Turkish Air Operation in the Battle of Çanakkale (3)

German Planes and Pilots in Çanakkale:

In July 1915, with the attack of British and French aircraft, 2 Turkish aircraft were destroyed on the ground and became unusable, and the flights of the Turkish aircraft company were stopped for a short time. On 5 July 1915, 2 Gotha WD-I type seaplanes and German pilots came to Çanakkale to reinforce the aircraft unit from Germany. It is stationed at the station between the Köse and Nara capes in the north of Çanakkale. With these planes and 1 plane stationed in Istanbul, the "Marine Aircraft Corps" was formed under the command of the German Navy Special Detachment Naval Aircraft Group and started reconnaissance missions on July 5-6. It was assigned to reconnaissance and bombardment the islands outside the Bosphorus and to follow the activities of the Allies in front of the Bosphorus. This unit was given the task of securing the ship traffic since the entry of enemy submarines into the Sea of ​​Marmara adversely affected the Istanbul Gallipoli maritime supply route.

Attacks of British Aircraft:

On 5 July 1915, 13 British planes attacked Çanakkale airport in order to neutralize the Turkish air power, and 2 Turkish planes were destroyed on the ground, and the squadron had to pause for a while. On 6 July, Deputy Commander-in-Chief Enver Pasha was taken from the command of the Fortified Area due to the disruptions in the chain of command with the 1st Aircraft Company and given to the order of the 5th Army. Thus, after the Aircraft Company came under the command of the 5th Army, three of its existing aircraft became incapable of flight, so the company had to take a break from flying for a while.

Additional German Planes Coming:

Lieutenant Commander Serno, who was sent to Germany to discuss the interrupted supply and aircraft supply issues in May 1915, requested seaplanes to reinforce the existing land planes in Çanakkale and decided to give 20 more planes to Turkey. For this purpose, 3 Gotha WD-1 aircraft were sent to serve as a civil aviator, mechanic and crew and arrived in Istanbul at the end of June 1915. In order to strengthen the 1st Aircraft Company, 13 of the 20 planes requested from Germany were able to reach Turkey until the end of July. Three of the incoming unarmed reconnaissance 4 Rumpler B-I type aircraft were sent to the Çanakkale Front on 13 July 1915. On 8 July, a British plane was shot down in Morto Bay by the fire of Turkish artillery. Having completed his training in Germany, Plt. Lieutenant Hasan Tahsin Kevenk took over the 1st Aircraft Company Command, which was reinforced with 4 planes on 13 July, from German Plt. Lt. Pressner. The division fulfilled its operational duties with Turkish pilots and 4 German pilots, consisting of Şakir Hazım, Cevdet, Abdullah, Ali Rıza, Salih and Rıfat. On July 18, Hüseyin Sedat, a Turkish plane that was exploring to learn the latest situation of the enemy, attacked the yacht of the Commander of the Çanakkale Entente Forces Hamilton, whom he came across in Kefalo Bay, but could not get a result. On the same day, Plt.Lzb.Serno missed a British plane, which he entered into air combat, with a parabellum shot, on his return from his reconnaissance mission. In mid-July, the 5th Army Commander, General Sanders, requested that the 1st Aircraft Company be deployed around Gallipoli, where it has its headquarters, in order to ensure that the air reconnaissance reports from the operational direction are delivered to the headquarters more quickly. In the south of Gelibolu-Galata Village, a stream bottom, which is today's name Cumalıdere, was chosen, it was straightened so that planes could land and take off. It was transferred to Galata in the west.

Albatross Planes:

While the battles of Anafartalar continued with all its violence, since the shortest sea route of the Turkish side was between the Gallipoli Peninsula, Istanbul and Marmara ports, all the needs of the 5th Army were tried to be met from here, and it was requested to support the Fortified Area Command in order to fight the enemy submarines. However, the Command rejected the request on the grounds that there were 2 seaplanes, one of which was used for sea reconnaissance of the castle, and the other one was in flightless condition. Realizing the importance of this issue, the Position Command had to give the only remaining aircraft to the order of the 5th Army and allocated the enemy submarines in Marmara for reconnaissance, surveillance and bombing. As the enemy encountered more frequently in the air, armed Albatros C type planes started to arrive in Yeşilköy as of August. Thus, in August and September, the aircraft in the hands of the 1st Airplane Company increased and its efficiency increased with the new arrivals. 1 German Fokker aircraft joined the division in September 1915 and 3 German Fokker aircraft in December 1915 and participated in the operation at the Çanakkale Front.

British Planes Are Bombing Atatürk's Location:

In the Çanakkale Front, there were two important developments in aviation in terms of the history of the Republic of Turkey. On the night of 26/27 July 1915, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk came to Conkbayırı. On July 27, when it entered the Great Anafarta Village, 11 enemy planes broke up. 

He bombarded the region and the headquarters from the air. An enemy plane tried to deter him from doing his magnificent historical mission in Anafartalar with bombs and machine gun fire, but was unsuccessful. Adjutant Cevat Abbas Gurer; "Atatürk was bombarded by 11 enemy planes on the day he arrived at Conkbayırı on July 27, 1915, to reorganize the front at night connecting July 26 to July 27. In this air attack, confusion broke out in the headquarters and the personnel lost each other. However, Deputy Chief of Staff Zeki Doğan (who later became the first Commander of the Air Force) and Atatürk reached Conkbayırı at night. The other personnel of the headquarters arrived at the place of duty in the early hours of the morning. The harassment of enemy planes continued, but Atatürk did not attach much importance to this and took measures for protection. According to what those who were with Atatürk told and witnessed, he was never frightened or afraid of the plane bombs that rained down on him. Another incident on this front is that when British Plt.Yb.Samson came over Selvili with a Nieuport plane on his way back to Gallipoli in the second week of September, the vehicle descended on him and dropped 2 bombs on Atatürk's car. In this attack, shrapnel fragments of the bomb, which was dropped from the plane and exploded on the ground, spread around and exploded in front of and behind the car. The bullet that fell on the windshield injured the driver, but luckily he and the officers in the vehicle escaped unharmed. His recovery from these events paved the way for the salvation and establishment of the Republic of Turkey in the future.

Prevention of Landing Operation:

After the failure of the Gallipoli landings, the British planned to encircle the Turkish Forces from the north, seize the Kocaçimen and Conk Hills, which are very important for the Bosphorus, and land in the south of Tuzla Lake and lay a siege in the direction of Kilya Harbor over Anafartalar. Naval Aircraft Detachment was formed and flight preparations started at the Bases in Köseburnu and Nara on the coast of Çanakkale. Upon receiving the news that the Allied Powers would undertake a new landing operation, the reconnaissance began with a seaplane belonging to the German Naval Aircraft Company in Nara on the night of 27/28 July, in the moonlight. It made its first flight with the reconnaissance mission on the island of Lemnos on July 28. In the aerial reconnaissance of Lemnos Island and Mondros Bay, it was stated that 87 ships, 13 of which were large warships, were detected and bombed in Mondros Bay. After dropping a bomb on the encampment, the plane headed for Bozcaada, where it was seen that only the French aircraft unit was present. After midnight on July 31st, 2 planes from the 1st Aircraft Company and the German Naval Aircraft Association made reconnaissance, an attack was made on Bozcaada airport, 5 bombs and 500 nails were thrown. In this attack turn, one of the planes was attacked by enemy planes going on air patrol, but the plane belonging to the German Sea Aircraft Association returned to the Base despite being hit. In order to support the great attack to be made at the beginning of August, the 2nd aircraft group of the British British Naval Air Service came to the operation area. Most of the enemy planes are composed of long-range new models equipped with machine guns, and the enemy's operational capability has made great progress. In order to continue Turkish air operations and activities, the 1st Aircraft Company was reinforced with 5 Albatros-C and 5 Gotha type seaplanes, one of the most superior aircraft of the time, equipped with machine guns from Germany, capable of hunting and bombing missions. 3 of the seaplanes were given to the command of the Fortified Area Command, and 2 of them were given to the air station in Istanbul.

Adverse Effects of British Air Superiority:

Three SS type airships of the British landed on Gökçeada on August 2, 1915, but due to weather conditions, they only performed limited duties as submarine surveillance patrol. On August 2, 6 aircraft supported the landing operation of the Allies in Arıburnu, and Turkish aircraft could not make a reconnaissance flight due to the enemy's air superiority during the landing. On the night of 3 August, seaplanes discovered Imroz and bombed it, and 1 plane was hit in the face of the enemy's attack. The aircraft carrier Ben-My-Chree was anchored in Kefalo Bay in Gökçeada during this operation, which was called the Battle of Suvla and the Battle of Sarı Bayır by the Allied forces, which started on 6 August and continued until 10 August, and was known as the Arıburnu and Anafartalar battles by the Turkish forces. The first contact of seaplanes with submarines was on 6 August. An enemy submarine was attacked by bombs off the west coast of Marmara Island, but no result was obtained. In order to cover the big landing in Suvla Bay, it launched an attack on Arıburnu and Anafartalar region on 6/7 August 1915 for the second landing operation. It has launched a landing on the coastal area in Sazlıdere and Karaçalı located in the north of Saros Bay. Against the submarine danger, Turkish seaplanes were given a reconnaissance mission in the Marmara, and the planes increased their cruise area. 

An auxiliary landing site has been prepared in Tekirdağ and Marmara-Ekinlik island and fuel supply depots have been established.

On the evening of 7 August 1915, the landing troops advanced to the Küçük Anafartalar region. On 8 August 1915, Colonel Mustafa Kemal Atatürk was appointed to the Anafartalar Group Command. On the evening of August 9, Atatürk and the officers with him moved towards Conkbayırı on horseback to lead the attack, and advanced to Kocaçimen Tepe under the harassment of enemy planes. On August 9, at 04.30, he personally commanded the attack in front of the front at the head of his troops, and as a result of a series of attacks, the enemy forces were thrown back and driven towards the coast.

With the arrival of armed Albatros C-I planes from Germany in August 1915, which was needed by the Ottoman army, the efficiency of the 1st Airplane Company increased to a great extent, and in August and September, the squadron's active aircraft was sometimes up to 8. On August 9, 1 Gotha WD-I Bolayır attacked an enemy submarine in front of them, and it was evaluated that a bomb was hit on the submarine in this attack, resulting in oil stains on the sea surface and the submarine was sunk. During the 6-10 August operation, in the operation in which the British and Anzac forces participated, the air units of the 5th Army carried out the bombardment attacks of the enemy line, as well as reconnaissance throughout the operation. On 11 August, the Ben-My-Chree aircraft carrier arrived in the Gulf of Saros, and on the morning of 12 August, 2 Short seaplanes planned a torpedo attack against a steamship north of Gallipoli. When one of the planes could not take off due to engine failure, Plt.Bnb.Edmons launched a torpedo over Bolayır from a distance of about 700 meters and from a height of 5 meters over the water to the target seen by İnce Burun, after seeing the target direction of the torpedo, returned to Ben-My-Chree. . This event took its place as the first aerial torpedo attack in world aviation history.

Major Edmons continued his torpedo attacks and on August 19, he attacked one of the 3 ships sailing towards Akbaş pier and started a fire on a ship. On the same day, Lt.GB Dacre attacked a ship with his Short plane, left a torpedo and the ship was sunk. During the reconnaissance of Turkish forces in Gökçeada on 18 August, 50 transport ships were detected in Kefalo Bay. On 22 August, a British seaplane was shot down in front of Seddülbahir by Turkish artillery fire. In August, the 1st Aircraft Division provided great support to the 5th Army, sank an enemy ship with the bombs it dropped, and performed 51 hours of operational missions in the operations that lasted for 4 days with 4 planes. They carried out an intense activity in the Conkbayırı offensive. During this period, 16 aircraft reached the air power in the region, causing heavy casualties to the Allied forces by throwing bombs and nails.

On September 5, German Rasıt Capt. Körner was appointed as the 1st Aircraft Company Command, company planes explored on the front and a 70 tent camp was discovered around Salt Lake. The exploration to Mytilene gained importance because it prepared a force of 50 thousand people for a new operation and the direction of the force was Midilli. During the reconnaissance flight made to Bozcaada, Imbros and Lesbos on September 6 and to Bozcaada and Lesbos on September 10-11, no new situational changes were observed in the region. On September 16, 6 Turkish planes attacked Imroz, on the way back, Albatros plane attacked the submarine and the Turkish sailboat was rescued. On the same day's expedition, he reported a reduction in forces at Gallipoli. The most important development in this period was the mounting of machine guns on the newly arrived Gotha planes, and the air superiority at the front turned in favor of the Turks.

On September 16, 1915, in the early hours of the morning, a Turkish plane hit the headquarters of British Forces Commander Ian Hamilton with 4 bombs, but the damage could not be detected. This bombing function was repeated on the nights of 19, 27 and 28 September. On the night of September 18, Turkish seaplanes attacked Gökçeada, and one of the bombs dropped next to the ship docking at Aydıncık Pier. During the aerial reconnaissance conducted on 20 September over the Gulf of Limni, Bozcaada, Lesbos, İmroz and Saros, it was determined that the enemy forces on the islands decreased. During the reconnaissance, an offensive mission was also carried out, and a bomb was hit on the balloon facility with the fighter planes of the 1st Aircraft Company on September 27, especially in order to neutralize the fixed balloon. On September 27, 1915, German Rasıt Captain Karl Kettembeil and Plt.Yzb.C.L.Preussner were the first to shoot down an enemy plane with a machine gun in an air battle, and became the first person to shoot down an enemy plane. Rasıt Lieutenant Commander Karl Kettembeil was awarded the "Silver Merit Medal" on November 15, 1915, for his success at the front.

Enemy Aircraft Taken Down by Machine Gun Shot:

In November, reconnaissance and bombardment missions continued and on 6 November the Turkish Artillery shot down an Allied aircraft over Küçükgemlikli. An important event in the history of Turkish military aviation, a Turkish plane in the air for the first time in the Dardanelles Front managed to shoot down an enemy plane with a machine gun.

On 30 November 1915, Plt. Lieutenant Ali Rıza and Rasıt Lt. İbrahim Orhan, Albatros C-I aircraft from AK-I engaged in air combat with the French Farman aircraft while making a reconnaissance flight over Kabatepe. During the conflict, the bullet shot by Rasıt İbrahim Orhan with his single machine gun pierced the fuel tank of the French plane and the plane burned down between İntepe and Seddülbahir. While the pilots won the 2nd aerial victory at the Çanakkale front, they went down in Turkish aviation history for the 2nd time as the officer who won the first Turkish air victory in the Turkish skies in the First World War and was awarded with a seniority increase. The Germans also applied the inventions of Turkish aviators in their own planes and placed machine guns instead of random in these planes. İbrahim Orhan, who served as a pilot in the 5th Aircraft Division in Izmir in 1918, was shot down by anti-aircraft fire during his reconnaissance flight with Hüseyin Hüsnü, his plane crashed near the island. became a prisoner of war.

Heaviest Bomb:

In the Battle of Gallipoli, Turkish air operations continued in December, with an emphasis on reconnaissance. On 5 December, 1 seaplane disappeared off the coast of Tekirdağ. Between 8 December 1915 and 9 January 1916, air activity had an important place during the evacuation process of the Allied Powers. On 18 December 1915, the British Major. Samson dropped a 225-kilogram bomb on the Turkish Camp with his Farman plane, and this went down in aviation history as the heaviest bombing. On 20 December, the 1st Aircraft Company was reinforced with 6 aircraft, was assigned to reconnaissance and bombardment of İmroz, and bombs and hand grenades were thrown at the Encampment at the entrance of Kefalo Bay.

On 21 December, the artillery of the 24th Regiment shot down a French seaplane around Tekeburnu. On 24-30 December, flights were made in the southern group in squadrons of 3 aircraft and in 2 sorties; 12 bombs, 150 grenades and 1200 flakes (small arrows) were fired. The naval unit carried out reconnaissance missions in Bozcaada, Limnos and Gallipoli with 3 aircraft. In particular, it was stated that the number of ships, which was around 100 in the exploration made on Lemnos on 27 December, decreased to 65 during the exploration made on 28 December. The Gallipoli peninsula was completely evacuated after the evacuation of the enemy forces, which started in Suvla (Anafarta) Bay on 12 December, with the Anafartalar-Arıburnu regions on 20 December 1915 and the evacuation process in Seddülbahir on 9 January 1916. Thus, the ground wars that started on April 25, 1915 ended, but the war in the air continued even more brutally until the first months of 1916. With the initiatives of Lieutenant Commander Serno, at the end of December 1915, single-winged fighter planes and pilots with synchronized machine guns that could fire forward through the propeller circle started to arrive in Çanakkale. The 6th Aircraft Division deployed in the Gallipoli-Galata area was formed by being equipped with Fokker E-II fighter planes. With the arrival of these planes, many important victories were won in the air against the enemy, and a complete air superiority was achieved in the air in Çanakkale.

The 1st Aircraft Company of the 5th Army continued the operation with only 2 reconnaissance aircraft. New pilots with Fokker planes; Established with the participation of Lt. Hans-Joachin Buddecke, Lt. Hans Schüz, Lt. Emil Meineche, Lt. Theodor Jakop Croneiss and Carl Croneiss brothers, the Aircraft Squadron was called "Fokker Hunting Squadron" because Fokker fighter planes were used. On the morning of January 6, 1916, Buddecke shot down a French Farman plane near Özbek-Karacaviran, east of Cape Nara. In the afternoon, British planes came to bombard the Galata airport, took off for a counterattack against Buddeck, and when it attacked one of the enemy planes it encountered on the peninsula, the plane burned down and crashed around Burhanlı in the east of Yalova. In the evening, 4 enemy planes were shot down at the end of the day, as Turkish artillery shot down an enemy plane off Arıburnumil. On 7 January Lieutenant Theodor Croneiss shot down the French Farman plane and on 8 January Plt. Lieutenant Buddecke Viosin-III type plane downed around Seddülbahir. On 9 January, Plt. Lieutenant-General Buddecke shot down 1 Farman plane and on 11 January, an enemy plane over Seddülbahir during his reconnaissance flight, Captain Schuz. On January 12, Lieutenant Commander Buddecke encountered the Farman plane in the skies of Çanakkale in the air, and at the end of the air war that lasted for about 15 minutes, he shot down the plane near Galata. On the same day, Lieutenant Schuze shot down 1 Farman plane with a Fokker plane, the pilot of the plane, Lt. Bolas, passed away and his coincidental Sergeant D.M. Branson was taken prisoner of war.

Achievements of Fokker Aircraft:

On January 13, 1916, German Plt. Lieutenant Buddecke became the best hunting pilot of the Çanakkale Front and due to his aerial victories. 

He was awarded the "Silver Merit Medal" and promoted to the rank of Captain. In addition, it was ordered by Enver Pasha to give 40 liras to Plt. Lieutenant Buddecke as a reward for the fifth plane he shot down in Seddülbahir. Plt.Lzb.Buddecke shot down a Farman plane over Seddülbahir on 25 January and 27 January. Enver Pasha congratulated him for his achievements and took the golden "Ottoman Privilege Medal" from his chest and gave it to Buddecke. German Plt. Lieutenant Buddecke shot down 5 enemy planes and 3 German pilots shot down 4 enemy planes. Thus, Fokker planes shot down 9 enemy planes for 1 plane loss, causing great losses to the Allied Air Force. During January and February 1916, Ottoman aviation continued to bombard the airports on the islands and the enemy ships they encountered at sea. Ottoman anti-aircraft units also performed very successful missions in this period. They harassed many enemy planes approaching the peninsula for reconnaissance, artillery arrangement or bombardment, and they managed to shoot down some of them. In January, the Allied Powers greatly reduced aviation activities in the region, after the aviation suffered great losses and with the withdrawal from Çanakkale on January 9, 1916.

Air Operation Intensity Decreases:

On February 4, 1916, Plt. Lt. Theodore Croneiss of the Aircraft Division shot down a British B.E 2c plane, which was making a reconnaissance flight over Kabatepe. The air operations on the Çanakkale front continued throughout the summer, and 30 sorties were carried out in April-June. Seaplanes serving in the Ottoman army made many flights against the islands of Gökçeada, Bozcaada, Limnos and Thasos. During this period, they carried out more than 20 bombing attacks against enemy troops and airfields on the islands. In most of these attacks, they did not encounter any interceptive activity by enemy aircraft. The seaplanes of the Ottoman Army did not suffer a single loss. German Plt. Lieutenant Buddecke shot down one British plane each on 30 March and 6 April. In July, 3 sea enemy planes were damaged by the fire opened by anti-aircraft artillery and had to leave their duties and return to their bases. On April 14, 1916, Plt. Lieutenant Buddecke was awarded the Pour Le Merite medal, the highest order of the Germans (he had to shoot down 8 enemy planes to receive this medal.) and became the third German pilot to receive this precious high order.

Year 1917:

In 1917, 6 Albatros aircraft served in the 1st Aircraft Company, and 1 Fokker aircraft and 1 Halberstad aircraft were sent to the 6th Aircraft Company, which had 2 Fokker aircraft in the same period. At the beginning of December 1917, the air forces in Çanakkale carried out one of the largest air strikes against Gökçeada. German Plt. Lieutenant Emil Meinecke shot down the Farman F-27 in air combat on February 12, 1917, the Bristol Scout-D aircraft in air combat on February 17, 1917, and the Sopwith Strutter aircraft on January 23, 1918, around Maydos, and 6 airstrikes in the Battle of Çanakkale. He became the most successful pilot by winning the victory. On January 23, 1917, at 15.30, Plt. Lieutenant Colonel Croneiss shot down the British plane around Kabatepe in the air battle. On 23 May and 14 June 1918, Plt Lieutenant Croneiss shot down 2 Avro model British aircraft in air combat and earned his seventh overall victory in Turkish skies.

The Ottoman Army aviators established absolute superiority in the skies during the Dardanelles air battles. The 1st Aircraft Company participated in the operation with 3 aircraft, and the German Naval Aircraft Company with 3 sea and 2 fighter aircraft. Since it was not possible to fix the major faults in the planes at the company square, they were sent to Istanbul by ship and 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 squadron, consisting of only 3 planes, could not even take a single plane to the flight, and could only send limited planes to the region during this period. The bombs dropped by the planes hit the hangars, tents and other equipment at the enemy's airport, fires broke out and great losses were inflicted. Allied powers; While the new system was a result of economic efficiency with aircraft, balloons, and main aircraft carriers, Turkish aviation continued its air operations with the aircraft they bought from the Germans and were in its inventory at the very beginning of the war, and economic problems have always been important in sending air power to the region.

Turkish-German Aviators Working Together:

Turkish and German aviator personnel worked together, and the success of the companies, which consisted of a mixture of people from different cultures and with different values, and the harmony and success of the companies belonging to the same nation, were undoubtedly not the same, and problems were experienced. Ottoman aviation depended on its ally Germany in terms of materials and personnel it needed. Turkish aviation, at the beginning of the war, with a small number of aircraft, insufficient equipment and limited opportunities, reconnaissance, attack.

It achieved great success in combat and surveillance missions, became the main actor in obtaining intelligence data and constituted a turning point in the history of military aviation. It was the first operation in the history of Turkish aviation, where the most intense air operation was experienced and the air element took part. Turkish aviators in the war that resulted in the final defeat of the Allies; played an important role in the victory, many firsts were experienced and successes were achieved. Apart from their services that contributed positively to the course of the war, they were also influential in the development of modern Turkish military aviation. Turkish aircraft made a successful operation and returned to their bases without a single casualty.

Aircraft Types and Benefits:

During the Dardanelles War, a warehouse was established in Bakırköy to provide bomb-making and hand tools, the craftsmen in Istanbul were assigned to make propellers and jigs, and the problem was resolved. During this period, a total of 15 Turkish aviators and 23 German aviators served in the 1st Aircraft Company, including 5 pilots and 10 casualties. In Air Operation; 13 aircraft consisting of Bleriot XI, LVG BI, Rumpler BI, Albatros BI, Albatros CI, Albatros C-III, Bristol Scout D, Fokker E-III, Albatros D-II, Halberstadt DV, Albatros D-III and DH-4 aircraft has worked with. However, 8 air and 1 seaplane actively participated in the operation during the period. At the beginning of the war, the Turkish Air Force at the front had an inequality of 1/14 against the Entente Powers at the beginning of the war, and this ratio approached a level of 1/7 towards the end of the war. The Allies brought 72 of the most modern war and reconnaissance aircraft to the war zone, according to the conditions of the period. Although the 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. During the war, a total of 53 aircraft were shot down, 17 of which were shot down by the Ottoman artillery from the ground. The downing of the aircraft was carried out as a result of air-air battles, artillery fire and infantry shooting. Turkish aviation has carried out all kinds of tasks given to it with great courage and used this power effectively and made a great contribution to the Turkish victory with the flight missions. From the beginning of the Dardanelles War to the end of the First World War, Turkish aviation lost 4 aircraft and constituted an important place in aviation history. None of the Turkish aviators lost their lives. In this period, since the planes made bombardment and close reconnaissance flights from 600-800 meters at the most, they were affected by the infantry fire from the ground, and were even exposed to the fire of our own troops. In order to eliminate this problem, on November 1, 1917, it was accepted that Turkish aircraft would use a vertical stabilizer and a white star and crescent on a red background at the helm and an identification mark consisting of three red and white red circles under the wing.

Air Operations Principles:

In the Dardanelles War, many firsts were experienced in terms of operational principles in terms of Turkish military aviation history. It was of historical importance in terms of being the first joint operation and the first amphibious operation in which land, sea and air elements served jointly, effectively and successfully. Allied powers; Considering its superiority in terms of land, navy and air forces and looking at the winner of the war, it was seen that the Turks used these 3 elements more effectively and effectively. The first examples of the principles of the concept of using air power were applied, the missions of these units were determined in a way that they were equipped with the most advanced technologies of the age and complemented each other. Again, it constituted one of the first major wars in the history of world aviation in which fixed balloons were used. The Dardanelles War, as it is known, consisted of 2 phases, sea and land. However, although the air campaign was not the main actor in terms of changing tactics and strategy, it played an important role in the course of the war. The absence of a defense system to eliminate the planes made them, in a sense, inviolable. During this operation, Counter Air Operation, Isolation and Close Support types, which are modern air operation methods, were successfully applied. When Turkish aviators attacked the Manica balloon ship, it was ensured that the ship's balloon was collected and left from the duty station, and with this mission, a simple application of Close Air Support was experienced in the skies of Çanakkale.

Another success of Turkish aviators was the first use of electronic jamming, which is indispensable in our age, in this war. The most important achievement of Turkish aviators, the Electronic Warfare application, which is indispensable in our age, was applied to the most important warship of the British, "Queen Elizabeth", for the first time in 1915. 1 Turkish warplane, aerial electronic jamming of the radio system used to coordinate the firing of the cannons of the Queen Elizabeth dreadnought. 

It has been rendered dysfunctional by ma. When the British found the airfield on the Helles cape unsafe and moved to Bozcaada, they left fake planes in the square, had the Turks attack this target with ammunition and used a war trick. At the same time, cooperation between planes and submarines was seen for the first time, and the attack of British planes on a Turkish destroyer by firing torpedoes paved the way for the birth and development of torpedo planes, which once again proved the importance of the air wars fought on the Çanakkale Front. In addition, the first aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal and the first balloon ship HMS Manica were used by the British. Again, Turkish aviators managed to shoot down a French plane with machine gun fire for the first time in air combat, and went down in history as the Turkish pilot who won the first aerial victory.

Later, the Germans applied the inventions of the Turkish aviators on their own planes and placed machine guns on the planes instead of random ones. With the technology of the time, airplanes were able to fly at a speed of about 70-120 km/h, and could reach a maximum altitude of 1000-1500 m. The air assault weapons were 5-15 kg bombs and boxes filled with nails, which were manually dropped from the plane to the target determined by eye. The war showed the importance and necessity of competence in logistics for an unlimited war. The importance of national possibilities and capabilities has emerged and it has become a historical laboratory in which an army dependent on foreign countries will suffer great losses even if it is victorious. It has been the most intense air operation in Turkish Aviation History.

The Battle of Çanakkale coincided with the infancy of Turkish aviation. Turkish Aviation, which was founded in 1911 and tried to be developed with personal efforts in this period, started to train aviator personnel with the establishment of Aircraft School and Naval Aircraft School in Yeşilköy. The Turkish Nation understood how important the aircraft as a war instrument is for the future. Although the war continued mostly with naval and land operations, it witnessed the undeniable success of the air operation. Aviation, a new force multiplier, had a significant impact on the exploration of the preparations before the start of the operation in Çanakkale, the sustainability of the operation at sea and on land, and its results. It has been a war in which important innovations in the field of technology were applied on the battlefield.

The Importance of Air Discovery:

With the beginning of the war, the primary purpose of aviation activities was air reconnaissance. With the reconnaissance flights made to determine the strategies of the enemy's land and naval units, the location, direction and quantity of the enemy were determined, and detailed information was obtained about the enemy's ship movements, the types of ships and their numbers by following the preparations. It was ensured that they knew the enemy very well, the amount and types of weapons in their hands, the number of soldiers were determined and transferred to the relevant people. Military operations were directed by taking into account which regions the enemy forces used, the estimation of where they would attack, and the current state of the mines, based on the intelligence reports obtained. Aviation experiences in air operations formed the basis for the progress and developments of the parties in the field of modern military aviation in the following years. It had important results in terms of Turkish aviation and created a new force multiplier and pioneered the creation of the strategy and tactics required by the new weapon.

Other Points:

It has been a front where important developments in the field of technology and innovation are applied in the war field. All phases of the operation were previously discovered by Turkish aviation, providing the naval and land forces with the opportunity to be ready before the war, and the withdrawal signs of the Entente forces were detected from the air. In this respect, the air campaign started before the sea and land operations, continued intensely after January 1916, when the enemy withdrew, and a significant superiority was achieved against the enemy in the air battles that took place. Air elements generally served for reconnaissance and bombardment purposes, and were used for limited close support and psychological operations. With the aerial reconnaissance made within the scope of pre-emptive measures at every stage of the operation, successes were achieved in the field of intelligence and the opportunity to prepare for the operation was provided.

Thanks to the air campaign, which is extremely valuable especially in terms of information gathering and strategy determination, while the sea and land elements took precautions for the operation, they learned the situation of the Entente powers after the operation through reconnaissance. The best example of these discoveries is Churchill, with the damage he caused to the world's most powerful navy "Nusret Minelayer"; He stated that "Nusret Changed the World". This event has been one of the first and important achievements of Turkish aviation, which is in the development stage. The Battle of Çanakkale, in which approximately 195,000 soldiers were injured, crippled and missing, and 57 thousand soldiers were martyred, became important by changing the course of the war during the period when the First World War continued with all its violence. 

has produced results. In the Dardanelles War, where land, sea and air warfare took place, the Allies were defeated in general in the air campaign, as in other stages. Despite the enemy's armed aircraft and numerical superiority, the victories won by the aviators in air battles once again made people say "Canakkale is impassable". Retired General Muzaffer Ergüder in his memoirs; "In the skies of Çanakkale, 1 Turkish plane shot down 4 of 5 British planes in a row". This success was attributed to the personal courage of the Turkish pilot and the technical superiority of his aircraft, despite the lack of a strong air fleet. Undoubtedly, there are many lessons to be learned in the 107th anniversary of the Çanakkale Victory. Since the power of aviation and its effect on the course of the war were experienced here, significant contributions were made to the development of aviation. In order for the air operations to continue uninterruptedly and to act independently, the necessity of establishing the air war industry in peace conditions has emerged.

The most important feature of the Dardanelles War was the emergence of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the leader of the 100th year, who would be influential in Turkey's future, ensure its independence, liberation and establishment. With the revolutions he made in every field during the Republican period, he formed the basis for the advances he made in the field of aviation in the defense of the country, and made a significant contribution by leading the establishment of the aircraft and engine factories and the air war industry and the development of aviation. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk; "The Çanakkale Victory is a marvelous and congratulatory example that shows the spiritual power of the Turkish soldiers. You must be sure that it is this high spirit that won the Çanakkale Battles." Turkish Nation's Historical Epic "Çanakkale Victory"; It is also the name of a great day made epic by the resurrection of the great Turkish Nation, where high virtues such as patriotism, self-sacrifice and courage were heroically displayed. On the 107th anniversary of the Çanakkale Victory, the indivisible integrity of the homeland, unity and solidarity, independence, homeland and flag, especially the Eternal Commander-in-Chief, Great Leader Ghazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and his comrades, who carved the epic of heroism in history with golden letters with the pride of the victory and enabled us to come to these days. We commemorate all our martyrs and heroes who willingly sacrificed their lives for us with love, respect, mercy and gratitude.

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