’s best, in just 3 ½ years.
In almost all respects, the Turkish planes were Luftwaffe-standard. One change was the armament. The Turkish planes had four MG-17 machine guns but no 20mm cannons. However each wing had an internal slot whereby the Turks could have installed their own 20mm guns if they wished. The underwing RZ-65 rocket racks were omitted. The Turkish planes had Luftwaffe-standard, top-line FuG VIIa radios however as a security precaution the FuG-25 IFF system was deleted. The planes had the ETC-501 drop tank receptacle but no photos show the actual 80 gallon tanks in use so it’s possible they were never delivered.
The first Fw-190 arrived in Turkey in July 1942, and the last of the seventy-two in March 1943. The planes were assigned to the 5th Fighter regiment at Eskisehir airbase in the country’s interior, guarding central Turkey including the capital Ankara. The Fw-190 was immediately popular with Turkish pilots, who liked it’s good handling, wide landing gear, and of course speed and maneuverability.
In the summer of 1945, with the war in Europe over, the Fw-190 still remained a potent fighter and it remained in Turkish use. The 5th Fighter Regiment was organized into four Filos (squadrons) nicknamed Sarybas (blondes), Karabas (brunettes), Albas (redheads), and Akbas (grey-haired). The Fw-190 pilots painted the propeller spinners in their Filo’s appropriate “hair color”. Beginning in the late autumn of 1945, the Fw-190s were repainted into all-around OD green.
The Fw-190s of the post-WWII Turkish air force flew alongside the Supermarine Spitfires, P-40 Tomahawks, and Hawker Hurricanes delivered during the early/mid-1940s. In early 1947, the Turkish air force conducted a review of the Fw-190. It was judged to be a still effective (if now second-line) interceptor, however Turkey traditionally tries to maintain ongoing relationships with overseas weapons manufacturers and as Focke-Wulf no longer existed, there was little economic point to keeping the fighters, which would be near the end of their airframe lives in a few years anyways. Meanwhile, with the Cold War starting, other opportunities were presenting themselves. In 1947, Great Britain sold Turkey a second batch of 170 Spitfire fighters, and in 1948 the USA followed with a sale of 180 P-47 Thunderbolts.
--------------------------------------------------------
Summary:
The Turkish Air Force has a vivid and honorable history. The Turkish military first encountered hostile military aircraft in 1911 when Italy invaded Libya, at that time part of the Ottoman Empire. Italian aircraft performed reconnaissance and bombing missions against the Ottoman Army. Ottoman forces, however, had the honor of being the first to force down a warplane and capture the pilot. Earlier that year, the Turkish Minister of War directed establishment of an aircraft commission in Istanbul. The first airfield was near Istanbul and is now Ataturk International Airport. Two hangars were built, and training on and purchase of French, German and British aircraft began.
The fledgling TAF saw action in the Balkan War in September 1912 to October 1913, with only 17 aircraft, which primarily flew reconnaissance. In 1914, the first U.S. aircraft, a Curtiss seaplane, was sold to Turkey. Soon, however, Europe would be embroiled in the Great War. At the beginning of the war, Turkey had only five aircraft and six pilots. With the help of German and Austrian allies, the TAF expanded to 450 aircraft, many piloted by Germans. At the war's end, Turkey had almost 100 pilots and 17 land-based and three seaplane companies of four aircraft each. During the conflict, Turkish and German pilots had considerable success, sinking several British ships in the Aegean and destroying numerous British, French and Russian aircraft. Following the Armistice, the Ottoman Empire was dismantled, and most of the Army, including the air forces, disarmed.
Western powers moved to occupy many of the regions of Anatolia. Mustafa Kemal, later known as Ataturk, rallied forces against the invaders. In 1919, at the beginning of the national struggle, the Turks had no aircraft. In March 1920, the TAF was reestablished when pilots and others met to assemble aircraft from smuggled parts. Soon there were 17 aircraft, a mixture of Albatros, Breguet, Fiat, De Havilland and Spad models, which made limited strikes and conducted reconnaissance. When the War of Independence ended in 1922, the Air Force had grown to a group consisting of companies at Izmir, Afyon and Bandirma. In 1928, an Air Ministry was established with three battalions raised to regiment level in 1932, and brigade level in 1939. The three main bases were Eskisehir, Diyarbakir and Izmir.
Before World War II, an aircraft factory was built to build American Curtiss Hawk fighters and Turkey purchased Polish PZL and French Morane fighter planes. The Turks also acquired a number of bombers - German Heinkels, British Blenheims and American Martins and Vultees. Turkey remained neutral until the final days of World War II. As a result, the TAF obtained aircraft from axis and allied powers. They even acquired a few American B24 bombers interned after forced landings following the Ploesti raid of 1943.
Due to expansion, the Air Force became an independent service in 1944. After the war, Turkey purchased surplus Spitfires, Mosquitoes and Beaufighters before the United States became a major supplier of modern aircraft. In 1946, after the "Truman Doctrine" was declared, the Joint American Mission for Aid to Turkey was established in Ankara. In 1948, Turkey received P-47, B-26 and C-47 aircraft with training, supply and maintenance systems. In 1951, Turkey entered the jet age with the F-84...
- Pre WW1 period TuAF aircrafts:
R.E.P. in Turkish Service:
(When searching in the internet about this plane, I thought it was a version of the Bleriot XI but it was clearly written that it was a different plane in the resources that I could find. So, I included both of them.)
The R.E.P. are the first planes deployed at the Turkish Air Force or “The Supreme Ottoman Armed forces” as it was called in those days. The plane was designed by Robert Esnaoult-Pelterie and its first flight took place in 1912 and they entered service during the same year in France. In accordance with the agreement reached in between the producer and the Ottoman Ministry of War 7 planes were purchased and the first one was planned to join Ottoman Armed Forces on March 15, 1912, The enthronement anniversary of Sultan Reshad (Mehmet V.)
Five of the seven purchased were single seaters and the remaining two were two-seaters. One of the single seaters were planned only for ground practicing. The last plane was confiscated by the Serbians while being brought to Istanbul by train. A report written by Captain Mehmet Cemal is as follows:
The 1st REP...........It is a two-seater school plane. It cannot climb to more than 200 meters.
The 2nd REP..........It is a single-seat trainer. Its clyinders cracked during trials and they were replaced by spares.
The 3rd REP...........It is a ground rolling plane deployed for teaching cadets hıw to maneouver them on ground.
The 4th REP...........It is a war plane. It was flown to Saloniki by Nuri and it was left there during the Balkan War.
The 5th REP.........It was used by me. While flying over Ayastefanos(Yeşilköy) its engine stopped. Necessary care for reconstruction was not taken.
The 6th REP...........It was commanded by Nuri. It has no military significance since it cannot lift more than a single man.
The 7th REP...........It was a war plane but it was confiscated by the Serbians.
The R.E.P.s were left out of service in 1914.
Bleriot XI in the Turkish Service:
Designed by Louis Blériot and Raymond Saulnier (of Morane-Saulnier), the Blériot XI was a light and sleek monoplane constructed of oak and poplar. The flying surfaces were covered with cloth. The original XI was designed and built in 1908 and made its public debut at a Paris airshow in December of that year. The aircraft's original configuration included a R.E.P. engine spinning a four blade metal paddle type propeller which proved to be unsatisfactory.
On July 25, 1909, Louis Bleriot accomplished the historic flight over the British Channel. The plane which attracted great attention started to being deployed at the French and the Italian armed forces. In 1912, The Ottoman Empire started to use the same plane.Two of the two-seater version of the Bleriot XI-b were used in the Ottoman Armed Forces first of which was presented by Supreme Commander Rıza Pasha. Three of a different two-seat model named Xl-2 and three of the single-seat model called ''Penqouin'' were also deployed at the Ottoman Armed Forces.
Deperdussin in Turkish Service:
Bristol Monoplane in Turkish Service:
Harlan in Turkish Service:
D.F.W. Mars Pfeil in Turkish Service:
If you guys support this discussion, I am thinking about covering the TuAF inventory in WW1, pre-WW2 and in the WW2 as well.
(P.S. I've gathered everything I could about the FW-190A3 in the TuAF before deciding to cover the TuAF between the periods instead of randomly doing it. I was about the delete all of this work but after spending some time thinking about it, I decided to keep it. But if you guys want me to cover it randomly, feel free to notify. So, Enjoy
)Focke-Wolf FW-190A3 in Turkish Service
In 1941, Germany made an arms export offer to Turkey which included aircraft to modernize the Turkish air force. The negotiations were led by Franz von Papen, who had been chancellor of Germany before Hitler and then shuttled off to an ambassadorship to keep him out of German politics. The negotiations were concluded in July 1942, and resulted in a barter deal whereby Germany would provide 72 Focke-Wulf Fw-190 fighters in exchange for chromium and high-grade iron.
The raw materials were badly needed by the German arms industry. Additionally, Hitler hoped to woo Turkey into the Axis to join the attack on the USSR, or, at least keep Turkey neutral with a favorable posture towards Germany. For Turkey, the deal was excellent, as it was getting a world-class plane without having to directly use cash for the buy. In 1941, the Fw-190 was certainly the Luftwaffe’s best fighter and was one of the top fighters in the world. It was at least a full generation ahead of the Curtiss Hawks which it replaced. A side benefit was that it goaded the western powers into making generous arms sales themselves to keep Turkey neutral; and the Fw-190s were soon joined by British Spitfires and American P-40 Tomahawks. The end result was that between 1941-1944, Turkey went from having one of Europe’s worst air forces to one of it’s best, in just 3 ½ years.
In almost all respects, the Turkish planes were Luftwaffe-standard. One change was the armament. The Turkish planes had four MG-17 machine guns but no 20mm cannons. However each wing had an internal slot whereby the Turks could have installed their own 20mm guns if they wished. The underwing RZ-65 rocket racks were omitted. The Turkish planes had Luftwaffe-standard, top-line FuG VIIa radios however as a security precaution the FuG-25 IFF system was deleted. The planes had the ETC-501 drop tank receptacle but no photos show the actual 80 gallon tanks in use so it’s possible they were never delivered.
The first Fw-190 arrived in Turkey in July 1942, and the last of the seventy-two in March 1943. The planes were assigned to the 5th Fighter regiment at Eskisehir airbase in the country’s interior, guarding central Turkey including the capital Ankara. The Fw-190 was immediately popular with Turkish pilots, who liked it’s good handling, wide landing gear, and of course speed and maneuverability.
In the summer of 1945, with the war in Europe over, the Fw-190 still remained a potent fighter and it remained in Turkish use. The 5th Fighter Regiment was organized into four Filos (squadrons) nicknamed Sarybas (blondes), Karabas (brunettes), Albas (redheads), and Akbas (grey-haired). The Fw-190 pilots painted the propeller spinners in their Filo’s appropriate “hair color”. Beginning in the late autumn of 1945, the Fw-190s were repainted into all-around OD green.
The Fw-190s of the post-WWII Turkish air force flew alongside the Supermarine Spitfires, P-40 Tomahawks, and Hawker Hurricanes delivered during the early/mid-1940s. In early 1947, the Turkish air force conducted a review of the Fw-190. It was judged to be a still effective (if now second-line) interceptor, however Turkey traditionally tries to maintain ongoing relationships with overseas weapons manufacturers and as Focke-Wulf no longer existed, there was little economic point to keeping the fighters, which would be near the end of their airframe lives in a few years anyways. Meanwhile, with the Cold War starting, other opportunities were presenting themselves. In 1947, Great Britain sold Turkey a second batch of 170 Spitfire fighters, and in 1948 the USA followed with a sale of 180 P-47 Thunderbolts.
(The appearance of the Fw-190s as they were delivered, wearing Luftwaffe-style camouflage and Turkish markings. The red square insignia had previously been used by the Ottoman Empire in WWI and remained the Turkish air force’s roundel until the country joined NATO. During the 1974 invasion of Cyprus, Turkey briefly brought back the red square as it’s current red-and-white roundel was the exact shape and size of Greece’s blue-and-white roundel and was hard for jet pilots to distinguish.)
(Some of Turkey’s Fw-190s in late 1945, during the repainting phase.)
(A Turkish Spitfire in formation with two Turkish Fw-190s in early 1946. The two planes had, of course, been great rivals during WWII.)
(Turkish Fw-190s after the end of WWII, probably 1947-1948, near the end of their service lives.)
In 1948 Turkey began phasing out the Fw-190, a process completed in early 1949. The Fw-190 was the last German fighter used by Turkey, ending a relationship which the Ottoman air force had began before the First World War.
Sources:
(Turkish Fw-190s after the end of WWII, probably 1947-1948, near the end of their service lives.)
In 1948 Turkey began phasing out the Fw-190, a process completed in early 1949. The Fw-190 was the last German fighter used by Turkey, ending a relationship which the Ottoman air force had began before the First World War.
Sources:
-
Focke-Wulf Fw-190 in Turkish service – wwiiafterwwii - www.tayyareci.com FOCKE-WOLF FW190 .. 1923 - 1950 Period TUAF AIRCRAFTS 1923 -1950 dönemi Turk HvKK UCAKLARI
- Turkish Air Force | Page 6 | Aircraft of World War II - WW2Aircraft.net Forums
- Pre WW I Period TUAF AIRCRAFTS 1 nci dunya savasi oncesi Turk HvKK UCAKLARI www.tayyareci.com
- Ottoman Aviation Squadrons - Wikipedia
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