Turkish Air Operation on the 102nd Anniversary of the Great Offensive and the Battle of the Commander-in-Chief and the Road to Victory (Part-4)

On 9 September 1922, while the cavalry units of the Turkish army entered Izmir at 10.00 am, 1 fighter aircraft landed at Salihli Square at 07.30 am and there was no flight activity on 10 September after the liberation of Izmir. The repair of 1 reconnaissance aircraft of the Front Aircraft Squadron was completed on 11 September 1922 and it was brought to Salihli together with 2 hunting aircraft in Uşak.

On 11 September 1922, the materials and weights of the Front Aircraft Squadron in Uşak were sent to Salihli by trucks due to the destruction of the railways. On 13 September 1922, the company was transferred from Salihli Square to Izmir and on 14 September 1922, Plt.Astsb.Vecihi Hürkuş was ordered to land at Gaziemir-İzmir Airfield and the airfield was ordered to be prepared for the planes that would arrive later.

Vecihi was the first pilot to land on the square with his flight to Kızılçullu Square, and when he saw the number of aeroplanes and that the square was suitable for flight, he expressed his surprise and feelings as follows: "When I saw Kızılçullu Square, it created excitement and doubt in me. The square I saw was full of aeroplanes. When I got a little closer, I saw that they belonged to the Greeks and were left in an unorganised manner. Greek pilots preferred to escape by boat instead of flying away. The distance between Izmir and Chios was a short one, only half an hour for an aeroplane, and it was such a simple flight that the most inexperienced pilot would consider it a small flight. But despite all these facts, even the aviators of an army whose morale was completely dead were so shocked by the lightning victory of our army that they could not even find time to fly their aeroplanes, which was the surest means of escape, and they threw their bodies on the seaside in a frantic and miserable state and tried to escape in boats. I was the first one to see the aviation trophies of this great victory, and I loved each aeroplane separately and caressed it with great joy."

On 14 September 1922, 4 hunting and 2 reconnaissance planes from Salihli were transferred to İzmir, 2 planes made a forced landing near İzmir and 3 reconnaissance planes were left in Salihli due to malfunction. 1 reconnaissance plane was transferred to Izmir on 15 September, and Plt.Bn.Yahya was appointed as Salihli Airfield Commander after Bl.K.Plt.Bn.Fazıl left for Izmir.

On 15 September 1922, during the aerial reconnaissance of the Çeşme and Seferihisar region by the Front Aircraft Command, it was determined that the fleeing Greek troops were trying to board the ships in a large crowd at Çeşme Pier, 50 large transport ships off Çeşme harbour and the troops were about to enter Alaçatı on the Urla and Çeşme highway. In and around Çeşme, aeroplanes swept the fleeing Greek troops with machine-gun fire and prevented the escape. After the Greek troops left Izmir, 5 different types of aircraft ready for flight, around 18.000 bombs and 40 tonnes of gasoline were captured in Seydiköy.

In addition, many aircraft fuselages, wings, enamels, wing cloths, covering boards, rubber cables, spark plugs and other materials loaded in 30 train wagons were obtained at Alsancak station. With the large amount of captured materials and the loom brought from Konya, a repair centre and large supply facilities were established in Izmir within a few years.

On 15 September, the Front Aircraft Squadron arrived at İzmir-Seydiköy Square with all its aircraft and determined that there were no active aircraft in the Greek Islands close to İzmir during reconnaissance flights on 18-20 September. On 20 September 1922, during the reconnaissance of Lesbos, it was seen that there was no activity of the Greek army, and the Greek warships on the coast of Lesbos were attacked by heroic pilots and accurate bomb drops were made. On 25 September 1922, the newspaper‘İstikbal’ reported the aerial battle of Turkish planesas follows: ‘Our planes bombarded the enemy ships on the island of Lesbos. Bombs were dropped by our aeroplanes on the enemy ships on the island of Lesbos. Ovacik was occupied by our troops."

On 23 September 1922, Colonel Muzaffer Ergüder, the Inspector of Air Forces, said: "I would like to present the operations of the Front Aircraft Squadron, which I was with until Izmir. Air superiority was achieved on 25-26 August 1922 with the newly arrived Spad fighters, the machine guns of which were practised here. Enemy reconnaissance planes could not continue their reconnaissance and our operation was kept secret and our own planes carried out their reconnaissance perfectly. In the first days, our reconnaissance aeroplanes perfectly detected the positions of the two sides at every moment and our aeroplanes provided very useful information about the general situation of the front. When the first enemy withdrawal began, our reconnaissance aeroplanes accurately detected the withdrawal of the Greek divisions in the direction of the village of Eğret and then in the direction of Uşak, the withdrawal of the northern group from Eskişehir in the general direction of Bozüyük, and the movements of our troops in this area, and the necessary information was given to the Front Command. Effective bomb and machine-gun attacks were made on the enemy columns retreating from Uşak. Especially in the first days of the withdrawal, great casualties were inflicted on the enemy columns in Uşak. During the operation, our fighter aircraft shot down one enemy aircraft and forced two of them to land. On the Western Front, 8 aeroplanes and a large quantity of aircraft equipment were captured from the enemy. One Breguet 14 B-2 Greek aircraft captured at Garipçe was made operational. In Afyon and Uşak, 3 Nieuport and 3 De Havilland-IX type aeroplanes were also captured from Greek air units, made operational and given to the Front Division. Meanwhile, the captured training aeroplane was sent to Adana Flying School. Different engine and material trophies are numerous and in hand. In Uşak alone, 18,240 aircraft bombs and 40 tonnes of petrol were captured during the operation. A combat airfield was established in Afyon to ensure the supply of our frontline aircraft during the operation. During the operation, 4 aircraft of the Front Aircraft Squadron were damaged due to various reasons and 3 of them were partially repaired. One of them remained inactive for a long time and there were no human casualties. The current strength of the squadron is 16 aircraft. During this operation, it was stated that the pilots and navigators, who were obliged to fly, could not take care of the services on the ground at all. This is evidenced by the fact that after Uşak, aircraft activity decreased despite the large number of aircraft in operation. For this reason, it has been submitted to the General Staff and the Western Front that an aircraft group consisting of 2 companies of 16 aircraft should be formed with the participation of the aircraft companies from the land troops that will be responsible for material and ground services, and also 5 aviation aircraft in Afyon and 2 aircraft in Konya have been prepared for flight." He wrote his report. On 23 September, a low altitude flight over the city was requested and for the same purpose, the first demonstration flight of hunting planes was made in İzmir on 24 September 1922. The second demonstration flight was made on 2 November 1922, again in İzmir, on the occasion of the abolition of the Sultanate. With the liberation of Istanbul on 6 October and the Mudanya Armistice Treaty signed on 11 October 1922, the air operations of the Turkish army ended.

(To be continued)