Our National Tank Production Journey from 1927 to 2027

In our previous article, we talked about the K.K.K.lığı magazine, which was published in 1957. The section between pages 91 and 100 of this magazine was devoted to the topic of "armored units". There are two articles in this section. Our officer who wrote the first article, Tank Senior Major Enver TUNÇALP (Logistics Teacher at the School of Armored Units) told about the "History of Tanks and Armored Units in the Turkish Army". Our second writer, Staff Colonel Yusuf DEMİRDAĞ, wrote an article titled "The Use of Infantry and Tanks in Defense Against the Superior Enemy". In this article, we would like to convey to you the article (in italics) of the late poet, author and retired Colonel Tunçalp in the aforementioned journal.

History of Tank and Armored Troops in the Turkish Army

The Turkish army, which has been closely involved with the emergence and development of the tank in every period, has always given the necessary place to the principles of the defense and use of the tank idea in its manuals, military literature and education.

With the 1919 Treaty of Sèvres, Turkey was prohibited from manufacturing and purchasing armored vehicles. But Turkey's savior, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, in 1920 said, "The Treaty of Sevres constitutes such a death sentence for Turkey that our desire is that every foreigner who considers himself a Turkish friend will never take this word into his mouth." He actually deleted the provisions of this agreement and made an agreement with the French commercial attaché in Ankara at that time, and attempted to buy some armored cars from the French Franklin-Buillon company.

In this way, about 20-30 armored cars were purchased from the French. These armored cars were brought to the country and kept in Ahırkapı warehouses for years due to a conflict with the company, and were eventually distributed to the troops as training material.

It is seen that; The activity and work of the republican army's motivation and armoring begins in 1920, when the great genius Atatürk saw the future… One of Atatürk's most important wishes and desires was the motivation and mechanization of the Turkish army. In the Republican era, this great soldier took advantage of every opportunity and tried to motivate and armor the Turkish army.
With the Reno tank bought from the French in 1927-1928, tank training actually started in the infantry shooting school in Istanbul, and continuous and practical lessons were given on the use of the tank, the effects of the tank, and the defense against the tank.

In 1932, a mixed tank company was formed, consisting of T-26 and T-27 small tanks supplied from the Soviets. With this organization, training, exercises and demonstrations on the tank in the infantry shooting school began to be carried out in a more fundamental and efficient way. But this was in the form of a training, exercise and demonstration unit.

T-26 Tank

The full combat tank unit in the Turkish army was established in 1934. The first tank unit formed was a tank battalion. This battalion consisted of T-26 tanks and street armored cars supplied from the Soviets in Lüleburgaz. The battalion consisted of two armored auto companies and three tank companies. It consisted of 21 tanks, consisting of each company commander's tank. This tank battalion formed the core and base of the Turkish armored units.

At the same time, motorized infantry, motorcycle and bicycle units were formed under the name of LOADED BATTERY and MOTORLED BATTERY, and in a short time these formations changed into motorized regiments and armored infantry regiments by changing their shape and vehicles.
In 1937, the first armored brigade was established in Lüleburgaz. This brigade consisted of a motorized infantry regiment, a tank battalion, a motorcycle company, a bicycle company, and some other units. The development of the motorized and armored units in the Turkish army in such a short time is an example of the ability of Turkish officers and Turkish soldiers in this field.

The year 1937 marks the rise of the motorized and armored units in the Turkish army. Again in 1937, for the first time, a continent composed of tanks and armored cars participated in the 29 October Republic Day parade in Ankara. They say that Atatürk felt great pleasure and joy when he saw tanks and armored cars in this parade. One of the signs of this was that he kept the officers participating in this parade with him until the morning as his personal guest, kissing them on the forehead and giving them special treats. I take great pleasure in being one of the officers who were kissed on the forehead by Atatürk. In this way, Atatürk wanted to show all the states of the world the value he gave to the motorized and armored Turkish army. Inspired by this parade, Atatürk ordered the preparation of great maneuvers in 1937 in order to show the motorized and armored Turkish army to the world representatives.

Republic Day Parade

In the 1937 Thrace maneuvers, to which representatives of all world states and armies were invited, our motorized and armored troops showed a superior success that caused the astonishment and envy of foreigners. This success was also observed in the 1937 Aegean and 1938 Tunceli great maneuvers, despite the harsh terrain conditions.

1938 year After the war, another armored brigade was established and the armored units were expanded. The great desire and enthusiasm of the Turkish officers and soldiers against the motorized and armored units was understood by the demand for these units. At that time we were very interested in keeping statistics. I remember, a soldier who joined my squad and had not even had the opportunity to travel with a motor vehicle until then, grew up to be an excellent driver and is still working as a driver in Istanbul.

In 1943, an armored division was established for the first time in the Turkish army. This division was also successfully employed in the Turkish army. In this way, it has been understood that the Turkish army can safely and skillfully use motorized and armored units of all sizes and organizations, and that it has commanders, trained officers, non-commissioned officers and privates.

A tank drill was opened in Ankara in 1942 in order to provide the necessary service in the supply and training of armored unit personnel whose staff was expanding. By completing this training duty, it was transformed into the Tank School on 23 September 1943. During these periods, officers and non-commissioned officers from all classes were employed in the motorized and armored units. Due to the necessity, the tank was made a class. The officers of the tank class began to leave the Military Academy in proportion. Tank officers who graduated from military school started to attend this school as a vocational school.

This development continued to bring innovations in everything. In this context, the concept of armored infantry and armored artillery began to be considered within armored units. In this way, including all armored units, the Tank School took the name "ARMORED STOCKS SCHOOL" in 1944 and assumed that it would conduct a more comprehensive training and study.

Although in 1943, a Turkish-made tank equipped with Ford engines, the chassis of which was made by military factories, was experienced by Turkish engineers, but this remained as an example and the rest could not be brought. Even today, it is known that our motor vehicle manufacturing industry has not developed fully and as desired.

Since engines and motor vehicles could not be manufactured in the country and there was no great help from friendly countries, the Turkish army with motors and armor during the Second World War and in the years following it tried to maintain its current strength and capability.

We can accept the period up to this point as the first phase of the history of the Turkish army's motorized and armored units. It can be said that the works at this stage ended with complete success.
In 1948, the strength of our armored units was increased by purchasing the M24 and M36 tanks, which were supplied with American aid. From this date on, armored units began to be standardized in terms of staff and vehicles. With the increase of American and NATO aid, it was possible to renew the old vehicles in the armored units and to increase the armored troops by forming new units.
In 1954, our armored units acquired a new force with the help of M47 tanks. At the same time, some new and independent tank battalions have been formed since this date.

In this context, it is necessary to respectfully remember the Department of Armored Units, which made a great effort to raise the armored units to the level of the armored units of the most advanced armies of the century in terms of staff, establishment and organization.

Today, six armored brigades are in operation in the Turkish army. It is possible for them to be turned into atomic armored divisions in the near future. In addition, the establishment of two armored divisions is redundant. The established independent tank battalions will soon be past thirteen.

At the end of 1956, this armored private training division was established and became operational. This division trained the first personnel and gave a new and bright example of Turkish effort with its success. Our armored units will now gain new opportunities and capabilities and will successfully complete the tasks assigned to them. Maybe in 1957, bigger revolutions and innovations will occur for our armored units that will make us all happy. The road taken shows this.

Let's continue this history briefly and finish our article. As it is known, after Turkey became a member of NATO in 1952, all classes of the Land Forces were equipped with modern weapons and equipment according to NATO standards.

From the beginning of 1964, M47 tanks constituted the existing tank battalions, while M48 Patton tanks gradually began to enter the Tank Battalions of the Armored Brigades. In 1968, all Armored Brigades completed their cadres with M48 tanks. Later, M48A2C tanks with gasoline injector engines were used in the Armored Troops.

150-200 M47 and M48 tanks by the Turkish Land Forces supported successful missions during the Cyprus Peace Operation.

In parallel with the developments in technology, although the tanks used in developed countries have made great progress, the technology of the existing tanks is left behind; It has brought up the need for modernization and reorganization in the Turkish Armed Forces. For this reason, the existing M48 and M48A1 tanks have been converted to M48A5T1 tanks with the US technology and aid package, and M48T5 tanks with the German technology and aid package since 1980. Continuing the modernization in line with the needs of the era: M48A5T2 tanks with stabilization and thermal fire control systems were added to the Armored Units.

In 1982-1983, 77 Leopard 1 A3T1 tanks with EMES 12A3 fire control system, which were among the most effective tanks of the time, were received as a grant within the scope of German military slice aid.

M60A1 and M60A3 tanks In response to Turkey's support to the allied forces in the 1991 Gulf War, 170 M60T tanks were donated to Turkey by the USA. A further 354 Leopard 2A4 tanks were donated from Germany within the framework of military aid after the Gulf War. With its electronic shooting system, laser rangefinder, fully stabilized gun and thermal camera, the Leopard 2A4, or Leo 2 for short, is a modern tank that can pass through waters up to 4 meters deep, stay in the water thanks to its snorkel shaft, and can overcome 1 meter high walls. The 1500 horsepower V12 diesel engine enables this tank to maneuver at a speed of 70 km/h.

In the early 2000s, after the modernizations with the Israeli Merkava, the Leopard tanks became the most effective and deadly armored system of the Turkish army.

At the Defense Industry Executive Committee meeting held on March 30, 2007, it was decided to start a domestic and national tank development and production project under the name of the National Tank Production Project (MITUP). Commonly known as the Altay National Tank, it was named after Fahrettin Altay, who commanded the 5th Cavalry Corps in the War of Independence.

Otokar company won the MITUP tender of the Presidency of Defense Industries and the project was started in line with the production of 5 prototype tanks. The South Korean K2 Black Panther tank is based on the production of Altay tank prototypes, which are planned to be completed in 2013. It was decided to use the MKE cannon, Aselsan fire control system and Roketsan armor to be developed on the prototype to be produced. In the prototype tank, 1500 HP engine of the German company MTU is envisaged to be used. Subsequently, the production of the engine and transmission (transmission organs) in Turkey came to the fore.

In this context, a separate project has been initiated for the production of national and domestic engines and transmissions. Meanwhile, prototypes were put on hold as 'finished products' in order to integrate the engine and transmission to be produced locally and nationally, instead of the ready-made engine and gearbox, to the prototypes whose production process was completed in 2013, as envisaged by Otokar. This approach, which changed the entire project model, has brought along great delays in the production of Altay tanks, reaching the present day. Thus, although the prototypes were ready, the entire Altay project was delayed due to delays in engine and transmission production.

Finally, a contract was signed between BMC and SSB on 9 November 2018 for the serial production of Altay tanks. In this context, Rotem company of South Korea was chosen as the technical support provider of the project. While mass production should have been completed in 18 months, no progress has been made in the project yet. While it was talked about that mass production was postponed to 2018 in 2015, it was later postponed to 2020, and now it is spoken in the defense industry community that mass production will not be possible before 2022-2023.

Yes, let's rewrite it with Enver Tunçalp's words. “One of the most important wishes and desires of the great Atatürk was the motivation and mechanization of the Turkish army. In the Republican era, this great soldier took advantage of every opportunity and tried to motivate and armor the Turkish army. In this context, Turkey bought its first tanks in 1927 and established its first tank units in 1932. The first national tank project was the experience of a Turkish-made tank equipped with a Ford engine, the chassis of which was built in Kırıkkale in 1943. However, due to the inadequacy of the Turkish industry, this experience was unsuccessful.”

It is our wish that the Altay tank, with our national engine and transmission, will take its place in the glorious history of the Turkish army in 2027, exactly a century after 1927, the year the first tank entered Turkey, despite all the delays. 

References:
Tuncman E. (1957). “History of Tank and Armored Units in Turkish Army”, Journal of Land Forces, K.K.K. Istanbul Military Printing House, Istanbul. pp.93-95.
Armored Units in the Turkish Armed Forces, Access Address: https://tr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Türk_Silahlı_Kuvvetsinde_zırhlı_birliği