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The dates were May 25, 1944. While the Second World War was ravaging the whole world, Turkey's first metal-bodied, twin-engine passenger plane Nu.D.38, manufactured by Nuri Demirağ Aircraft Factory in Istanbul Beşiktaş, was meeting with the sky. The trip was to be made in Ankara.
How did the Nu.D.38 project begin? What was aimed?
In the 1930s, donation campaigns were made to expand Turkish Aviation in both military and civilian terms. Airplanes were purchased with the money collected. In the civilian area, the Turkish Aeronautical Association was working to spread aviation to large masses.
Successful businessman Nuri Demirağ believed that these efforts would be further rooted with the establishment of an aircraft factory. He fulfilled this dream in 1936. The building of the factory, which started to work with engineers from Czechoslovakia, is today the Naval Museum in Beşiktaş. Today, the "Sky School", which is within the borders of Atatürk Airport and was founded by him, would also bring many pilots to Turkish aviation.
Nuri Demirağ had put the capital. However, the design and engineering would come from Turkey's first Aircraft Engineer Selahattin Reşit Alan. Unfortunately, Alan had an accident on July 13, 1938, while landing in Eskişehir İnönü Square to show the plane he designed to THK, and he write his name in Turkish aviation history as a 'martyr pilot engineer'.
First metal-bodied aircraft
After various aircraft models, Nuri Demirağ's factory took action to make Turkey's first self-manufactured passenger plane with an all-metal fuselage. Until those years, wood was used in the manufacture of aircraft. The project was named Nu.D.38.
Only the engines of the plane, which was designed by Turkish engineers, including Ragıp Gonen, who graduated from New York University Aeronautical Engineering in 1940, were brought from abroad. The radial air-cooled Bramo Sh.14-A4 engines, a joint design of BMW and Siemens, were seven-cylinder. Each of them could produce 160 horsepower at 2,200 rpm.
Metal working benches
Nuri Demirağ had special benches brought from Europe for the metal-bodied aircraft. Turkish and German engineers were working together in manufacturing. They worked on the overhead wing, twin-engine aircraft that could be used for passenger transport and transport, and could be converted into a bomber in wartime.
This project was also closely watched by aircraft manufacturers around the world. Apart from the British and Germans in particular, America's concerns were greater. However, they did not believe that Nuri Demirağ's factory could handle this job. But if this business was realized, they also knew that could lose a big market in the future. With this in mind, the American Aircraft Manufacturers Association sent Todd, the vice president of the association, to Turkey to conduct investigations.
However, the beginning of the Second World War dealt a great blow to the project. German engineers had to return to their countries due to the war. Although 80 percent of the first aircraft entered the production line, its production could not be completed.
Project resumed in 1943
By 1943 the project was resumed and the aircraft was completed in early 1944. The first flight of the Nu.D.38 aircraft was carried out on February 11, 1944 by the legendary names of Turkish aviation, Hasan Basri Alev and Mehmet Altunbay.
The curb weight of the aircraft was 1200 kilograms. The flight crew could carry a weight of 700 kilograms, including passengers and cargo. Nu.D.38, which could stay in the air for three and a half hours, had a range of 325 kilometers. The maximum height it can climb was determined as 5 thousand 500 meters.
In order to be used in the tests of Nu.D.38 aircraft made in the workshop, Elmas Pasha Farm, which is currently used as Atatürk Airport, was purchased in Yeşilköy and a flight field was built on a large land of 1559 decares.
The farm was right next to the roundabout, close to the coastal road, which is now used as a military apron and terminal. Nuri Demirağ Sky Flight School, aircraft and tank repair workshop, hangars, and a sled on the beach for seaplanes were built on this site.
The hangar, which was ordered to Germany but did not come to Turkey with the start of the war despite paying the price, was built by Turkish technical personnel. Yeşilköy facilities were put into service with a ceremony on August 17, 1941.
After the tests were completed without any problems, Nu.D.38 was inspected by the Undersecretariat of Air for certification, that is, passenger transport authorization. After being approved, he received a flight certificate on March 22, 1944.
Promotional flights
Nu.D.38 made its first promotional voyage between Istanbul and Ankara on 26 May 1944. Among the passengers of the plane were pilots Basri Alev and Mehmet Altunbay, as well as Nuri Demirağ, Ziyat Ebuziyya, owner of Tasviri Efkar Newspaper, and Faruk Fenik, reporter for Vatan Newspaper.
The plane took off from Yeşilköy Airport at 09:45. After about 1.5 hours of flight, she landed at Ankara Etimesgut Airport. Nu.D.38 returned to Istanbul after three days in Ankara.
Traveled around Turkey
After its first flight, Nu.D.38 flew to Bursa, İzmir, Athens, Thessaloniki, then Sakarya, Eskişehir, Kayseri, Sivas and Nuri Demirağ's hometown Divrik with the participation of Galip Demirağ. The aircraft was brought to the İzmir National Fair on August 20, 1944. The aircraft called "Mehmetçik" was exhibited here together with other models of Nuri Demirağ Aircraft Factory.
But the expected order didnt came. Unfortunately, after the death of Nuri Demirağ, Turkey's first passenger plane was sold to scrap dealers and destroyed.
Nu.D.38 TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
Mission: Passenger/Bomber
Max Speed: 271 km/h
Range: 1000 km
Flight Altitude: 6650 meters
Takeoff Weight: 1850 kg
Empty Weight: 1108 kg
Wing Area: 24.34 square meters
Height: 2.20 meters
Wingspan: 13.56 meters
Length: 8.30 meters
Crew: 2 pilots
Engine Type: 2 pcs Bramo Sh.14-A4
Engine Power: 160 horsepower
Production Quantity: 1
Special thanks to Tolga Özbek for remembering this day and reminding us of the sad story of Nu.D.38.
If Nuri Demirağ's national civil aviation efforts were protected against US pressure and Atlanticist bureaucrats, it could become a global aviation brand today.
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