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Concept
Turkish Air Force
Summary
The Turkish Air Force () is the aerial warfare service branch of the Turkish Armed Forces. It traces its origins to June 1911 when it was founded as the Ottoman Aviation Squadrons by the Ottoman Empire. It was composed of the Army Aviation Squadrons founded in 1911, and the Naval Aviation Squadrons founded in 1914 which used seaplanes. The Air Force as a branch of the Turkish Armed Forces was founded by the Grand National Assembly of Turkey on 23 April 1920. It is considered to be the third largest air force in NATO.
In 1998, the Turkish Armed Forces announced a program of modernization worth US45 billion was earmarked for the overhaul of the Turkish Air Force, and included the commissioning new combat aircraft (consisting of multi-role and fifth generation stealth fighters) and helicopters (consisting of heavy lift, attack, medium lift and light general purpose helicopters).
According to Flight International (Flightglobal.com) and the International Institute for Strategic Studies, the Turkish Air Force has an active strength of 50,000 military personnel and operates (excluding the aircraft operated by the other service branches of the Turkish Armed Forces) approximately 534 manned fixed-wing aircraft, 78 helicopters, and 33 unmanned aerial vehicles, as of 2023.
The world's first black pilot, Ahmet Ali Çelikten, and the world's first female fighter pilot, Sabiha Gökçen, both served in the Turkish Air Force.
Ottoman Aviation Squadrons
The history of Ottoman military aviation dates back to between June 1909 and July 1911. In 1911 the former commander of the Action Army Mahmud Sevket Pasa achieved to send some Turkish military officers to the French Bleriot aviation school. The same year the establishment of a Turkish airforce was taken into consideration. During the Italo-Turkish War of 1911, the Ottomans had to admit their disadvantage of not possessing an air force. Subsequently, the Ottomans employed German and French engineers who helped them to establish an air force with a dozen airplanes.
Official source
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