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Gölcük Naval Base () is the main base of the Turkish Navy on the east coast of the
Sea of Marmara The Sea of Marmara, also known as the Sea of Marmora or the Marmara Sea, is a small inland sea entirely within the borders of Turkey. It links the Black Sea and the Aegean Sea via the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits, separating Turkey's E ...
in Gölcük, Kocaeli. It is the principal base for logistic support with various facilities stretched over of land. In addition to the workplaces, the base houses apartment-like
barracks Barracks are buildings used to accommodate military personnel and quasi-military personnel such as police. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word 'soldier's tent', but today barracks ar ...
, social facilities, a
military hospital A military hospital is a hospital owned or operated by a military. They are often reserved for the use of military personnel and their dependents, but in some countries are made available to civilians as well. They may or may not be located on a m ...
, a military museum and an archive for naval history. The
shipyard A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are shipbuilding, built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Compared to shipyards, which are sometimes m ...
at the base is capable of constructing
frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and maneuvera ...
s,
submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...
s, fast attack boats and auxiliary vessels with high technology in recognized standards.


History

In the late 1920s, the area in Gölcük was chosen to build a floating drydock large enough to hold the Turkish battlecruiser TCG ''Yavuz'' for repair work of her war damage. Later, along with the German shipbuilding company Flender Werke that constructed the floating drydock, various repair shops, plants for the production of
naval mine A naval mine is a self-contained explosive weapon placed in water to damage or destroy surface ships or submarines. Similar to anti-personnel mine, anti-personnel and other land mines, and unlike purpose launched naval depth charges, they are ...
,
torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, such ...
and
battery Battery or batterie most often refers to: * Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power * Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact Battery may also refer to: Energy source * Battery indicator, a device whic ...
and housing barracks were built in Gölcük. These facilities were extended with various other buildings stretching over a big
swampland A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...
, a small lake and hazelnut
orchard An orchard is an intentional plantation of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit tree, fruit- or nut (fruit), nut-producing trees that are generally grown for commercial production. Orchards are also so ...
fields in Gölcük. The Convention on the Turkish straits, part of the
Treaty of Lausanne The Treaty of Lausanne (, ) is a peace treaty negotiated during the Lausanne Conference of 1922–1923 and signed in the Palais de Rumine in Lausanne, Switzerland, on 24 July 1923. The treaty officially resolved the conflict that had initially ...
signed in 1923, banned military facilities in the
Turkish Straits The Turkish Straits () are two internationally significant waterways in northwestern Turkey. The Straits create a series of international passages that connect the Aegean and Mediterranean seas to the Black Sea. They consist of the Dardanelles ...
. So, Turkish Navy's infrastructure, like shipyards and naval facilities, at the
Golden Horn The Golden Horn ( or ) is a major urban waterway and the primary inlet of the Bosphorus in Istanbul, Turkey. As a natural estuary that connects with the Bosphorus Strait at the point where the strait meets the Sea of Marmara, the waters of the ...
and
İstinye İstinye is a neighbourhood in the municipality and district of Sarıyer, Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its population was 15,721 in 2022. It is on the European side of the city between the neighbourhoods of Emirgan and Yeniköy, on the northweste ...
in
Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...
were systematically relocated to Gölcük. Main warships of the Turkish Navy, like battlecruisers,
destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived i ...
s and
torpedo boat A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs were steam-powered craft dedicated to ramming enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes. Later evolutions launched variants of ...
s, were then stationed in Gölcük. Finally, in 1933 the
parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
enacted Gölcük as the main naval base of the Turkish Navy.


1999 Gölcük earthquake

The headquarters of the Battle Fleet Command in Gölcük, established in 1964, and many other buildings were destroyed by the İzmit earthquake on August 17, 1999. The Command was temporarily housed in the Preveze War Games Center at the same base until July 2000, when the new headquarters building was completed. The earthquake cost the lives of 441 base personnel in total including 28 navy officers of various ranks, 136
warrant officer Warrant officer (WO) is a Military rank, rank or category of ranks in the armed forces of many countries. Depending on the country, service, or historical context, warrant officers are sometimes classified as the most junior of the commissioned ...
s, one
naval cadet Officer cadet is a rank held by military personnel during their training to become commissioned officers. In the United Kingdom, the rank is also used by personnel of University Service Units such as the University Officers' Training Corps. Th ...
, 39 civil officials, 9
corporal Corporal is a military rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The rank is usually the lowest ranking non-commissioned officer. In some militaries, the rank of corporal nominally corr ...
s, 82 seamen and 126 workers.
Rear admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...
Orhan Aydın, commander of the Turkish Naval Academy in
Tuzla Tuzla (, , ) is the List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, third-largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the administrative center of Tuzla Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013, it has a population of 110,979 inha ...
,
Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...
, was among the victims of the earthquake.


2016 Turkish coup d'etat attempt

On 16 July 2016, a Turkish anti-government group seized a frigate, later identified as the , from the Gölcük Naval Base. Fleet Commander, Admiral Veysel Kösele, and Commodore Levent Karim were taken hostage by the group. This event is in conjunction with the Turkish coup d'état attempt on 15 July 2016. Previously, the head of the Turkish Armed Forces, Chief of General Staff
Hulusi Akar Hulusi Akar (born 12 March 1952) is a retired four-star Turkish Armed Forces general who served as the Minister of National Defense from 2018 to 2023. He previously served as the 29th chief of the Turkish General Staff. Akar also served as a bri ...
, was taken hostage by coup perpetrators on 15 July 2016 and rescued by pro-government troops the following morning. Turkish Minister of Justice,
Bekir BozdaÄŸ Bekir BozdaÄŸ (born 1 April 1965) is a Turkish lawyer and politician of Kurdish origin and former Minister of Justice. On 6 July 2011 he was appointed the Deputy Prime Minister in the third cabinet of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄŸan. On ...
, reported that Admiral Veysel Kösele was safe, and that the seized frigate was returned by the anti-government group later that day.


Operations

* Battle Fleet Command (Harp Filosu Komutanlığı) * Attack Boat Fleet Command (Hücumbot Filosu Komutanlığı) * Submarine Fleet Command (Denizaltı Filosu Komutanlığı) * Gölcük Shipyard Command (Gölcük Tersanesi Komutanlığı) * Naval Supply Center Command (Deniz İkmal Merkezi Komutanlığı) * Tactics Development, Doctrine and Analysis Center Command (Taktik Geliştirme Doktrin ve Analiz Merkezi Komutanlığı) * Invertory Control Center Command (Envanter Kontrol Merkezi Komutanlığı) * Logistic Support Vessels Commodore (Lojistik Destek Gemileri Komodorluğu)


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Golcuk Naval Base Turkish Navy bases Economy of Kocaeli Province Military in Kocaeli Buildings and structures in Kocaeli Province