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94-551: Konya Airport is home to the 3rd Air Wing ( Ana Jet Üssü or AJÜ ) of the 1st Air Force Command ( Hava Kuvvet Komutanlığı ) of the Turkish Air Force ( Türk Hava Kuvvetleri ). Other wings of this command are located in Eskişehir (LTBI), Ankara Akıncı (LTAE), Bandırma (LTBG) and Balıkesir (LTBF). The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights at Konya Airport: This Turkish airport-related article

188-465: A Boeing 737-700 into an airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) platform for Turkey's Peace Eagle program. The first Peace Eagle aircraft, named Kuzey (meaning North) was formally accepted into Turkish Air Force inventory on 21 February 2014. The remaining three aircraft will be named Güney (South), Doğu (East) and Batı (West). The six-year delay was a result of Boeing experiencing difficulties while developing some features required by

282-601: A bygone era. For a brief early period when air-to-air combat was just being invented, the exceptionally skilled pilot could shape the battle in the skies. For most of the war, however, the image of the ace had little to do with the reality of air warfare, in which fighters fought in formation and air superiority depended heavily on the relative availability of resources. The use of the term ace to describe these pilots began in World War ;I, when French newspapers described Adolphe Pégoud , as l'As (the ace) after he became

376-528: A common problem. Nearly 50% of Royal Air Force (RAF) victories in the Battle of Britain , for instance, do not tally statistically with recorded German losses; but at least some of this apparent over-claiming can be tallied with known wrecks, and German aircrew known to have been in British PoW camps. An overclaim of about 2-3 was common on all sides, and Soviet overclaims were sometimes higher. The claims of

470-439: A foreign partner was sought. The official bidders for the project were EADS Astrium (U.K.), OHB-System (Germany) and Telespazio (Italy); and the contract was won by Telespazio of Italy. Flying ace A flying ace , fighter ace or air ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ace

564-570: A gunner in a Boulton Paul Defiant turret-equipped fighter piloted by Flight Sergeant E. R. Thorne . On the German side, Erwin Hentschel, the Junkers Ju 87 rear gunner of Luftwaffe pilot and anti-tank ace Hans-Ulrich Rudel , had 7 confirmed kills. The crew of the bomber pilot Otto Köhnke from Kampfgeschwader 3 is credited with the destruction of 11 enemy fighters (6 French, 1 British, 4 Soviet). With

658-507: A letter to his wife as "Eleven, five by me solo — the rest shared", adding that he was "miles from being an ace". This shows that his No. 46 Squadron RAF counted shared kills, but separately from "solo" ones—one of a number of factors that seems to have varied from unit to unit. Also evident is that Lee considered a higher figure than five kills to be necessary for "ace" status. Aviation historians credit him as an ace with two enemy aircraft destroyed and five driven down out of control, for

752-512: A prominent feature with the Fokker Scourge , in the last half of 1915. This was also the beginning of a long-standing trend in warfare, showing statistically that approximately five percent of combat pilots account for the majority of air-to-air victories. As the German fighter squadrons usually fought well within German lines, it was practicable to establish and maintain very strict guidelines for

846-679: A separate branch of the Turkish Armed Forces. The first Commander of the Turkish Air Force was General Zeki Doğan. Turkey did not enter World War II on the side of the Allies until February 1945. However, the Turkish Armed Forces went on full alert and were prepared for war following the military alliance between neighbouring Bulgaria and the Axis Powers which was formalized in March 1941, and

940-449: A total of 270 F-16C/D aircraft in its inventory, all of them Block 30/40/50 models. Turkey is one of five countries that locally produce F-16 fighter jets. In 1995, the Turkish Air Force took part in NATO 's Operation Deliberate Force . Turkey provided 18 F-16s for the NATO campaign against Serbia during Operation Allied Force in 1999. Of these, 11 TAI -built F-16s were stationed at

1034-415: A total of seven victories. Other Allied countries, such as France and Italy, fell somewhere in between the very strict German approach and the relatively casual British one. They usually demanded independent witnessing of the destruction of an aircraft, making confirmation of victories scored in enemy territory very difficult. The Belgian crediting system sometimes included "out of control" to be counted as

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1128-409: A twenty-year period in various projects, with $ 45 billion earmarked for the overhaul of the Turkish Air Force, and included the commissioning new combat aircraft (consisting of multi-role and fifth generation stealth fighters) and helicopters (consisting of heavy lift, attack, medium lift and light general purpose helicopters). As of 2023 , according to International Institute for Strategic Studies ,

1222-485: A victory. The United States Army Air Service adopted French standards for evaluating victories, with two exceptions – during the summer 1918, while flying under the operational control of the British, the 17th Aero Squadron and the 148th Aero Squadron used British standards. American newsmen, in their correspondence to their papers, decided that five victories were the minimum needed to become an ace. While "ace" status

1316-520: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This geographical article about a location in Konya Province , Turkey is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Turkish Air Force The Turkish Air Force ( Turkish : Türk Hava Kuvvetleri ) is the air and space force of the Turkish Armed Forces . It traces its origins to 1 June 1911 when it was founded as

1410-615: Is a partner nation in the Airbus A400M Atlas production program. The Turkish Air Force has ordered a total of ten A400M Atlas aircraft. The first two A400M Atlas were delivered to the Turkish Air Force in 2014. All A400M Atlas deliveries to the Turkish Air Force were completed by 2018. TAI produces several components of the A400M Atlas, including the middle-front fuselage, emergency exit doors, rear fuselage upper panels, rear upper escape doors, ailerons and spoilers; which are sent to

1504-467: Is a straggler or an uncertain pilot among the enemy... Shoot him down", which would have been an efficient and relatively low-risk way of increasing the number of kills. At the same time, the Soviet 1943 "Instruction For Air Combat" stated that the first priority must be the enemy commander, which was a much riskier task, but one giving the highest return in case of a success. The Korean War of 1950–53 marked

1598-564: Is scheduled to be launched and placed into orbit in 2025. Göktürk-2 is a 2m resolution reconnaissance satellite for use by the National Intelligence Organization , launched in 2012. Göktürk-1 is a 0.8m resolution reconnaissance satellite for use by the Turkish Armed Forces , launched in 2016. Some electro-optical parts that were required for the Göktürk-1 (0.8m resolution) satellite were beyond TAI's technological know-how, thus

1692-588: Is the USAF designation, one of the three was actually a US Naval aviator, with an equivalent job, but using the USN designation of Radar Intercept Officer or RIO). The series of wars and conflicts between Israel and its neighbors began with Israeli independence in 1948 and continued for over three decades. Brig. General Jalil Zandi (1951–2001) was an ace fighter pilot in the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force , serving for

1786-424: Is varied but is usually considered to be five or more. The concept of the " ace " emerged in 1915 during World War I , at the same time as aerial dogfighting . It was a propaganda term intended to provide the home front with a cult of the hero in what was otherwise a war of attrition . The individual actions of aces were widely reported and the image was disseminated of the ace as a chivalrous knight reminiscent of

1880-497: The 379th Bombardment Group , was credited with 19 kills and the Consolidated B-24 Liberator gunner Arthur J. Benko ( 374th Bombardment Squadron ) with 16 kills. The Royal Air Force's leading bomber gunner, Wallace McIntosh , was credited with eight kills while serving as a rear turret gunner on Avro Lancasters , including three on one mission. Flight Sergeant F. J. Barker contributed to 12 victories while flying as

1974-621: The Airbus Military factory in Spain for assembly. The Turkish Air Force also uses the C-130 Hercules , C-160 Transall and CASA CN-235 military transport aircraft. The transport helicopters used by the Turkish Armed Forces include the Boeing CH-47 Chinook , Sikorsky S-70 Black Hawk and Eurocopter AS532 Cougar . As of 2023 , the Turkish Air Force operates HALE UCAVs such as

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2068-689: The Allied Air Command (AIRCOM) at the Ramstein Air Base in Germany became the sole Allied Air Component Command of NATO. Turkey is one of five NATO member states which are part of the nuclear sharing policy of the alliance, together with Belgium, Germany , Italy, and the Netherlands . A total of 90 B61 nuclear bombs are hosted at the Incirlik Air Base , 40 of which are allocated for use by

2162-737: The Aviation Squadrons by the Ottoman Empire . It was composed of the Army Aviation Squadrons founded in 1911, and the Naval Aviation Squadrons founded in 1914 which used seaplanes . The Air Force as a branch of the Turkish Armed Forces was founded by the Grand National Assembly of Turkey on 23 April 1920. In 1998, the Turkish Armed Forces announced a program of modernization worth US$ 160 billion over

2256-509: The Battle of Đồng Hới in 1972. Quite often air-to-air losses of US fighter jets were re-attributed to surface-to-air missiles , as it was considered "less embarrassing". By the war's end, the US had nevertheless confirmed 249 air-to-air US aircraft losses while the figures for North Vietnam are disputed, ranging from 195 North Vietnamese aircraft from US claims to 131 from Soviet, North Vietnamese and allied records. American air-to-air combat during

2350-659: The Baykar Akıncı , and MALE UCAVs such as the TAI Aksungur , TAI Anka , and the IAI Heron . The jet-engined UCAV Baykar Kızılelma is developed for the Turkish Air Force and Turkish Naval Forces ; its maiden flight was successfully completed on 14 December 2022. Having been unable to purchase the armed version of Predator UCAVs from the United States, Turkey has fitted these drones with indigenous MAM series munitions, while

2444-652: The Hava Eğitim Kolordu Komutanlığı (Air Education Corps Command) was founded and all education was united under this command. The command was renamed as Hava Eğitim Komutanlığı (Air Education Command) in 1957. Upon Turkey's membership to NATO in 1952, the process of modernization was accelerated. In 1962 the Taktik Hava Kuvveti (Tactical Air Force) was founded by upgrading the Hava Tümeni (Air Division) units to corps-level organizations. In 1972,

2538-624: The Italo-Turkish War of 1911, the Ottomans had to admit their disadvantage of not possessing an air force. Subsequently, the Ottomans employed German and French engineers who helped them to establish an air force with a dozen airplanes. The Ottoman Aviation Squadrons participated in the Balkan Wars (1912–1913) and World War I (1914–1918). The fleet size reached its apex in December 1916, when

2632-697: The Konya Air Station ( Konya Hava İstasyonu ). With the formation of the Grand National Assembly (GNA) by Mustafa Kemal and his colleagues on 23 April 1920, in Ankara, and the reorganization of the army, the Branch of Air Forces ( Kuva-yı Havaiye Şubesi ) was established under the Office of War ( Harbiye Dairesi ) of the GNA. A few damaged aircraft belonging to the GNA were repaired, and afterwards used in combat. In July 1922, it

2726-555: The NATO is Leman Altınçekiç , they served in the Turkish Air Force. The history of Ottoman military aviation dates back to between 20 June 1909 and 1 July 1911. In 1911 the former commander of the Action Army Mahmud Sevket Pasa achieved to send some Turkish military officers to the French Bleriot aviation school. The same year the establishment of a Turkish airforce was taken into consideration. During

2820-648: The Second Sino-Japanese War . The Spanish ace Joaquín García Morato scored 40 victories for the Nationalists during the Spanish Civil War. Part of the outside intervention in the war was the supply of "volunteer" foreign pilots to both sides. Russian and American aces joined the Republican air force, while the Nationalists included Germans and Italians. The Soviet Volunteer Group began operations in

2914-772: The Soviet Air Force . The highest scoring fighter ace against Western allied forces were Hans-Joachim Marseille (158 kills) and Heinz Bär (208 kills, of which 124 in the west). Notable are also Heinz-Wolfgang Schnaufer , with 121 kills the highest-scoring night-fighter ace, and Werner Mölders , the first pilot to claim more than 100 kills in the history of aerial warfare . Pilots of other Axis powers also achieved high scores, such as Ilmari Juutilainen ( Finnish Air Force , 94 kills), Constantin Cantacuzino ( Romanian Air Force , 69 kills) or Mato Dukovac ( Croatian Air Force , 44 kills). The highest scoring Japanese fighter pilot

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3008-615: The United Nations peacekeeping mission in Bosnia-Herzegovina , employing two squadrons (one in the Ghedi fighter wing, and after 2000 one in the Aviano fighter wing). They returned to Turkey in 2001. In 2006, 4 Turkish F-16 fighter jets were deployed for NATO's Baltic Air Policing operation. In December 2007, the Turkish Air Force initiated Operation Northern Iraq, which continued until

3102-673: The Air School was re-established in Eskişehir and its first students graduated that same year. In the same year, the Air Force was deployed to take part in a campaign aimed to suppress the Sheikh Said rebellion . The Inspectorate of Air Forces was reorganized as the Undersecretariat of the Ministry of Defense in 1928 and new schools were found for non-pilot personnel. Some personnel were sent to

3196-717: The Aviation Squadrons were reorganized as the General Inspectorate of Air Forces. After the Armistice of Mudros and the occupation of the Ottoman Empire by the Allies in 1919, some Turkish aviators tried to build new units in Istanbul , İzmir , Konya, Elazığ and Diyarbakır with planes left over from World War I and tried to bring together flight personnel. During the Turkish War of Independence , Turkish pilots joined

3290-1067: The Axis forces. The large cities in western Turkey were darkened at nights, and anti-aircraft guns and searchlights were deployed for defence against possible enemy planes. Almost all available money in the Turkish Government Treasury was used to purchase new weapons from any available provider in the world. The Turkish Air Force received large numbers of new aircraft in this period, including Supermarine Spitfire Mk.I/V/IX/XIX, Curtiss Falcon CW-22R/B , Fairey Battle -I, Avro Anson -I, Hawker Hurricane I/II, Morane-Saulnier M.S.406 , Curtiss P-40 Tomahawk , Curtiss P-40 Kittyhawk, Westland Lysander -I, Consolidated B-24D Liberator B-24 , Bristol Blenheim IV/V, Bristol Beaufort , Bristol Beaufighter Mk.I/X, Focke-Wulf Fw 190 -A3, Martin 187 Baltimore , De Havilland DH.98 Mosquito Mk.III/IV, Douglas B-26B/C Invader , P-47D Thunderbolt and Douglas C-47A/B Dakota . The Air Machinist School ( Hava Makinist Okulu )

3384-624: The Baykar Akıncı HALE UCAV can also be armed with the SOM cruise missile . The runway tests of TAI Anka-3 , a jet -powered, flying wing type UCAV with stealth technology , began in April 2023. Its maiden flight was successfully completed on 28 December 2023. As of 2024, the Turkish Air Force operates the military intelligence satellites Göktürk-2 (in orbit since 2012), Göktürk-1 (since 2016), and Türksat 5A (since 2021), while Göktürk-3

3478-521: The British system also accepted single claims of the pilots and deeds such as enemy planes "out of control", "driven down" and "forced to land". Aerial victories were also divided among different pilots. This led to vast overclaims on the British and partially on the US American side. Some air forces, such as the USAAF, also included kills on the ground as victories. The most accurate figures usually belong to

3572-549: The JSF program, agreeing to purchase a total of 116 F-35 Lightning II aircraft (100 F-35A CTOL for the Turkish Air Force and 16 F-35B STOVL for the Turkish Naval Forces ). Turkey placed an initial order for 30 F-35 Lightning IIs , six of which were completed as of 2019 and two more were at the assembly line in 2020. The first four F-35As were delivered to Luke Air Force Base between 21 June 2018 and 5 April 2019 for

3666-561: The Luftwaffe pilots are considered as mostly reasonable and more accurate than those according to the British and American system. To quote an extreme example, in the Korean War , both the U.S. and Communist air arms claimed a 10-to-1 victory/loss ratio. While aces are generally thought of exclusively as fighter pilots, some have accorded this status to gunners on bombers or reconnaissance aircraft , observers in two-seater fighters such as

3760-650: The Middle East. A total of 46 TAI -built F-16s have been exported to the Egyptian Air Force under the Peace Vector IV Program (1993–1995), making it TAI's second-largest F-16 customer after the Turkish Air Force. On 11 July 2002, Turkey became a Level 3 partner of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) development program, and on 25 January 2007, Turkey officially joined the production phase of

3854-680: The NATO base in Aviano , Italy, while the other 7 were based in Ankara , Turkey. All were equipped with laser-guided bombs using the LANTIRN night vision system. Turkish jets had previously patrolled Balkan airspace, providing protection for attacking aircraft. During this allied air campaign, TAI-built F-16s set a world CAP record by patrolling for 9 hours and 22 minutes above the Balkan theatre. Normally, CAP missions last between 3 and 4 hours. Turkey participated in

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3948-440: The Ottoman Aviation Squadrons had 90 active combat aircraft. Some early help for the Ottoman Aviation Squadrons came from the Imperial German Fliegertruppe (known by that name before October 1916), with future Central Powers 13-victory flying ace Hans-Joachim Buddecke flying with the Turks early in World War I as just one example. The General Inspectorate of Air Forces ( Kuva-yı Havaiye Müfettiş-i Umumiliği ) By July 1918,

4042-585: The Second Sino-Japanese War as early as December 2, 1937, resulting in 28 Soviet aces. The Flying Tigers were American military pilots who recruited sub rosa to aid the Chinese Nationalists . They spent the summer and autumn of 1941 in transit to China, and did not begin flying combat missions until December 20, 1941. In World War II many air forces adopted the British practice of crediting fractional shares of aerial victories, resulting in fractions or decimal scores, such as 11 + 1 ⁄ 2 or 26.83. Some U.S. commands also credited aircraft destroyed on

4136-439: The Turkey-Syria border; the Syrian pilot was reported to have safely ejected from the aircraft. On 24 November 2015, a Turkish F-16 shot down a Russian Su-24 strike aircraft which, according to Turkish authorities, had violated Turkish airspace by crossing the Turkey-Syria border. The Russian government contested those claims, stating that the aircraft never entered Turkish airspace. The pilot and navigator both ejected from

4230-418: The Turkish Air Force has an active strength of 50,000 military personnel and operates approximately 295 manned fixed-wing aircraft, 35 helicopters, and 52 unmanned aerial vehicles . In terms of aircraft quantity, it is the largest air force in Europe. The world's first black pilot, Ahmet Ali Çelikten , and the world's first female fighter pilot, Sabiha Gökçen , and the first female jet pilot accredited in

4324-405: The Turkish Air Force in case of a nuclear conflict, but their use requires the approval of NATO. In 1984, the Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) was established and Turkey started to produce fighter aircraft locally under license, including a total of 232 F-16 Fighting Falcon (Block 30/40/50) aircraft for the Turkish Air Force. Making it one of the only five countries in the world which produce

4418-407: The Turkish Air Force launched air strikes against ISIL and PKK targets in Syria and Iraq. On 22 June 2012, during the Syrian civil war , a Turkish RF-4E Phantom II reconnaissance aircraft was shot down by a Syrian surface-to-air missile and crashed into the Mediterranean Sea; both the pilot and the navigator lost their lives. On 23 March 2014, a Turkish F-16 shot down a Syrian MiG-23 near

4512-405: The Turkish Air Force, with an option for two more aircraft. TAI is the primary subcontractor for the Peace Eagle parts production, aircraft modification, assembly and tests. Another subcontractor, HAVELSAN , is responsible for system analysis and software support. Signed on 23 July 2003, the contract to Boeing was valued at US$ 1.385 billion, which was later reduced by US$ 59 million because some of

4606-486: The Turkish Air Force. Turkey demanded compensation of US$ 183 million from Boeing for the delay. The payment of the penalty is requested in the form of increased start-up support period from an initially planned two years to five years, as well as three years of software maintenance service and around US$ 32 million in spare parts. In 1994 the Turkish Air Force signed a deal to lease two and purchase seven Boeing KC-135R Stratotanker aerial refueling tanker aircraft. Following

4700-643: The Ukrainian government claims that Ukrainian pilot Vadym Voroshylov shot down 5 Shahed 136 drones before being forced to eject from his MiG-29 aircraft after it was hit by debris from the last Shahed-136 that had shot down. Voroshylov had shot down two Russian cruise missiles the day prior. According to the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, during the fighting in Ukraine, Lieutenant Colonel Ilya Sizov "destroyed 12 Ukrainian aircraft (3 Su-24 aircraft, 3 Su-27 aircraft, 3 MiG-29 aircraft, 2 Mi-24 helicopters, 1 Mi-14 helicopter) and two Buk-M1 anti-aircraft missile complexes. In February 2024, it

4794-432: The United Kingdom and France for training; others were sent to the United States and Italy in 1930. From 1932, the air regiments were considered to be a separate combat arm and started training its own personnel. Turkish aviators wore blue uniforms from 1933. The Air War College ( Hava Harp Akademisi ) was established in 1937. By 1940, Turkish air brigades had more than 500 combat aircraft in its inventory, becoming

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4888-501: The Vietnam War generally matched intruding United States fighter-bombers against radar-directed integrated North Vietnamese air defense systems. American F-4 Phantom II , F-8 Crusader and F-105 fighter crews usually had to contend with surface-to-air missiles , anti-aircraft artillery , and machine gun fire before opposing fighters attacked them. The long-running conflict produced 22 aces: 17 North Vietnamese pilots, two American pilots, three American weapon systems officers or WSOs (WSO

4982-490: The Warsaw Pact and others had begun arming North Vietnam with MiG-21 jets. The VPAF had adopted a strategy of "guerrilla warfare in the sky" utilizing quick hit-and-run attacks against US targets, continually flying low and forcing faster, more heavily armed US jets to engage in dog-fighting where the MiG-17 and MiG-21 had superior maneuverability. The VPAF had carried out the first air-raid on US ships since WW2, with two aces including Nguyễn Văn Bảy attacking US ships during

5076-438: The advent of more advanced technology, a third category of ace appeared. Charles B. DeBellevue became not only the first U.S. Air Force weapon systems officer (WSO) to become an ace but also the top American ace of the Vietnam War , with six victories. Close behind with five were fellow WSO Jeffrey Feinstein and Radar Intercept Officer William P. Driscoll . The first military aviators to score five or more victories on

5170-484: The air arm fighting over its own territory, where many wrecks can be located, and even identified, and where shot down enemy aircrews are either killed or captured. It is for this reason that at least 76 of the 80 aircraft credited to Manfred von Richthofen can be tied to known British losses. The German Jagdstaffeln flew defensively, on their own side of the lines, in part due to General Hugh Trenchard 's policy of offensive patrol. In World War II overclaims were

5264-410: The aircraft gun camera came into general usage by the Luftwaffe as well as the RAF and USAAF, partly in hope of alleviating inaccurate victory claims. In World War I the standards for confirmation of aerial victories were developed. The most strict were the German and French ones which required both the existence of traceable wrecks or observations of independent observers. In contrast to this,

5358-689: The aircraft; the navigator was rescued, but the pilot was shot and killed by Syrian rebel ground fire while descending by parachute. The incident sparked a crisis in Turkey's relations with Russia, which were restored in 2016 when Turkish President Erdoğan expressed his regret and condolences to Russian President Putin. Other important air strikes by the Turkish Air Force in recent years include Operation Euphrates Shield (2016–2017), Operation Olive Branch (2018–2019), Operation Peace Spring (2019), Turkish intervention in Libya (2020), Operation Spring Shield (2020), and Operation Claw Sword (2022). The Turkish Air Force contributes personnel and aircraft to

5452-409: The arrival of all seven purchased aircraft, the two leased KC-135Rs were returned to the United States. All seven KC-135R Stratotanker aircraft of the Turkish Air Force have received the Pacer CRAG (Compass, Radar And GPS) upgrade. The KC-135R-CRAG Stratotanker aerial refueling tanker aircraft of the Turkish Air Force are operated by the 101st Squadron, stationed at the Incirlik Air Base . Turkey

5546-414: The command centers and air bases of NATO and actively participates in the exercises of the alliance in Europe and North America. The headquarters of NATO's Allied Air Component Command for Southern Europe (formerly designated as AIRSOUTH and originally headquartered in Naples , Italy) was established in İzmir , Turkey, on 11 August 2004. Allied Air Command İzmir was deactivated on 1 June 2013, when

5640-450: The death or capture of the enemy aircrew. Allied fighter pilots fought mostly in German-held airspace and were often not in a position to confirm that an enemy aircraft had crashed, so these victories were frequently claimed as "driven down", "forced to land", or "out of control" (called "probables" in later wars). These victories were usually included in a pilot's totals and citations for decorations. The British high command considered

5734-409: The early Bristol F.2b , and navigators/weapons officers in jet aircraft such as the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II . Because pilots often teamed with different air crew members, an observer or gunner might be an ace while his pilot is not, or vice versa. Observer aces constitute a sizable minority in many lists. In World War I, the observer Gottfried Ehmann of the German Luftstreitkräfte

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5828-506: The end of February 2008, eventually becoming a part of Operation Sun . At the initial phase of this operation, on 16 December 2007, the TuAF used the AGM-65 Maverick and AGM-142 Popeye/Have Nap during a night bombardment for the first time. In August 2011, the Turkish Air Force launched multiple aerial raids against the PKK in Iraq , striking 132 targets in six days. In 2013, the Turkish Air Force began striking ISIL targets in Syria and Iraq. In July 2015, during Operation Martyr Yalçın ,

5922-408: The facilities of TAI in Ankara, Turkey, with the participation of Boeing and a number of Turkish companies. As of mid-2007, systems integration was ongoing and airworthiness certification works continued. In September 2007, Boeing completed the first test flight of Turkey's AEW&C 737. On 4 June 2008, it was announced that Turkish Aerospace Industries completed the first in-country modification of

6016-456: The feat, including legendary test pilot Chuck Yeager . In the Soviet offensive of 1944 in the Karelian Isthmus , Finnish pilot Hans Wind shot down 30 Soviet aircraft in 12 days with his Bf 109 G . In doing so, he obtained "ace in a day" status three times. During the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, Pakistani pilot Muhammad Mahmood Alam claimed to have downed five aircraft in a single sortie on 7 September 1965 with four downed in less than

6110-439: The first pilot to down five German aircraft. The British initially used the term "star-turns" (a show business term). The successes of such German ace pilots as Max Immelmann and Oswald Boelcke , and especially Manfred von Richthofen , the most victorious fighter pilot of the First World War, were well-publicized for the benefit of civilian morale, and the Pour le Mérite , Prussia's highest award for gallantry, became part of

6204-400: The force underwent major reorganization. The roundel was changed, the fleets were rebuilt and propelled airplanes were phased out in favour of jet-powered ones. In 1974 the Air Force was employed during the Turkish invasion of Cyprus . With the arrival of the first batch of 40 third generation F-4E Phantom II fighter jets ordered in 1972 and acquired between 1974 and 1978, the Air Force

6298-481: The fourth generation jet fighter. The air force had previously received 8 F-16s that were purchased directly from the United States, bringing the total number of F-16s received by the air force to 245. In 2007 TAI built 30 F-16 Block 50+ aircraft for the airforce and applied the CCIP modernization program to 117 of its Block 40 and 50 F-16s, bringing them to the Block 50+ configuration. Dozens of TAI-built F-16s were also exported to other countries, particularly in

6392-487: The full duration of the Iran–Iraq War . His record of eight confirmed and three probable victories against Iraqi combat aircraft qualifies him as an ace and the most successful pilot of that conflict and the most successful Grumman F-14 Tomcat pilot worldwide. Brig. General Shahram Rostami was another Iranian ace. He was also an F-14 pilot. He had six confirmed kills. His victories include one MiG-21 , two MiG-25s , and three Mirage F1s . Colonel Mohammed Rayyan

6486-422: The ground as equal to aerial victories. The Soviets distinguished between solo and group kills, as did the Japanese, though the Imperial Japanese Navy stopped crediting individual victories (in favor of squadron tallies) in 1943. The Soviet Air Forces has the top Allied pilots in terms of aerial victories, Ivan Kozhedub credited with 66 victories and Alexander Pokryshkin scored 65 victories. It also claimed

6580-405: The largest air force in the Balkans and the Middle East. The growing inventory of air brigades required another structural change, which was made in 1940. The Air Undersecretariat under the Ministry of National Defense for logistical affairs and the General Staff for educational affairs were united to form the Air Force Command ( Hava Kuvvetleri Komutanlığı ) in 1944. Thus, the Air Force became

6674-564: The largest sustained bombardment campaign in history prompted rapid deployment of the nascent air-force, and the first engagement of the war was in April 1965 at Thanh Hóa Bridge which saw relatively outdated subsonic MiG-17 units thrown against technically superior F-105 Thunderchief and F-8 Crusader , damaging 1 F-8 and killing two F-105 jets. The MiG-17 generally did not have sophisticated radars and missiles and relied on dog-fighting and maneuverability to score kills on US aircraft. Since US aircraft heavily outnumbered North Vietnamese ones,

6768-540: The number of targets available also contributed to the apparently lower numbers on the Allied side, since the number of operational Luftwaffe fighters was normally well below 1,500, with the total aircraft number never exceeding 5,000, and the total aircraft production of the Allies being nearly triple that of the other side . A difference in tactics might have been a factor as well; Erich Hartmann , for example, stated "See if there

6862-627: The occupation of neighbouring Greece by the Axis Powers in April 1941. Within a year, Turkey's borders were surrounded by German forces in the northwest and west, and Italian forces in the southwest. The Turkish Air Force made daily reconnaissance flights over Bulgaria, Greece, the Greek Islands in the Aegean Sea , and the Dodecanese Islands which then belonged to Italy, to monitor the positions of

6956-410: The official recognition of victory claims by German pilots. Shared victories were either credited to one of the pilots concerned or to the unit as a whole – the destruction of the aircraft had to be physically confirmed by locating its wreckage, or an independent witness to the destruction had to be found. Victories were also counted for aircraft forced down within German lines, as this usually resulted in

7050-719: The only female aces of the war: Lydia Litvyak scored 12 victories and Yekaterina Budanova achieved 11. The highest scoring pilots from the Western allies against the German Luftwaffe were Johnnie Johnson ( RAF , 38 kills) and Gabby Gabreski ( USAAF , 28 kills in the air and 3 on the ground). In the Pacific theater Richard Bong became the top American fighter ace with 40 kills. In the Mediterranean theater Pat Pattle achieved at least 40 kills, mainly against Italian planes, and became

7144-450: The praise of fighter pilots to be detrimental to equally brave bombers and reconnaissance aircrew – so that the British air services did not publish official statistics on the successes of individuals. Nonetheless, some pilots did become famous through press coverage, making the British system for the recognition of successful fighter pilots much more informal and somewhat inconsistent. One pilot, Arthur Gould Lee , described his own score in

7238-414: The remainder of the war. The few aces among combat aviators have historically accounted for the majority of air-to-air victories in military history. World War I introduced the systematic use of true single-seat fighter aircraft, with enough speed and agility to catch and maintain contact with targets in the air, coupled with armament sufficiently powerful to destroy the targets. Aerial combat became

7332-481: The requirements were not met. The down payment to Boeing amounted to US$ 637 million. The project consists of the delivery of 737-700 airframes, ground radars and control systems, ground control segments for mission crew training, mission support and maintenance support. Peace Eagle 1 was modified and tested by Boeing Integrated Defense Systems in Seattle, Washington, USA. Peace Eagle 2, 3 and 4 were modified and tested at

7426-732: The sale of Block 70 F-16 fighter jets and the modernization program for the F-16 fleet of the Turkish Airforce. In January 2024, the U.S. State Department passed a $ 23 billion package that included the modernization of existing F16 fleets and new 40 F16 Block 70 fighter jets, as well as a wide range of ammunitions. As of August 2024, the project is continuing on as planned, as the Turkish Defense Minister said. A total of four Boeing 737 AEW&C Peace Eagle ( Barış Kartalı ) aircraft (together with ground support systems) were ordered by

7520-525: The same date, thus each becoming an "ace in a day", were pilot Julius Arigi and observer/gunner Johann Lasi of the Austro-Hungarian air force, on August 22, 1916, when they downed five Italian aircraft. The feat was repeated five more times during World War I. Becoming an ace in a day became relatively common during World War II. A total of 68 U.S. pilots (43 Army Air Forces , 18 Navy , and seven Marine Corps pilots) were credited with

7614-550: The same year, the 9th Fighter Wing (9’uncu Ana Jet Üssü) was founded in Balıkesir as Turkey's first fighter wing; the 191st, 192nd, and 193rd squadrons being the first ones which were established. Further training in the United States followed, usually involving jet manufacturers. In 1951 the Air Force Academy was formed with integrating some air schools in Eskişehir and its first academic year started on 1 October 1951. In 1956

7708-777: The top fighter ace of the British Commonwealth in the war. Fighting on different sides, the French pilot Pierre Le Gloan had the unusual distinction of shooting down four German, seven Italian and seven British aircraft, the latter while he was flying for Vichy France in Syria . The German Luftwaffe continued the tradition of "one pilot, one kill", and now referred to top scorers as Experten . Some Luftwaffe pilots achieved very high scores, such as Erich Hartmann (352 kills) or Gerhard Barkhorn (301 kills). There were 107 German pilots with more than 100 kills. Most of these were won against

7802-557: The training of Turkish pilots. On 17 July 2019, the U.S. Senate passed a defense spending bill which prevents the Turkish Air Force from obtaining the F-35 stealth fighter aircraft due to the country's acquisition of the S-400 missile system from Russia . As of 2023, the U.S. has not refunded the $ 1.4 billion payment made by Turkey for purchasing the F-35A fighters and instead offered to support

7896-421: The transition from piston-engined propeller driven aircraft to more modern jet aircraft. As such, it saw the world's first jet-vs-jet aces. The highest scoring ace of the war is considered to be the Soviet pilot Nikolai Sutyagin who claimed 22 kills. The Vietnam People's Air Force had begun development of its modern air-forces, primarily trained by Czechoslovak and Soviet trainers since 1956. The outbreak of

7990-551: The uniform of a leading German ace. In the Luftstreitkräfte , the Pour le Mérite was nicknamed Der blaue Max /The Blue Max, after Max Immelmann, who was the first pilot to receive this award. Initially, German aviators had to destroy eight Allied aircraft to receive this medal. As the war progressed, the qualifications for Pour le Mérite were raised, but successful German fighter pilots continued to be hailed as national heroes for

8084-771: Was Tetsuzō Iwamoto , who achieved 216 kills. A number of factors probably contributed to the very high totals of the top German aces. For a limited period (especially during Operation Barbarossa ), many Axis victories were over obsolescent aircraft and either poorly trained or inexperienced Allied pilots. In addition, Luftwaffe pilots generally flew many more individual sorties (sometimes well over 1000) than their Allied counterparts. Moreover, they often kept flying combat missions until they were captured, incapacitated, or killed, while successful Allied pilots were usually either promoted to positions involving less combat flying or routinely rotated back to training bases to pass their valuable combat knowledge to younger pilots. An imbalance in

8178-616: Was an Iraqi ace fighter pilot who shot down 10 Iranian aircraft, mostly F-4 Phantoms during the war. Air Commodore Muhammad Mahmood Alam was an ace fighter pilot in the Pakistan Air Force . During the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 , Alam claimed to have downed five aircraft in a single sortie on 7 September 1965 with four downed in less than a minute, establishing a world record. These claims, however, have been widely contested by Indian Air Force officials. On 13 October 2022,

8272-558: Was credited with 12 kills, for which he was awarded the Golden Military Merit Cross . In the Royal Flying Corps the observer Charles George Gass tallied 39 victories, of which 5 were actually confirmed. The spread was caused by the lavish British system of aerial victory confirmation. In World War II, United States Army Air Forces S/Sgt. Michael Arooth, a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress tail gunner serving in

8366-466: Was generally won only by fighter pilots, bombers and reconnaissance crews on both sides also destroyed some enemy aircraft, typically in defending themselves from attack. The most notable example of a non-pilot ace in World War I is Charles George Gass with 39 accredited aerial victories. Between the two world wars, there were two theaters that produced flying aces, the Spanish Civil War and

8460-410: Was reorganized as Aircraft Maintenance School ( Hava Uçak Bakım Okulu ) on 2 January 1950 to unite schools responsible for training non-pilot Air Force personnel. In 1950 it also was decided to upgrade the Air Force fleet through the inclusion of jets. Eight pilots were sent to the United States for jet pilot training. They graduated in 1951 and started training jet pilots in the Turkish Air Force. In

8554-561: Was reorganized as the Inspectorate of Air Forces ( Kuva-yı Havaiye Müfettişliği ) at Konya. After the establishment of the Republic of Turkey on 29 October 1923, plans were made to form a modern air force. Originally consisting of three normal and one naval aviation units, and an air school, the number of units was increased to 10 normal and three naval aviation units. Starting in 1924, personnel were sent abroad for flight education. In 1925,

8648-427: Was reorganized. This was followed by a second order in 1978 of another batch of 40 units (32 F-4Es and 8 RF-4Es, deliveries began in 1980). Another batch of 70 more F-4Es were acquired between 1981 and 1987, and 40 more F-4Es were acquired between 1991 and 1992, as well as 46 more RF-4E reconnaissance aircraft. In total, the Turkish Air Force received 236 F-4 Phantom II (182 F-4E and 54 RF-4E) aircraft. In 1997, IAI

8742-537: Was reported that Captain Earl Ehrhart V of the United States Marine Corps had shot down seven Houthi drones while piloting an AV-8B Harrier II ground-attack aircraft from the amphibious assault ship USS Bataan . Realistic assessment of enemy casualties is important for intelligence purposes, so most air forces expend considerable effort to ensure accuracy in victory claims. In World War II,

8836-570: Was selected to upgrade 54 of Turkey's F-4E fighter aircraft to the F-4E Terminator 2020 standard. The upgraded aircraft were delivered between 1999 and 2003; of these, 26 aircraft were upgraded in Israel and the remaining 28 were upgraded in Turkey. In 1983 Turkey ordered the fourth-generation F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter aircraft and started receiving them in 1987. The Turkish Air Force has received

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