Naval Forces Command (1949- )
The Turkish Naval Forces were represented under the title of the Naval Undersecreteriat at the Turkish General Staff Headquarters from 1928 to 1949. The historic decree of the Higher Military Council dated 15 August 1949, led to the foundation of the Turkish Naval Forces Command. This new organizational structure constituted one of the major milestones towards a powerful, contemporary and modern Navy. From this date on, the Naval Forces fully embraced naval power and utilized the available resources in the most rational way to grow steadily with resolve. The Turkish Naval Forces closely follows all developments in the world and takes safe and determined steps towards a better, stronger and more glorious future.
After becoming a member of NATO on 18 February 1952, the Turkish Naval Forces began to have closer relations with the navies of the NATO allies. The Turkish Navy further developed its organizational background, educational doctrine and capabilities, and proved itself capable of carrying out all types of operations to NATO's standards.In this period, on 4 April 1953, the submarine DUMLUPINAR-II (D-6) collided with the Swedish Freighter NABOLAND, resulting in the loss of 81 submariners. This unfortunate event caused great grief and distress for the Turkish Naval Forces and the Turkish Nation. This sad event formed an emotional bridge between the Turkish Nation and the Turkish sailors. Many songs were composed and poems written for the sailors who, in their last breath, dedicated their lives to their country.
In 1961, in order to better fulfill the growing needs of the Naval Forces, the Naval Forces Command was organized into 4 main subordinate commands. These were: Turkish Fleet Command, Turkish Northern Sea Area Command, Turkish Southern Sea Area Command and Turkish Naval Training Command. In 1995, The Turkish Naval Training Command was renamed The "Turkish Naval Training and Education Command."
When the Cyprus conflict became one of the major issues in Turkey's agenda, various probability analysis results pointed to the necessity of forming and maintaining a powerful Amphibious Group. In parallel with these developments, the production of amphibious vehicles in Turkey was prioritized and plans were made for the procurement of tank landing craft from abroad. Despite Turkey's extremely positive attitude and countless warnings, the violent behaviour of the Greeks on the Island, which became serious human rights violations, forced Turkey to conduct an amphibious operation in Cyprus.
Amphibious operations are considered to be the most difficult type of military operations. The Turkish Navy proved that it deserved the undying confidence of the noble Turkish nation by displaying excellence in accomplishing such a challenging operation in 1974.
As a result of the Turkish Navy's major and critical role in the Cyprus conflict, amphibious and army units were landed on the island safely. During the operation, the Turkish Navy not only successfully interrupted sea lines of communications to prevent reinforcement of Greek Forces on the Island, but also provided Turkish Land and Amphibious Forces on the island with naval gunfire support. As a whole, it should be emphasized that the Turkish Navy played a determining role in achieving military and political objectives of the operation. Unfortunately, during the Cyprus Peace Operation, 67 personnel of the Turkish Navy were martyred and, on 21 July 1974, Kocatepe (D-354) was lost.
The Turkish navy of 1980 had essentially the same missions as the Greek navy and had a very similar force structure, although in the case of Turkey there had been a noticable rise in numbers of ships since the late 1960s. The destroyer and frigate force had grown from 10 in 1951 to 15 in 1980, although 13 of these are of World War II vintage and would need replacement. The submarine force was built up from its previous level of 10 units to 14 between 1969 and 1973, and had been kept at or above that level by acquisition of Type-209 submarines, which were being built in Turkey. The modern fast attack force was established in 1964 and by 1980 included 23 units, with four more reported to be on order.
The force of wooden minesweepers increased from 11 to 22 units since 1951, offsetting the disappearance of a large number of steel minesweepers. The minelaying force increased from five to nine ships since 1951, although only one of the nine now in service is modern. Finally, Turkey acquired two LSTs in 1973-74 to add to her collection of smaller landing craft, and was building LSTs and smaller amphibious ships in Turkey.
The 1980's were the years in which the Turkish Navy's development pace during the Republican Period was at its peak. Throughout these years, numerous modernization projects were realized. Important steps were taken towards attaining the Turkish Navy's aim of not being dependent on a single provider for warfare weapons and equipment. The 1000-ton "AY" Class submarine, which was built at the Gölcük Shipyard, constitutes one of the major milestones of the Turkish Navy's development process. Furthermore, TCG Fatih was the first modern frigate to be built at the Gölcük Shipyard in 1980 and with the success of these highly demanding and prestigious projects, the Gölcük Naval Shipyard was justifiably placed amongst the distinguished shipyards in the international arena.
By 1983, construction in Turkish shipyards of a sixth "Type 209" class submarine and four "Dogan" class guided missile boats (under West German license), five patrol boats, and three landing ships (tank) was in progress. In the future it was planned to increase to 12 the number of "Type 209" class submarines in the Navy.
By 1988 construction of the sixth type 209 West German submarine had been completed. There were plans for raising the total number of modern submarines to 12 units in the future. They would replace obsolete "Balao" (ex-American) submarines, refitted in the GAPPI [not further identified] program.
Development of surface forces was proceeding along the lines of building "Yavuz" class guided missile frigates (type MEK0200; two had been commissioned and two were nearing completion in Turkey with the technical assistance of specialists from the FRG), landing ships and missile and patrol boats, and modernizing ships presently in the inventory. Thus there were plans for arming part of the "Gearing" class destroyers (transferred by the U.S. Navy to the Turkish fleet in 1971- 1982) with vertical launch shafts for Sea Sparrow antiaircraft guided missiles.
The issue of replacing S-2A and Sea Tracker shore-based patrol aircraft (around 20 units) by American P-3C Orion aircraft and arming nine AB.204B and AB212ASW helicopters with English-made Sea Skua antiship missiles with a range of up to 22 km was being studied.
Although some of its capabilities could not be brought up to the desired level in the 1980's, the Turkish Naval Forces progressed substantially in the 1990's and became a true Blue Water Navy. The Turkish Navy's combat readiness and operational capabilities were considerably improved during those years. In this period, major developments took place in combined operations conducted in coordination with the Land and Air Forces. Combined operation capabilities with the Air Force in blue waters, including the Middle and Eastern Mediterranean, were also further improved. One of the most important developments of this period was the construction of the Aksaz Naval Base at the strategic meeting point of the Aegean Sea and the Mediterranean. Without doubt, this base provides Turkish naval units and those of its allies and friendly countries with maximum support in almost every field.
From Somali to Japan, from Gibraltar to Panama, from the North Atlantic to the Indian Ocean, the Turkish Naval Forces, as one of the most respected, powerful and capable navies in the Mediterranean, has flown and will continue to fly the glorious Turkish flag on the high seas with great honor and pride, The Turkish Navy continues to follow the shining and intuitive course drawn by the great leader ATATÜRK. With the limitless strength that it receives from the great love and trust of the proud Turkish Nation, the Turkish Navy will always defend the vital rights and benefits of Turkey and her nation with unshakable determination.
The Republican Era is a period of vigorous progress for the Turkish Naval Forces. By utilizing its resources and motivated by its deep rooted and well-respected history, Turkey has ensured that its Naval Forces have achieved a contemporary, powerful and modern force structure. The Turkish Navy will continue to cooperate closely with all other maritime branches in the country and strive with all its power to make sure that Turkey remains a Maritime Nation of the 21st century.
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