Tahsin Şahinkaya (1 May 1925 – 9 July 2015) was a Turkish Air Force general. After completing his compulsory military service in the Turkish Army Artillery beteen 1943 and 1945, he was commissioned as a

Supermarine Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 to the Rolls-Royce Grif ...

pilot in the Air Force. From 1955 he flew the

North American F-86 Sabre The North American F-86 Sabre, sometimes called the Sabrejet, is a transonic jet fighter aircraft. Produced by North American Aviation, the Sabre is best known as the United States' first swept-wing fighter that could counter the swept-wing So ...

and was a Squadron Commander from 1958 to 1961. In 1960 he also qualified as a Pilot for the

North American F-100 Super Sabre The North American F-100 Super Sabre is an American supersonic jet fighter aircraft that served with the United States Air Force (USAF) from 1954 to 1971 and with the Air National Guard (ANG) until 1979. The first of the Century Series of ...

. Promoted to Colonel in 1962, he commanded a regiment of Sabrejet fighters between 1962 and 1964 and a regiment of Super Sabre fighters from 1966 to 1968. Between 1964 and 1966 he was an instructor at the Air Warfare School. Promoted to Brigadier General in 1968 and appointed as the Air Attache to Israel till 1971. From 1971 to 1974 he as Deputy Director of Air Planning as a Staff Officer. Promoted to Major General in 1974 and commanded all Turkish Air Force units in the Cyprus War. In 1976 promoted to Lieutenant General and Chief of Air Training Command. In 1978 became Commander of the First Air Force. In 1979 a full General. He was Commander of the Turkish Air Force from 1978 to 1983, and previously Secretary-General of the

National Security Council A national security council (NSC) is usually an executive branch governmental body responsible for coordinating policy on national security issues and advising chief executives on matters related to national security. An NSC is often headed by a na ...

(1977–1978). He was one of the five leaders of the

1980 military coup __NOTOC__ Year 198 (CXCVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Sergius and Gallus (or, less frequently, year 951 '' Ab ...

, and after the coup he was a member of the Presidential Council. In 2012, a court case was launched against Şahinkaya and

Kenan Evren Ahmet Kenan Evren (; 17 July 1917 – 9 May 2015) was a Turkish politician and military officer, who served as the seventh President of Turkey from 1980 to 1989. He assumed the post by leading the 1980 military coup. On 18 June 2014, a Turkish ...

relating to the 1980 military coup. Both were sentenced to life imprisonment on 18 June 2014 by a court in Ankara, the capital of Turkey. After having been sentenced he was not sent to prison as he was in medical treatment for several illnesses at the Gülhane Military Research Hospital (GATA) in

Ankara Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...

and later on also in Istanbul.

Death

Şahinkaya died at age 90 in the Gülhane Military Research Hospital (GATA) in

Haydarpaşa Haydarpaşa is a neighborhood within the Kadıköy and Üsküdar districts on the Asian part of Istanbul, Turkey. Haydarpaşa is named after Ottoman Vizier Haydar Pasha. The place, on the coast of Sea of Marmara, borders to Harem in the northwest ...

, Istanbul on July 9, 2015. He was interred at

Karacaahmet Cemetery The Karacaahmet Cemetery ( tr, Karacaahmet Mezarlığı) is a 700-year-old historic cemetery, located in Üsküdar, the Asian side of Istanbul. Karacaahmet cemetery is the oldest and largest in Istanbul at , and the largest burial ground in Turkey ...

on July 11 following a memorial ceremony held at the

Turkish First Army The First Army of the Republic of Turkey () is one of the four field armies of the Turkish Army. Its headquarters is located at Selimiye Barracks in Istanbul. It guards the sensitive borders of Turkey with Greece and Bulgaria, including the st ...

headquarters in the

Selimiye Barracks Selimiye Barracks ( tr, Selimiye Kışlası), also known as Scutari Barracks, is a Turkish Army barracks located in the Üsküdar district on the Asian side of Istanbul, Turkey. It was originally built in 1800 by Sultan Selim III for the soldier ...

and subsequent religious funeral service at the nearby

Big Selimiye Mosque Big or BIG may refer to: * Big, of great size or degree Film and television * Big (film), ''Big'' (film), a 1988 fantasy-comedy film starring Tom Hanks * ''Big!'', a Discovery Channel television show * ''Richard Hammond's Big'', a television sh ...

Üsküdar Üsküdar () is a large and densely populated district of Istanbul, Turkey, on the Anatolian shore of the Bosphorus. It is bordered to the north by Beykoz, to the east by Ümraniye, to the southeast by Ataşehir and to the south by Kadıköy; w ...

. He was survived by his wife Sema, son Serdar, daughter Sevgi Kartal and son-in-law Mustafa Kartal.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sahinkaya, Tahsin 1925 births People from Merzifon Turkish Air Force generals Commanders of the Turkish Air Force Secretaries General of the National Security Council (Turkey) 2015 deaths Burials at Karacaahmet Cemetery