How did Air Pilot Captain Sabahattin ÇULHA become a martyr after a Republic Day Parade?

Diyarbakır Memories

Sabahattin Çulha was a 1970 graduate of the Air Force Academy and a valiant pilot of the petite type. When I was serving with him at the 191st Squadron Command in Balıkesir, I remember him teasing me every time he saw me, saying "You won't get your hide pierced, Vedat." Previously, when he was serving in Diyarbakır, when he learnt that his wife was pregnant with their second child, he rushed to the squadron early. 

Çul (Machinist Sönmez Örsal is said to have given him this nickname) shouted to those in the squadron, "Everyone's breakfast is on me today". If you want, you can have eggs with sausage or menemen today! It's all on me". Hearing this, Akın Şanlıtürk, one of the fliers in the squadron, asks: "What happened, son, did a stone fall on your head?". 

Çul: "Here comes the boy, my son! He is coming with a hairy chest and moustache." Squadron Commander Haluk Boduroğlu: "How did you know it was a boy?" Çul replied wittily, "One knows what one sows, lieutenant commander!". As a matter of fact, when the expected date came, Çul really had a son. When he turned forty, he came to visit the fleet in his mother's arms. The baby is like a newly hatched chick. As a matter of fact, Vecdi Vural, one of the people who saw the baby, called out, "This baby looks like a chick, Çul!". After that, the baby was nicknamed "Chick".

A period of about a year passes. Holding the hands of his parents and waddling to the squadron, Chick comes to the squadron. No matter how he is swaddled, the child walks like a commando soldier.

When Fethi Gülbaran, one of the squadron fliers, sees the child's gait, he says, "Çul, this is your Civciv, he looks like Mikrop Niyazi (a comic book hero in Gırgır magazine)". Thus, Civciv's name became Mikrop Niyazi.

In those days, serving in a warm and friendly squadron environment, where everyone could hang out with everyone else, was partly thanks to caring, kind and gentle people like Çul. 

One morning, Chul did not come to the squadron.

Someone brought a news. 

He said "Microbe", "Niyazi", "Balcony"... He burst into sobs and could not continue. Niyazi had unfortunately fallen from the balcony, he couldn't be saved! Life seemed to stop in the squadron at that moment. No one could speak for a while. 

Someone came to his senses: "Let's go home." Everyone in the squadron ran home, but there was no one at Çul's house. They went to the hospital. Chul's wife was in a coma. Chul was sitting on the floor, his head on the floor. He had a cigarette in his fingers, his fingers were burning, he didn't realise. 

Losing this little person, 'Niyazi the Microbe', shook us deeply, and the 181st Squadron personnel became depressed. There was no joking around in the squadron for a long time. In the meantime, Çul, who had experienced this deep and great pain, could not stay in the squadron, he could not fit in Diyarbakır and asked for his transfer that year. Thereupon, he was assigned from Diyarbakır to Konya to serve as an instructor pilot in F-100 aircraft.

Who is Sabahattin ÇULHA?

Selahattin Sabahattin ÇULHA, known by his nickname ÇUL, was born on 3 July 1949 in Menemen. He completed his primary and secondary education in Menemen and his high school education in Izmir Air High School. In 1968, he entered the Air Force Academy and graduated as a midshipman in 1970.

On 28.02.1971, he was promoted to lieutenant,

First lieutenant on 30.08.1974, 

On 30.08.1977, he was promoted to captain.

Between 16.09.1970-16.06.1972, he served at the 2nd Main Jet Base Command,

21.06.1972-08.01.1973 at the 3rd Main Jet Command,

23.01.1973-04.10.1976 at the 8th Main Jet Base Command,

18.10.1976-03.07.1979 at the 3rd Main Jet Base Command,

Between 16.07.1979-29.10.1981, he was assigned to the 9th Main Jet Base Command.

My Memories with 'Cul Hodja'

I had joined the 191st Squadron Command together with Sabahattin ÇULHA. I was a first lieutenant and he was a two-year captain. One day, I was assigned by the Squadron Commander as the Naval Firing Duty Officer for training on attacking naval targets at the Karadeniz Ereğli Firing Range. I travelled from Balıkesir to Eskişehir by courier plane, took the mobile radio issued from there and went to Karadeniz Ereğli by helicopter. I boarded the ship that was to tow the naval target. The firing columns took turns to arrive and fire in accordance with the timings allocated to them. The leader of the last column was Çulha. It was customary for the last firing column to greet those on board with a low passage. If fuel is available, sailors usually wait for the low passage. I asked Çulha to salute the ship with a low passage, and he did not refuse me. When the quad F-104S arm passed over us with a painful noise, everyone on the ship took almost full cover. It was such an imposing pass. After this pass, my mood on the ship changed in an instant. My reputation among the soldiers had increased thanks to Çulha Hodja. 

In 1981, the main runway of the 9th Main Jet Base Command/Balıkesir was due for maintenance. The squadron was transferred to the 4th Main Jet Base Command/Mürted. My wife was pregnant at that time and the birth was very close. Therefore, I joined Mürted one week after the birth. When flight instructor Çulha saw me, he first congratulated me. He said, "May God bless you and your parents. Then he told me about the pain of his son and the accident they had experienced in Diyarbakır, which I have described in the above lines. He strongly warned me to always prioritise health and safety. He told me never to pierce the hide. His words always stuck in my ear.

29 October Martyrdom News After the Parade

Nowadays it is not done, but in the past, there used to be parades of the Turkish Armed Forces' weapons and vehicles on national holidays. In this context, fighter jets would pass over the Hippodrome at low altitude in columns of three, saluting the dignitaries taking their places in the tribune of honour in Gençlik Park in Ankara. These parades would be broadcast live on TRT with the enthusiastic narration of the TRT announcer, and the entire Turkish public would watch this parade on their TV sets. National holidays meant these official parades, the passage of tanks and armoured vehicles in front of the tribune of honour, and the low-altitude flights of helicopters and airplanes as if they were cutting the sky. No one would be disturbed by these parades, and all our people would flock to the Hippodrome to watch these parades live and on the spot, with the awareness that the sound of aircraft was the sound of freedom.

In 1981, a low-altitude passage was planned with fighter jets over the Hippodrome. Italian-made F-104S aircraft would also be among the Air Force aircraft. As always, two rehearsals were held before 29 October in case of any problems on the actual day. The aircraft were to pass over the hippodrome in three columns, one after the other, with a 15-second interval between each column. A total of 60 aeroplanes were planned. Aircraft were selected from different air bases and different squadron commands to ensure a variety of aircraft types. The majority of the columns to fly were planned to take off from Eskişehir and Mürted. The 191st Squadron Command aircraft that would participate in the ceremony were planned to take off from Mürted. After the ceremony, the 191st Squadron aircraft would fly directly to Balıkesir and land. 

On 29 October, the Republic Day was celebrated with great enthusiasm with the participation of our people. Under the leadership of Captain Sabahattin ÇULHA, the 191st Squadron Command fliers, consisting of three aircraft, made their passage in a good manner and planned to fly the Eskişehir-Tavşanlı route and land in Balıkesir. However, the weather was quite overcast. It was not possible for them to fly this route under visual conditions. For this reason, Captain Çulha decided to approach Balıkesir from the north, from the vicinity of Uludağ, and headed towards Uludağ in three columns with the two aircraft on his arm. While calculating the minimum safety altitude, he must have probably made a miscalculation, because while passing through the foothills of Uludağ, which was partially covered with clouds, Çulha's aircraft hit an incalculable hill in front of them. While the lead aircraft hit the hill, the two aircraft on his arm managed to avoid hitting the hill by pulling upwards at the last moment. Unexpectedly, Çulha Hodja was martyred at the foothills of Uludağ, in the Kuzu Yatağı area. That Republic Day was poisoned for all of us.

After the funeral ceremony held in Balıkesir the next day, we buried Çulha Hodja in his eternal resting place, Kadifekale Martyrdom.

May his soul rest in peace.