Turkish Air Operation in the Battle of Çanakkale (2)

First section

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Mobility Continues on the Front After 18 March:

On March 22, Turkish artillery shot down a British seaplane into the Gulf of Saros. Air reconnaissance, which was disrupted due to weather opposition (rain and storm), resumed on March 26 to understand whether the enemy would attack again or land troops after Çanakkale was forced from the sea, and several British ships were detected in the direction of Bozcaada during the reconnaissance. At noon on the same day, Plt.Pen.Eric Serno and Rasıt Capt.Scheider, Plt.Seydler and Rasıt Capt.Hüseyin, in their reconnaissance flight, found that Queen Elizabeth's ship was anchored in Mondros Bay and there were 5 British ships in Lemnos, although the enemy navy found that they did not have the impression that they would attack again and make a military landing.

Allied Aircraft Join the Battle:

After the 18 March defeat and before the land wars, due to the failure of the air force, the British sent 18 aircraft under the command of Major Samson to Çanakkale and moved the 3rd Royal Fleet to the airport in Bozcaada. The Allied Powers established an airport with 16 planes in Bozcaada and 4 planes in Seddülbahir. In addition, the 3500-ton HMS Manica fixed balloon ship of the British was brought to Çanakkale on 22 March. HMS Manica was assigned to locate Turkish artillery units and another important task was to identify targets for the guns of the warship HMS Baccante. HMS Manica and HMS Hector's balloons remained high throughout the day and in all weather conditions, providing intelligence. The mission of the airborne elements was to reconnaissance and attack during the land war, to set targets in landings and to organize artillery fire. The balloon attached to HMS Manica started its duty on the morning of 25 April, when the ground operation began, and worked in close cooperation with the Triumph warship, staying in the air for 8 consecutive hours to support the Anzac landing. Although the balloon ship HMS Manica, located in front of Arıburnu, posed a serious threat, it was not effective due to the small scale of the attacks and the bombs dropped.

1st Turkish Aircraft Company Established:

In this period, while reconnaissance activities continued in the air units of the parties, administrative changes were made. Accordingly, the "1st Turkish Aircraft Company" was formed with 3 planes in the Çanakkale area, 3 Turkish officers whose German pilots were trained in Yeşilköy, and German maintenance personnel. German Plt. Lieutenant Christoph Preussner was appointed to the Aircraft Company Command and came under the command of the Fortified Area Command.

The 1st Turkish Aircraft Company made explorations on the region from the islands in front of the Dardanelles to Limnos between March 27 and April 17, 1915 with its 3 aircraft, and determined that most of the Entente States' ships were anchored in Mondros Bay and were not in preparation for a landing. . In this process and throughout the war, one of the factors that closely affected air reconnaissance was climatic conditions. In the Dardanelles region, in January, February, March, April, November and December, the weather was cloudy for 11 days and cloudy for 6 days. Flight and operational activities were carried out on days when the weather permits, and the most intense air movement took place in the summer months. Since it was not possible to fix the major malfunctions in the planes at the company square, the planes were sent to Istanbul by ship, so these planes could not be used for about 10 days.

In addition, the fact that Çanakkale Square is very stony and the stones hit the rotating propellers caused damage and destruction. For these reasons, the company consisting of 3 planes was sometimes unable to take a single plane into flight. Turkish planes attacked enemy transport ships with bombs manufactured in Istanbul during the reconnaissance. The passage of the Dardanelles by sea could not be achieved unless aid came from the land, and with the start of the landing, both sides carried out their aerial bombardment missions. However, due to the limited number of aircraft and primitive aiming methods, very few missions were successfully accomplished.

There was an intense air activity in Çanakkale on April 18, the aircraft of the 1st Aircraft Division made a flight to Bozcaada and dropped 2 bombs on the square of the 3rd Fleet, and in the afternoon, the planes were hidden from the square due to the bombardment of the Allies. On the same day, in the discovery report of Lieutenant Huseyin Sedat; It was stated that a very loaded enemy transport to the west of Bozcaada was sailing towards Limnos with the soldiers and the troops were armed on the islands.

Captain Huseyin Sedat, on 23 April 1915, during the discovery of Mondros bay again, on the west of Bozcaada, apart from the known naval forces of the British and the French, 23 transport ships, 6 of which were French, around the bay, as well as the large food and supply depots, and at the same time, many land units were sent to Limni. It was seen that it was on the way to the eastern part of the island, and after these preparations, it was sad to embark on a land operation. 

It has been clearly understood that he was preparing for military operations, that he was in a landing activity, and that Çanakkale would definitely have difficulties. Turkish planes detected the enemy's warehouses, continental groups and artillery positions in the landing zone and bombarded transport and warships. With the intelligence information obtained, it was certain that an attack would be made on the Bosphorus, as the Entente forces continued to be on the islands close to Çanakkale and the navy forces in Mondros Bay came increasingly.

Enemy Ships Are Found One By One:

On the morning of April 25, 1915, the Allied Powers, under the command of General Ian Hamilton, started to land their main forces on the Gallipoli Peninsula, consisting of Seddülbahir, Arıburnu and Kumkale. This extraction operation; Queen Elizabeth supported 18 battleships, 18 cruisers, 32 topidos, 1 aircraft carrier, more than thirty minesweepers and 108 transport ships. During the landing operation, 1 Deperdussin, 1 R.E.P. and 3 Bleriot aircraft, the 1st Aircraft Company undertook the duties given under the command of the Fortified Area Command and started to intensify its flights to the landing zones. Plt. Garber and Lieutenant Huseyin Sedat made a 3-hour expedition from the Saros Gulf to the Anatolian coast; 45 transports were seen and several bombs were dropped. He determined that the warships had left and were making a landing demonstration against Saros. Since the 1st Aircraft Company undertook the duties given by this command under the command of the Fortified Area Command, since there were no aircraft under the command of the 5th Army and an agreement could not be reached between the two commands on the use of aircraft, the result of this important discovery of the aircraft in the landing was not delivered, and the possibility of the enemy's landing into the sea was prevented. The proposal of the 1st Aircraft Company to be placed under the command of the 5th Army Commander, commanded by General Liman von Sanders, was approved by the Deputy Commander-in-Chief and Minister of War Enver Pasha in order to eliminate this defect and to reach the information quickly and effectively.

During this period, two important areas of weakness in Turkish aviation were the absence of a radio system and machine guns. Turkish aviation, which has radio systems in a short time, has reached the ability to transmit the results to the relevant people more quickly. Another area of ​​weakness was that, at the beginning of the war, since rifles were not yet used in airplanes, personal pistols were fired against the pilots of enemy planes. However, Allied aircrafts were equipped with machine guns from the beginning of the war. While the operation was going on, the equipping of single-man Fokker E-III planes with machine guns and their arrival at the front provided a great advantage to the Turkish side. The 1st Aircraft Company has now started to conduct long-range reconnaissance flights and flights have been carried out as far as Lemnos Island. During these flights, Turkish aviators detected the capsized wreckage of the Majestic warship torpedoed by the submarine.

Determination of Movement in Seddülbahir-Arıburnu Extraction Area:

Since there was no active aircraft between 25-27 April, reconnaissance could not be made. During his reconnaissance mission on April 27, Deniz Rasıt Lieutenant Commander Hüseyin Sedat found that the main forces of the enemy were stopped in the landing zone between Seddülbahir and Arıburnu, and that there were 13 warships, 73 transports, 2 aircraft mother ships and 3 hospital ships at sea.

It was reported that on April 29, the main forces of the Entente forces landed at Seddülbahir and Arıburnu, and landings were made in Beşike Harbour, Kumkale and Bolayır. It has been clearly understood that this landing will force Çanakkale from land. On these dates, the Allied Forces landed; It had a combined air force of 42 aircraft, including 20 British land planes, 8 French land planes, 2 British seaplanes and 12 French seaplanes. Most of the enemy aircraft were machine-gunned and consisted of new long-range models. In addition, the stationary balloon aboard the Manica was also tasked with surveillance and firing on the mothership's guns. At the time of the landing on the Gallipoli Peninsula, the aircraft company, which consisted of 3 land and 1 seaplanes, was around 7 in the best periods of the Ottoman army in the region, and a limited number of aircraft could be sent to the front during this period.

First Air Battle over Seddülbahir:

On May 2, 1915, the first air battle took place over Seddülbahir. During their reconnaissance mission, Captain Serno and Rasıt Captain Hüseyin Sedat opened fire on the enemy aircraft with their Parabellum automatic pistols when they encountered 2 enemy aircraft and managed to hijack the aircraft. It was the first air-to-air combat with a personal pistol.

On 3 May, while performing their reconnaissance mission in the Rumeli-Kilyos region, Plt. Lieutenant Feyzi and Rasıt Lieutenant Sami were killed by the Gendarmerie over the village of Uskumru, mistaking it for a Russian plane, as a result of a rifle shot, and they took place in aviation history as the first Turkish air martyrs. 

On May 4, 2 aircraft belonging to the 1st Aircraft Division launched a bomb attack on the enemy transport ships and the soldiers being disembarked in front of Seddülbahir, but to no avail.

In the discovery made by Hüseyin Sedat on May 5, it was stated that the fighting in Seddülbahir had stopped, but there was no withdrawal.

During the reconnaissance on 13 May, an unloading station was detected in the south of the landing zone and Turkish artillery intervened and removed the pier.

On 14 May, the enemy camp in Seddülbahir was bombed, and on 19 May, the enemy landing ships and camp on the southern front were bombed with 2 planes and nails were thrown.

On 23, 27 and 28 May, Lieutenant Commander Mehmet Ali and Lieutenant Huseyin Sedat made explorations on Imroz and Bozcaada, and it was determined that the enemy ships were kept in a net in the port of Mondros.

During the reconnaissance flight on 28 May, it was stated that the battleship Majestic, which was sunk by the German U-2 submarine the day before, was lying upside down around the Seddülbahir lighthouse.

Enemy Ships Looking For Hide From Turkish Aircraft:

In the discovery made on May 31, 1915; Many ships have been identified around Imbros, Limni, Seddülbahir and Anafartalar. In addition to the large warships in Mondros Port, 60 transport ships and additional support ships are in preparation for a landing, and there is 1 battleship, 1 small cruiser, 2 torpedoes, 9 transports, 1 rescue and 1 balloon ship in Kefalo Port. A camp of 2 battalions was identified at the mouth of the island of Imroz, it was reported that a camp of 15 thousand people, which would accommodate 1 division, was seen in the east of Limnos Island, and 2 bombs were dropped on the port. With this information, he brought the Turkish army to a state of alert.

In June 1915, the current number of aircraft to be used in the operation of the 1st Aircraft Company was 3. 2 of the inactive Deperdüssen, REP and 3 Bleriot XI-2 aircraft have been activated. In June 1915, the Ben-My-Chree naval ship carrying 5 aircraft displaced the Ark Royal and arrived at Lesbos on 12 June 1915. After the Kirte wars, 4 Bristol, 6 Caudron, 6 B.F.2 and 6 Morane Parasolını planes arrived as reinforcements in order to strengthen the Allied air elements. Thus, the capacity of the fleet reached 48 with a reinforcement of 22 aircraft by the British Air Force and the French aircraft remained in Bozcaada.

British Divisions Watched:

On June 9, 1915, the balloon ship Hector arrived in Çanakkale, and Hector served at the front until the first months of 1916, when the Manica ship returned to England for repairs until the end of September. In the 3rd Kirte War, which the Entente states started on 4-5 June, intense clashes started in Kerevizdere on 12 June. During the reconnaissance of the Turkish planes in this process, it was seen that the British sent 2 new divisions and reinforced them. The commander of the southern group, Vehip Pasha, wanted the locations of the artillery batteries in Kanlıdere and Seddülbahir, which caused heavy losses to the Turkish troops, to be determined. On June 4, 1 aircraft belonging to the 1st Aircraft Division determined the enemy's artillery positions during the aerial surveillance flight and marked the locations of the visible batteries on the map. On June 6, Turkish planes bombarded the enemy positions and broke his offensive power. Since the planes were taken into maintenance after the bombardment, no air operations could be carried out until 13 June.

On 13 June, during the reconnaissance flight of Plt. Lieutenant Mehmet Ali and Lieutenant Huseyin Sedat; There is a larger group of tents and barracks and 18 enemy ships in the Mondros bay of Lemnos island than those discovered up to that time; It has been determined that a camp was established in the east of the bay, 1 battleship and 5 destroyers in the north of Bozcaada, 2 destroyers and 2 battleships in the Port of Imroz Kefalo, 3 minesweepers in the south of the island, and various destroyers and search and search vessels in Suvla, Arıburnu and Seddülbahir. .

Aerial reconnaissance by Turkish planes continued uninterrupted throughout June, and on June 15, the airport with 4 planes stationed in Seddülbahir was bombed by Turkish artillery, and 3 enemy planes took off and had to leave the area. On the same day, a British plane was shot down around Arıburnu as a result of infantry fire.

Exploration Activities:

During the reconnaissance on 17 June 1915, 16 aircraft, a hangar and 18 aircraft tents were identified at the airport in Bozcada. No new activity was observed during the discoveries made on 18-19 June.

On 20 June, the 1st Aircraft Company was deployed for distant reconnaissance and for the first time a reconnaissance was made to the island of Lesbos, seeing several seaplanes believed to be used for submarine patrol and patrol flights. On the same day, flights to Bozcaada, İmroz and Limnos Islands were made and it was determined that transport boats were placed on the decks of the transport ships anchored in the Mudros Bay of Limnos Island. Obtained by aerial reconnaissance about the increase of headquarters and ships around Limni and Bozcaada. 

According to the information obtained, it has been determined that the enemy is preparing to attack Seddülbahir or Arıburnu again. Thus, it was concluded that new troops would be deployed and attacked on the Gallipoli Peninsula soon.

After the big landing on 21 June, he managed to drop 2 enemy planes into the sea with artillery fire. On 22 June, while the southern front of the Entente forces was bombed, an air battle took place with a British plane and 1 British plane was shot down, one of the 2 Turkish planes was hit by an enemy plane over Alçıtepe, and had to land near Alibey Farm after being hit by its engine. He was rescued with the help of soldiers.

On June 25, 300 written propaganda notices in English were sent over the enemy headquarters in the Arıburnu region for propaganda purposes, thus setting the first example of using airplanes for propaganda purposes. On the same day, a Turkish plane sent from Istanbul to Çanakkale joined the squadron. On 23-25 ​​June, long-distance reconnaissance continued and 100 ships were detected in the area. It was stated that the headquarters and ships increased around Limni and Bozcaada, and the enemy was preparing to attack Seddülbahir or Arıburun again. During these battles, importance was given to revealing the enemy reinforcements and supply transport by aerial reconnaissance. During the expedition made on 26 June, it was reported that the Entente powers were on the move, and during the expedition, English, French, Arabic and Hindi statements were sent to the Entente forces to surrender. On June 28, 1915, with the strong artillery support, the allied forces, which attacked in Zığındere, collapsed the right wing of the Turkish front.

On June 29, the 1st Aircraft Squadron was assigned to reconnaissance Seddülbahir with 2 planes, one of them crashed during take-off, and the other plane returned after completing its mission.

Operational Opportunities in July:

With the increase in the total number of aircraft of the British and French to 55 in July, the enemy's air operation capability increased. Although the Allied air force was superior in terms of number and quality, the Turkish side continued its reconnaissance and bombing activities by avoiding direct contact with the enemy and taking advantage of the opportunities. In July, the German Naval Aircraft Company was formed in Nara Square-Çanakkale and it was transformed into a large base consisting of 4 hangars and served under the command of Naval Lieutenant Ernst Liebmann under the General Command of the Straits. Since the Gotha WD-1 aircraft were unarmed and the first Gotha WD-2 aircraft was not equipped with a machine gun, the later delivered seaplanes were armed.

(To be continued)