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| Turkey, situated in the
extreme south-eastern corner of NATO's territory, was a key NATO ally
during the Cold War. The country straddles the strategically important
Bosporus which connects the Mediterranean with the Black Sea. Furthermore,
Turkey is quite close to the volatile Middle East. Therefore, it's Armed
Forces are not only important to the country itself. Today's Turk Hava
Kuvvetleri (Turkish Air Force) flies a mix of new F-16's and ageing F-4
and F-5 aircraft. Apart from that, the Army and the Jandarma (Military
Police) have aircraft of their own. Below a selection of the aircraft of
the Turkish Air Force, Army Aviation and Jandarma. All pictures (c) Hans Rolink. |
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One
of the more unusual types to have flown in Turkish military service was
the Bellanca Citabria. Better known as a private plane, the type was used
by the Army for observation work. |
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Mil Mi.17 J792M19 |
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AB.205A J-4416 Another helicopter type flying with the Jandarma and also seen at Güvercinlik is the Agusta AB.205A, an example of which is J-4416. |
| UH-60A J-1902 The other important helicopter type in Jandarma service is the UH-60A. This Blackhawk, J-1902, was also seen at Güvercinlik op 27 April 1999. |
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AH-1W 10603 The Turkish Army Aviation, Turk Kara Kuvvetleri, is predominantly a helicopter force. It's teeth are amongst others formed by the Bell AH-1W Cobra. This AH-1W was seen on 27 April 1999 at it's Güvercinlik base. |
| F-16C 86-0070 Previously known as Mürted, the home base of this F-16C 86-0070 is now known as Akinci. This base is home to 4 Ana Jet Us Komutanligi and the F-16C is part of 141 Filo. |
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| F-5A 01405 A line-up of 132 Filo F-5A's at Konya, headed by 01405. Also note the ex Dutch NF-5's in the background. |
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F-5B 21283 Konya, 28 April 1999. F-5B two-seater 21283 of 132 Filo awaits it's crew for the next flight. |
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F-4E 77-0299 |
