Yeşilköy April 26 1912. The Minister of War, Army commanders and "Tayyare Komisyony -Aircraft Committee" members have just witnessed the first Ottoman military flight.
"In 1908 an attempt was made to revive the former glory of the Ottoman Empire by young army officers when, on July 24, they marched on Istanbul. A revolution followed in which the army initiative was organized into a nationalistic party led by the Young Turks Movement. In addition to the administrative reforms, the proclamation of İikinci Meşrutiyet (the Second Constitutional Assembly) in 1908 aimed at modernizing the army and increasing its armament and equipment capacity. Demonstrations of balloons and aircraft conducted in Istanbul in 1909 greatly impressed the young, open-minded officers leading the new government. Here was an idea for reviving the concept of the Sipahi, involving swift reconnaissance and harassing forces. As a result of these visions, the new Harbiyye Nâzιrι (minister of war), Mahmut Şevket Paşa, who possessed an unequaled insight into modern weapons, early in 1910 ordered military attaché offices to be established in Paris and Berlin. These offices were to follow and report on developments in modern warfare and weapons. Binbaşι Enver, who was appointed as the military attaché for Berlin, was no other than the renowned Enver Paşa, who would impel the Ottoman Empire into World War I. On the other hand, Binbaşι Ali Fethi (Okyar), who was appointed as the military attaché for Paris, played a prominent role in shaping the relations between French and Turkish aviation. This year saw unusually large army maneuvers held by all major European powers. The attachés dutifully attended as observers and reported to Istanbul. The Paris attaché was accompanied by Kolağasι Mustafa Kemal(Atatürk) during the Picardie maneuvers. These reports specially mentioned the involvement of aircraft as a means of fast reconnaissance and observation in both the French and German exercises. In consequence, the two attachés were instructed to investigate these aspects further." SOURCE
Mavi Boncuk |
The First Aviation Academy
Not content with these initiatives, Mahmut Şevket Paşa had the first airport built in 1912 in the area between Ayastefanos (Yeşilköy) and Safraköy (Sefaköy) west of Istanbul. There were two hangars here, each 700 meters wide and 1500 meters long. Two planes purchased from France's R.E.P.[1] firm were immediately parked in these hangars, and the first test flights carried out. On 3 July 1912, an Air Academy was also opened at Yeşilköy and the Turkish Army began training its first flying officers.[2]
With the founding of the Air Academy, there was soon an increase both in knowhow and in the number of personnel employed in the field, and when the Balkan War broke out the air squadrons in the Turkish army were ready for active duty. The Ottoman State had seventeen planes during the war, some of which fell into enemy hands and others of which were destroyed by their pilots when they were unable to smuggle them behind the front.
In 1914 the Air Force was restructured and renamed the 'Aviation Corps Inspectorate', but further efforts to develop it were halted by the outbreak of the First World War. In 1915 as the war raged on, the Ottoman State sent a group of aviators to Germany for flight training and an Aviation Affairs branch was formed separately from the Aviation Inspectorate. The Air Force in this period consisted of a Flight School, Air Stations, Air Squadrons, Fixed Balloon Squadrons, Anti-aircraft Units and Meteorological Stations. Organized in this way, the Air Force took part in the war on several fronts from Galicia to Yemen and the Caucasus.
Source
[1] Robert Albert Charles Esnault-Pelterie (November 8, 1881–December 6, 1957) was a pioneering French aircraft designer and spaceflight theorist. He was born in Paris, the son of a textile industrialist. He was educated at the Faculté des Sciences, studying engineering at the Sorbonne. In 1906 he began his first experiments in towed flight. On 19 September 1906 he flew 500 m (1,600 ft). He made his first powered flight on October 10, 1907, a distance of 100 m (330 ft) with the Pelterie I (or R.E.P. I). This was driven by a seven cylinder, 30 hp air-cooled engine of his own design.
[2] The very first aircraft for the Ottoman Army, two Deperdussins, arrived at Ayastafanos in March 1912. Unfortunately, even before the two new aircraft had performed their first flight, a severe storm struck Ayastafanos and both aircraft were damaged beyond immediate repair.
See also: OTTOMAN AVIATION 1909-1919
by Ole Nikolajsen & Bülent Yilmazer
Email: ole
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