Turkish Air Force

The Curtiss F11C Goshawk was a 1930s United States naval biplane fighter aircraft that saw limited success but was part of a long line of Curtiss Hawk airplanes built by the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company for the American military. The only US Navy units to operate the F11C-2 were the Navy's famous "High Hat Squadron", VF-1B, aboard the USS Saratoga (CV-3), and VB-6 briefly assigned to USS Enterprise (CV-6). In March 1934 when the aircraft were redesignated BFC-2 the "High Hat Squadron" squadron was renumbered VB-2B, and then VB-3B, and retained its BFC-2s until February 1938. VB-6 never actually embarked on the Enterprise with the BFC bombers.

The F11C-2 Goshawk was produced in two export versions as the Hawk I and Hawk II fighters. Essentially a modified XF11C-2, the Hawk II was fitted with a Wright R-1820F-3 Cyclone rated at 710 hp at 1,676 m and 356 litres of fuel while the Hawk I had 189 litres of internal fuel. Both versions carried the same armament as the production F11C-2. Only the Hawk II was exported in quantity with Turkey, the first customer taking delivery of 19 on 30 August 1932.

TUAF purchased LGL-32 fighter planes from the French Firm Goudrou-Leuseurre in 1932. But since the French firm could not fill the obligations the contract was shifted to the US firm Curtiss. The new agreement covered the assembly of 24 Hawk-IIs, 7 Fledglings and 12 Fleets in Kayseri Aircraft Factory KTF. The first batch of 24 Hawk-IIs arrived with USAAC serials and they were assembled at the KTF. But later on 6 more Hawk-IIs were ordered but this time it was an under-licence production. In the meantime Hawk-IIIs were observed and they were very much appreciated by the authorities and a follow-on order of 40 Hawk-IIIs to be produced at the KAF was placed. The Hawks remained in service until 1945. The Hawk-II/IIIs were deployed at the 53th Fighter Co., 54th Figther Co. and at the Hava Okulu (aerial School).

The Nieuport 27's design closely followed the early form of the 24, including its semi-rounded rear fuselage and rounded wingtips and ailerons. The structural problems with the redesigned, rounded tail surfaces of the 24, which had resulted in the use of a Nieuport 17 type tail in the 24bis., were by now overcome, so that the new version was able to standardise on the new tail. By now most Nieuport fighters were actually used as advanced trainers, and the 130 hp Le Rhône Rotary engine of the 24bis. was often replaced by a 110 or 120 hp version. The handful of operational Nieuport 27s were armed either with a synchronized, fuselage-mounted Vickers machine gun (in French service) or a Lewis Gun mounted on a Foster mounting on the top wing (in British service). Two guns were occasionally fitted, but this had a severe effect on performance, which was at best little better than that of earlier models. No Nieuport 24 nor Nieuport 27 took active duty in the War of Independence with the TAF. The only two examples were captured from the retreating Greek Forces after the Great Offensive in Izmir-Gaziemir airfield in September 1922. They were named Ganimet-4 and Ganimet-5.

One of the most famous military aircraft of the inter-war period, the Potez 25 was developed from the Potez 24 A.2-category prototype, which had been designed by Louis Coroller and flown in 1924. The refined Potez 25 prototype was built at the new Potez factory at Meaulte and flew for the first time in early 1925. An unequal-span biplane, the Potez 25 had an engine mounting capable of taking a wide variety of powerplants in the 298kW to 447kW range. The carefully contoured fuselage accommodated pilot and observer/gunner close together in tandem cockpits beneath a cut-out in the trailing edge of the upper wing centre section. The new cross-axle landing gear had specially designed Potez shock absorbers.

In all, 87 variants of the type were developed for military and civil use, and over 3,500 examples were built in France, most at the Potez factory, but others under licence by A.N.F. Les Mureaux and Hanriot. Abroad, 300 Potez 25s were licence-built in Poland, 200 in Yugoslavia, 70 in Romania and 27 in Portugal. Other countries which used French-built aircraft included China, where the type was used against the Japanese; Paraguay, where it operated against the Bolivian air arm; Uruguay; Greece; Ethiopia, which flew a small number against the invading Italian troops in 1935; Switzerland, which retained the type in service until 1940; and Estonia. In addition test examples were sold to the Soviet Union and some dozen other countries. Many of the exported and licence-built Potez 25s were of the B.2 two-seat light bomber version.

In 1928 TuAF planned to purchase 20 Potez 25-A2s. Before the procurement serial numbers 651 to 670 were allocated for this model. But it was decided later on to buy one for evaluation and comparison with Breguet XIX. Since the evaluation tests were not found sucessfull the purchase never realised. The only plane was deployed at the Operational Training Company where it remained in active service since mid-1935.

Rohrbach Metall-Flugzeugbau was an airplane factory located in Berlin, Germany, and founded in 1922 by Dr.-Rohrbach was a pioneer in building airplanes based on the metal stressed skin principle. At the time of the early aircraft production the Versailles Treaty forbade the construction of large aircraft in Germany, and their export, so Rohrbach set up a Danish company, the 'Rohrbach-Metall-Aeroplan Co. A/S', to build the early Rohrbach aircraft. The strict regulation of the aircraft industry was relaxed in 1926 allowing the Rohrbach series to be built at the Rohrbach Metall-Flugzeugbau GmbH factory in Berlin. The company enjoyed only limited commercial success, with the Roland airliner as its only model built in any quantity. By 1934 the company was taken over by Weser Flugzeugbau, where Adolf Rohrbach became technical director.

With the donations of the citizens of Istanbul and Izmir collected in between 1924-1925 an order for two Ro.III were placed to the German firm located in Danemark in 1926. The planes which arrived within the same year were given the serials 1201 and 1202 and the names Istanbul and Izmir. The planes served at the 1st and 3rd Dz. Ty Bl (Seaplane Co.) and in 1928 they were transferred tothe 31st Dz.Ty.Bl. They were written off in 1934.

Morane-Saulnier MoS-50 (also MS.50) was a French trainer aircraft of parasol type from 1924. The twin-seat monoplane aircraft was of wooden construction. It was one of the last aircraft to have a rotary engine - a 130 hp Clerget 9B. In 1925, six MS.50Cs were sold to Finland, where they were used as trainers until 1932. It was very popular in service. Five aircraft of the modified type MS.53 were sold to Turkey. They were bought by the donations made by the Turkish people. The planes which came in between Dec.1926 and Jan.1927 were presented to the TuAF as a gift of the Turkish people. They were deployed at the School of Aeronautics to train the fighter pilots. They remained in active service until 1933.

The Junkers F13 was based on the experiences of the Junkers J12 airliner. The side views of both aircraft are very similar, but the F13 or J13 as it was called during its developement, got a larger fuselage and a complete new wing design. Instead of the three passengers of the J12 design, the J13 was able to accomodate up to 4 passengers plus two pilots. Between January 1919 and June 1919 about 9000 developement hours were spent into the project. On June, 25th 1919 the first F13 was flown by the Junkers pilot Emil Monz. This first F13 was c/n 533 and it was named "Annelise" after Hugo Junkers daughter Annelise Junkers. A second aircraft (c/n 531) became available three weeks later and was used for type certification in July 1919. The F13 design of Reuter was fully satisfying the demands. It became the world's first all-metal airliner and it seems to be the first aircraft, which was fully designed as a passenger aircraft.

Three month after its first flight the prototype c/n 533 Annelise achieved the World Height Record. On September 13th 1919 again Emil Monz flew the aircraft, which was now equipped with a BMWIIIa engine. On board the aircraft were eight people including Monz bringing the payload to 515 kg. The aircraft reached an altitude of 6750 meters 86 minutes after take off. That were 630 additional meters compared to the current world record of 6120 meters set up by Legagneux on a Nieuport in December 1913.

Although the F13 was not allowed to be operated in Germany after WW I due to the Allied restrictions, this aircraft became a very successfull Junkers product. It was built for more than ten years until 1929 and was very well adapted during this period according to the market demands. A total of 322 aircraft were built during these years and more than 60 different subtypes became available. The first F13 was sold to John Larsen and it was shipped to the USA in December 1919. In 1920 a sales company for the American market was founded under the name Junkers-Larsen Corporation. A total of further 25 aircraft were sold to Junkers-Larsen Corporation until 1921. Most of these aircraft were used under the designator JL6 by the U.S. Postal Departement and some were sold to Canadian Oil Companies. The sale of further JL6 aircraft in the U.S. failed due to a crash series of JL6 aircraft, which was caused by some modifications on the aircraft for the American market. A single JL6 was modified by Larsen later on into a military combat aircraft. This aircraft was equipped with a Liberty engine and 12 machine guns, which should be used for ground attacks. Larsen offered this aircraft to the U.S. Army, but they showed little interest in the socalled JL12. Nevertheless, the Junkers-Larsen Corporation helped Hugo Junkers and the F13 to survive the initial years of its existence, when Junkers was unable to use and sell his new aircraft in Germany.

After the foundation of TOMTAŞ together with Junkers it was planned to produce 20 F13s together with the Junkers A20s. Turkish serials from 750 to 770 were allocated beforehand for these planes. But since the business did not develop as expected and the company came to the stage of liquidation this production was never realised. According to the foreign sources only three came to Turkey, 2 in 1925 and the 3rd in 1926. The planes were deployed at the 6th Airplane Company. In 1933 they were transferred to Yeşilköy Liaison Detachment. In 1933 two of them were transferred to Turkish Aerial Post and nr.882 was deployed at the Aerial Survey Detachment. The last of the F13s were withdrawn from active service in 1938.

The Morane-Saulnier MS.147 and its derivatives, the MS.148 and MS.149 were a family of trainer aircraft produced in France in the late 1920s for civil and military use. They were derived from other machines in Morane-Saulnier's successful line of monoplane trainers, combining the wire-braced parasol wing of the MS.138 with the fuselage and undercarriage of the MS.130. The various subtypes saw service with the Aéronavale, Aéropostale, and a number of foreign air arms. They were largely withdrawn from French military service by 1935.

When it was observed that the Caudron C-27s became insufficient 10 MS-147s were purchased in 1929. These planes were deployed at the Flying School. In 1929 a second party of 10 planes were ordered. In the years 1933-34 they were replaced by the US built Consolidated Fleets. The remaining few were given to THK (Turkish Air League) and they were utilized as glider tugs until mid 1942.

It was designed by Marcel Vuillerme the chief designer of Breguet Co as a replacement for the successfull breguet.14. The A.2 version was the reconnaissance and the B.2 version was the two seated day bomber models. The first prototype was exhibited at the Paris Airshow in November 1921. İts first flight took place in March 1922 and the plane was put into series production starting in 1923. Until 1927 2000 Breguet.19s of equal quantities from each model were supplied to the French Air Force. Breguet 19s were among the French planes which gained great admiration and which were exported in great numbers. Yugoslavia ranks the first among the foreign customers. In between 1925-1932 about 400 Bre.19s were delivered to this country. 185 of them were completely finished in France, 40 were assembled in Yugoslavia and 175 were produced under licence in the new aircraft factory at Kraljevo.

In the meantime 5 of the Breguet.19s acquired by Yugoslavia were sent back to the Breguet plant in France for upgrading. Semi elliptical wing tips were assembled on the wings and the wingspan thus increased to 14.99 meters and the length to 9.6 meters. Also 4 struts were added in between the wings and the fuselage. The new version equipped with 600HP Hispano-Suiza engines were started to be produced at the Kraljevo plant. 5 examples were sold to Romania and 40 to Turkey in 2 equal parties.

The Turkish pilots were very fond of the Breguet.14s acquired during the years of the War of Independence. As a result an order of 20 Breguet 19.A2s were placed in 1925. The planes which were handed over to the Turkish authorities were deployed at the 2nd and 9th Tayyare Bölük stationed at Eskişehir. The planes equipped with 450 HP Lorraine-Dietrich 12Ed 12 cylinder in-line engines remained in service until 1938. In 1928 45 Breguet 19.B2s were purchased. The planes received in 1929 were used to arm the 1st, 2nd, 21st, 24th, 27th, 28th Tayyare Bölüks and the tatbikat Taburu at the Air School. All of these plane were also equipped with Lorraine-Dietrich 12Ed engines(*) . In the beginnings of the 1930s as a result of the competition for an army support aircraft Breguet 19.7.A2s were selected mainly because of financial basis. 20 Breguet 19.7.A2s which were equipped with 600 HP Hispano-Suiza 12Eb in-line engines were ordered to Yugoslavia. They were deployed in 1932 and a new order covering 20 Breguet 19.7.B2s equipped with 650 HP Hispano-Suiza 12Lb were placed. Both of these Yuoglav made versions started to be replaced by the Vultees in 1938. They were assigned to reconnaissance-light bomber duties and with the arrival of Westland Lysanders the remaining were retired in 1940.

The thing that is very special to these planes is that all of them were provured by the donations of the Turkish people made to THK ( Turkish Air League). The name of the town with the donations from which the planes were bought bear the name of the town on the fuselage or on the rudder. At the beginning it was written in old Turkish script. Since 1928, after the Alphabet Revolution they were written with new Turkish letters. In the meantime Atatürk, the founder of the Turkish Republic was very much impressed with the donations of the Turkish people which enabled the procurement of about 300 military planes, ordered that tours of military planes should be made wihtin Turkey to show their gratitude to the Turkish people. Groups of Breguet 19s toured the whole Turkey. A group of five Breguet.19s also flew to Moscow via Sevastopol and Harkov as a payback to the visit made by the Soviet delegation on the 10th anniversary of the Turkish Republic. The Turkish planes were welcomed with great joy. They participated the ceremonies on May 1st, 1934 and they flew as the leaders of the whole flight group. Then they flew to Bucharest via Harkov and Zaporojnie to take part at the ceremonies on 15th of May The Heroes Day. Afterwards they flew to Eskişehir flying over but not stopping at Istanbul.

A fighter aircraft competition was organized by the TuAF to replace the aging SPAD-XIIIs. 8 different models which are listed below from 5 European aviation firms participated.

1. Nieuport Delage Ni.D-42C
2. Nieuport Delage Ni.D-62
3. Bleriot SPAD.51
4. Bleriot SPAD.56
5. Belriot SPAD.61
6. Dewoiitine C.21
7. Rohrbach Rofix
8. Junkers A.35

The two Rohrbach Rofix crashed during test flights in Danemark and they were dropped from the competition. TuAF bought 2 pcs Ni.D-42C, 3 pcs Bleriot SPAD-51C.1 and 2 pcs Dewoitine C.21C for further evaluations. Dewoitine was the winner of the competition.

Nice stuff!

The Aviatik B.I is a German two-seat reconnaissance biplane designed and built by the Automobil und Aviatik AG company, who until then had produced copies of French designs. The B.I was developed from a 1913 design for a racing aircraft. The crew sat in open tandem cockpits with the observer in the front. It entered service in 1914. It was followed by the B.II model, which had a more powerful Mercedes engine and was later armed with a single 7.7 mm machine gun.

The B.I was manufactured in large numbers in Italy under licence by SAML, which built 410 examples according to Aviatik's design. The firm then put two modified versions of their own into production, as designed by Robert Wild. The first of these, the SAML S.1 was powered by a Fiat A.12 engine and was armed with a Revelli machine gun for the observer. The second version, the SAML S.2 was intended for the reconnaissance-bomber role and had a shorter wingspan, a fixed, forward-firing Revelli gun in addition to the one in the rear cockpit, and a bomb load of 40 kg (90 lb). The 16 Squadriglie da Recognizione operated 660 S-1s and S-2s from 1917 onwards in Italy, Albania, and Macedonia.Two SAML S.1 participated in the Revolution of 1922 in Paraguay in the government side. They survived the conflict and they were the first planes of the new Military Aviation School, along a single SVA-5, a SVA-10 and a SPAD S.20. One S.1 was destroyed in an accident in 1928 but the other survived as a trainer during the Chaco War.

Bristol Scout was a plane based on a pre-war design and produced by British Colonial Aeroplane Co.. It is one of the first aircraft produced in large numbers for Britain . It was considered fast and highly maneuverable when it entered service in the early days of the Great War. The Scout was the first attempt by the Royal Flying Corps to develop a true fighter. It was initially unarmed but later a method was for mounting a Lewis gun to the side of the aircraft. In March 1916, the Scout D became the first British fighter to be armed with a synchronized machine gun. Soon outdated by more efficient designs, it was withdrawn from front-line service in the summer of 1916 and used as a trainer. The 3 planes in possession of the Ottoman armed forces were confiscated nemy planes. The former was forced to land due to groung fire in the Dardanelles region on February 17, 1917 and the latter two were also forced to land due to ground fire in the Iraqi Front on January 11 and January 23 1917.

Caproni CA.3 is the first strategic bomber in the World. The three engined first version made its first flight in October 1914. Different versions of Capronis served extensively during the WW1 and they were deployed by the Italian and the French Armed Forces. Many variations were also produced after the War. Among these the Ca.36 bomber version produced for the Italian Armed Forces, the Ca.56a civil version with a capacity of 6 passengers in the cockpit and the Ca.57 with a capacity of two crew and 8 passengers may be mentioned.

The only Caproni which joined the Turkish Armed Forces fıor a very short period of time was a passenger plane equipped with two Lorraine Dietrich engines and which landed at Edirne (Adrinople) due to engine malfunctioning. Instead of repairing it was given to the Turkish authorities as a gift. The famous Turkish aviator Vecihi Hürkuş was sent to Edirne together with the chief mechanic Eşref Bey and his aide Irfan to repair and and fly it to Izmir. On June 7th,1923 the plane made its first trial flight and then it was flewn to Izmir. But due to lack of spares it was never able to fly the plane.

BE-2C is a double seated figther and light bomber produced by the Royal Aircraft Factories Ltd. It entered servicer in 1914. The only example within the TuAF list is the one that was forced to make a compulsory landing after a dog fight on July 8,1917 in the neighbourhood of Beit el Hatun on the Palestinian Front. The captured airplane was lightly damaged. It was put into active service after a complete overhaul. It was left out of service in 1918.

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The Caudron C.270 Luciole ("Firefly") was a sporting, touring and trainer aircraft produced in France in the 1930s, derived from the C.230. It was a conventional biplane with single-bay, unstaggered wings of equal span. The pilot and a single passenger sat in tandem open cockpits. It featured a fabric-covered fuselage in place of the C.230's wooden one, and other refinements including revised control surfaces and undercarriage, and an improved and simplified wing-folding mechanism. The type proved immensely successful, with over 700 machines built in the decade leading up to World War II. Of these, 296 were purchased by the French government for its pilot training programme, the Aviation Populaire. Many examples saw wartime service as liaison aircraft, and those surviving the conflict saw postwar use as glider tugs in the Ecole de l'Air.

After the Great Turkish Offensive the retreating Greek Forces left behind in wagons at the Alsancak railroad station in İzmir multiples of airplane parts and unassembled airplanes among which Caudron G.3 parts were included. Out of these parts 3 Caudron G.3(1) were assembled and they were successfully flown as the very first basic trainers after the War of Independence. After the declaration of the Republic Turkish officers were sent to France for pilot education. After the return of these officers who already had the Caudron tradition even before their departure to France 4 Caudron C.27s were bought by the funds of the National Budget. Latee in the years 1925, 1926 and in 1927 a total of 39 C.27s arrived dismantled. They were assembled in Gaziemir-İzmir under the supervision of the French engineer Sonva. The first arrivals were assigned to 5th Tayyare Bölüğü (3rd Airplane Co.) and then to 7th Tayyare Bölüğü (7th Airpalne Co.). The remainder were deployed at the Hava Okulu (School of Aeronautics) in 1928. The planes having engine problems were started to be replaced by the Morane Saulnier MS.147s starting in 1929. The last C.27 was written off in 1931.

The Caudron C.59s present the continuation of a tradition within the TuAF . The tradition started with the 3 Caudron G.3s that were assembled by the parts that were confiscated from the retreating Greek forces towards the end of the War of Independence. This was followed by the journey of the Turkish pilots to France for further training. After the return of the pilots the very first Caudron C.27s were received which were followed by the C.59s equipped with more powerful engines. These planes were deployed at the Gaziemir Hava Okulu for long range training. The total procurement arose to 32 with follow-up purchases. The newcomers were stationed at Eskişehir Hava Okulu in addition the the school at Gaziemir. In 1936 they were started to be replaced by the new Gotha Go.145s. Before the end of 1937 they were completely written off. 5 of them were transferred to THK to be used as glider tugs and for parachutist training. They remained in service until 1941.

Caudron G.4 was produced due to French Aviation Militaires demand for a forward firing more powerfull plane. The plane was equipped with two reciprocating engines (2 x 80HP Gnome leRhone or 2 x 100HP Anzani) and it had a post for an observer-gunner in the nose. The MG was either a 7mm Hotchkiss or a Lewis mounted on a movable platform. Some G.4s were equipped with cameras for high altitude reconnaissance. A total of 1409 G.4s were produced. They were produced under licence by Bleriot and SPAD in addition to Caudron. Its first flight took place on March 1915 but due to rapidly advancing aeronautical technology they became obsolete in 1916.

The only example in possession of the Ottoman Armed Forces was a captured Russian plane equipped with two machine guns that made an emergency landing due to engine malfunctioning at Alucra on the Caucasian Front. The plane was flown to Sushehri by Mr Vecihi Hurkush, a famous Turkish aviotionist. It is the first Tursih double engined aircraft.

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The representative of the Consolidated Aircraft Corp. organized an air show on July 17th 1933 in Ankara. The plane´s performance was very much appreciated and 12 Model-7s were purchased to be used in aerobatics and for aerobatics pilot training. They were deployed at the Eskişehir Hava Okulu and they served until 1943. Since then they were used for regimental communications and in 1945 they were written off.