The First Pilot Of The Turkish Air Force: Mehmet Fesa Evrensev

Abstract

With the adaptation of the results of the Industrial Revolution to the aviation sector, the first motorized airplane met the sky. As a reflection of this process, the first states to include airplanes in their military inventory were the USA, France and Italy. In 1911, the Ottoman Ministry of War started initiatives for two members of the personnel to receive pilot training in Europe after the Western States included airplanes in their inventories. As a result of an exam conducted with a circular issued to the armies, Cavalry Captain Mehmet Fesa and Engineer First Lieutenant Yusuf Kenan were awarded the right to study pilot training together.

Mehmet Fesa was the first Turkish officer to receive training at the Flight School of the Bleriot Aircraft Factory in France and to be successful. Thus, he became the first pilot of the Turkish Air Force. He holds the number 780 pilot’s badge in France and the number 1 pilot’s badge in the Turkish Air Force. On his return from France, he made the first flight in Turkish skies as a Turkish pilot. He participated in the Balkan War and contributed to the commanding authorities’ administration and management of the army with his reconnaissance activities.

Although he was assigned to the Caucasus Front at the beginning of World War I, he was captured when the Russians shot down the ship carrying Mehmet Fesa, and he remained in Siberia for six years. In 1920, he returned from captivity and participated in the Turkish War of Independence during the Eastern Front Battles. After the National Struggle, he retired as a major and worked as an interpreter for a while. He died in 1951.

This study will be presented within the framework of the documents obtained from the Archives and Military History Department of the Ministry of National Defense (MSB) and the periodicals as well as memoirs reflecting the period. The research reveals the place and status of Mehmet Fesa Evrensev, who has an exceptional place in the history of Turkish aviation and was the first pilot of the Turkish Air Force.

There is no study that would require the approval of the Ethical Committee in this article.

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