In 1937, Turkey’s leader Mustafa Kemal Atatürk gave the 3rd Aircraft Regiment, stationed in İzmir, a rather unusual mission – to photograph ancient cities, especially those in the Aegean Region, from the air.

Atatürk’s interest in archaeology was not simply an amateur interest. Atatürk, who read many books on archaeology, was as knowledgeable about these subjects as an archaeologist. He organized trips to ancient cities and made observations whenever he had the opportunity. He pioneered the establishment of many museums, sometimes gave direct orders to start archaeological excavations and personally followed up on the work on site.

In 1937, Atatürk believed Türkiye’s archaeological heritage should be documented in the best possible way. Although some of the world’s most important ancient cities were located in Anatolia at the time, this valuable heritage had not been adequately recorded using modern methods.

Wanting to remedy this, Atatürk ordered the General Staff to photograph ancient cities, especially those in the Aegean Region, from the air. So, the 3rd Aircraft Regiment was given this important task and a special project was initiated that was expected to be completed within a month.

Pilots, equipment and scope of the mission

The mission was carried out by the Land Reconnaissance Squadron of the 3rd Aircraft Regiment. This unit was equipped with Letov S-16 “Smolik” model aircraft, one of the most advanced reconnaissance aircraft of the period.

Regiment Commander Air Colonel Şefik Çakmak requested that the project be approached with great sensitivity, and the reconnaissance team under the command of Captain Fevzi Uçantürk undertook the mission.

The Letov S-16 “Smolik” model aircraft

The pilots who took part in this important mission and the areas they photographed are:

Miletus Ancient City: Pilot Chief Warrant Officer Osman Özkan, Observer Captain Basri Kula

Didim Ancient City and Temple of Apollo: Pilot Sergeant Major Ismail Erkan, Observer Second Lieutenant T. Birman

The Ancient City of Troy: Pilot Lieutenant Rüştü Atagök, Observer Second Lieutenant Hasan Ayavar

Sardis Ancient City: Pilot Chief Warrant Officer Ismail Erkan, Observer Lieutenant S. Taskin

Ancient City of Pergamon: Pilot Chief Warrant Officer Adil Ergenekon, Observer Captain Fevzi Uçantürk

Ephesus and Selcuk: Pilot Chief Warrant Officer S. Uçkun, Observer Captain Fevzi Uçantürk

Pilots carried out their flights in suitable weather conditions to ensure flight safety and to capture the best images. In order to ensure the success of the shots, low altitude and certain angle photography techniques were applied. The aim was to document the ancient cities in the most detailed and clear way.

Temple of Apollo

Ancient cities photographed

As part of this project, many important ancient cities and archaeological sites in the Aegean Region were photographed from the air. These included important settlements such as Miletus (Balat, Didim), Temple of Apollo (Didim), Ephesus (İzmir), Bergama (Pergamon, İzmir) and Sardis (Manisa).

By obtaining bird’s eye views of the most magnificent structures of the Ancient Age, the flight teams both created historical documents and provided valuable information that could guide future archaeological excavations.

Special album presented to Atatürk

After the photo shoot was completed, the highest quality images were selected and compiled into a special album. This album was prepared in a special cover covered in dark blue velvet and presented first to the General Staff and then to Mustafa Kemal Atatürk himself. A copy of the album was also presented to the Chief of General Staff at the time, Marshal Fevzi Çakmak.

Miletus

Atatürk examined this work with great interest and appreciated the efforts of the Turkish Air Force to contribute to archaeology. This project, which was a unique initiative for that period, was recorded as an early example of modern technology in the documentation of archaeological sites in Türkiye.

Today, this historical album is in the archives of the Turkish Historical Society, and the pilots and reconnaissance team who participated in this project are remembered as heroes who shed light on history from the sky.

Source: bagimsizhavacilar.com