The Istanbul Aviation Museum, a.k.a. Turkish Air Force Museum, ( tr, Havacılık Müzesi or Hava Kuvvetleri Müzesi) is a military-based museum for aviation, owned and operated by the
Turkish Air Force
The Turkish Air Force ( tr, ) is the aerial warfare service branch of the Turkish Armed Forces. The Turkish Air Force can trace its origins back to June 1911 when it was founded by the Ottoman Empire, however, the air force as it is known to ...
. The museum is located in
Yeşilköy
(; meaning "Green Village"; prior to 1926, San Stefano or Santo Stefano el, Άγιος Στέφανος, Ágios Stéfanos, tr, Ayastefanos) is an affluent neighbourhood ( tr, mahalle) in the district of Bakırköy, Istanbul, Turkey, on the M ...
neighborhood of
Bakırköy
Bakırköy is a neighbourhood, municipality and district on the European side of Istanbul, Turkey. The quarter is densely populated, has a residential character and is inhabited by an upper middle class population. The municipality of Bakırköy ...
district in
Istanbul
)
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code = 34000 to 34990
, area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side)
, registration_plate = 34
, blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD
, blank_i ...
,
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...
. The area of the museum is
The museum not only presents various warplanes, helicopters and weapons used by the Turkish Air Force, but also civilian air transport and many samples of Turkish aeronautics history, starting from the
Ottoman era.
History
At the end of the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, the presence in the hangars of some German and other aircraft, the oldest from 1912, caused the Inspectorship of Air Force to decide to found an aviation museum. Collection of booty aircraft seized from the enemy was started. During the War of Independence these aircraft were brought to
Kartal
Kartal is a district of Istanbul, Turkey, located on the Asian side of the city, on the coast of the Marmara Sea between Maltepe and Pendik.
Despite being far from the city centre, Kartal is heavily populated (total population of 541,209) (2008 ...
-
Maltepe, to protect them from damage; however, some of the aircraft were seriously damaged in the course of transportation. This damage delayed the idea of building an aviation museum.
In 1960, upon an order by then Air Force Command Air General İrfan Tansel, the idea of building an Aviation Museum in Turkey was raised and, to that end, it was requested with an order issued in 1963 that aircraft used by the Air Forces and other units, one from each, should be reserved. As a result of the efforts exerted, an Aviation Museum Organization was established in 1966 and Turkey's first Aviation Museum was inaugurated at the Civil Airport in
Izmir-
Cumaovası in 1971.
İstanbul Hava Müzesi - Istanbul Aviation Museum
Despite attracting great attention at the inauguration, a search commenced for a new building area for the Aviation Museum, since at its existing location it did not attract sufficient visitors due to its distance from the city center and transportation difficulties. Moreover, it had been decided to repair Cumaovası runway and make more use of it for training flights and civil aviation, creating further problems for the museum in terms of housing and settlement; thus transfer of the Aviation Museum to a more appropriate place became essential.
The Aviation Museum remained in operation at Izmir-Cumaovası until 1978. Investigations resulted in a decision to relocate the museum to the area next to the Military Airport at Istanbul-Yeşilköy, near the
Air Force Academy
An air force academy or air academy is a national institution that provides initial officer training, possibly including undergraduate level education, to air force officer cadets who are preparing to be commissioned officers in a national air for ...
. Considerations included its location, visitor potential, improvement and maintenance conveniences, and the fact that it was also where the nation's first air unit was based and the historical importance it bears.
Construction of The new Aviation Museum was begun in 1977 and was completed in 1983. The museum occupied an area of 65,000 m2 in total, covering exhibition areas, of which is closed and open. Interior architecture and decoration were carried out by technical staff and experts from Istanbul Provincial Culture, Building and Monuments Directorate and
Mimar Sinan University
The Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University ( tr, Mimar Sinan Güzel Sanatlar Üniversitesi, or MSGSÜ) is a Turkish public university dedicated to higher education in the fine arts. It is located in the Fındıklı neighbourhood of Beyoğlu, Istanbu ...
. The museum was opened to visitors by General Halil Sözer, Commander of the Turkish Air Force, on 16 October 1985.
Gallery
File:S-2e Tracker.jpg, Various aircraft in the open-air museum
File:C-160 Transall à Istanbul.jpg, C-160 Transall
The Transall C-160 is a military transport aircraft, produced as a joint venture between France and Germany. "Transall" is an abbreviation of the manufacturing consortium Transporter Allianz, comprising the companies of MBB, Aerospatiale, and ...
File:Turkish Air Force McDonnell Douglas F-4E Phantom II, Istanbul Aviation Museum.JPG, Retired Turkish Air Force F-4E Phantom II
The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is an American tandem two-seat, twin-engine, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor and fighter-bomber originally developed by McDonnell Aircraft for the United States Navy.Swanborough and Bo ...
, serial number 67-0360
File:Turkish Air Force North American F-86F Sabre, Istanbul Aviation Museum.JPG, Retired Turkish Air Force F-86F Sabre
File:İstanbul_5404.jpg, Nike Ajax missile
See also
*
Ankara Aviation Museum
*
List of aerospace museums
This is a list of aviation museums and museums that contain significant aerospace-related exhibits throughout the world. The aviation museums are listed alphabetically by country and their article name.
Afghanistan
* OMAR Mine Museum, Kabul - inc ...
External links
*
Photographs of the museum
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Aviation Museum
Aerospace museums in Turkey
National museums in Turkey
Military and war museums in Turkey
Museums established in 1983
Aviation Museum
Bakırköy
Transport museums in Turkey
Turkish Air Force
Turkish Air Force Academy