{"id":1682,"date":"2023-01-19T12:42:49","date_gmt":"2023-01-19T12:42:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kasifiz.com\/english\/leading-name-in-turkish-aviation-history-vecihi-hurkus\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T08:38:24","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T08:38:24","slug":"leading-name-in-turkish-aviation-history-vecihi-hurkus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kasifiz.com\/english\/leading-name-in-turkish-aviation-history-vecihi-hurkus\/","title":{"rendered":"Leading Name in Turkish Aviation History, Vecihi H\u00fcrku\u015f"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p><strong>Vecihi H\u00fcrku\u015f;  He is a pilot, engineer and entrepreneur who has devoted his life to the development of the Turkish aviation industry.  He is considered to be the first aircraft designer and manufacturer of Turkey.  It was called &#8220;Black Danger&#8221; because it shot down Russian planes during the War of Independence.  H\u00fcrku\u015f, who received the title of &#8220;Master Chief&#8221; in a short time, established Turkey&#8217;s first aviation school.  Along with the Surname Law, he took the surname &#8220;H\u00fcrku\u015f&#8221;, which he carried throughout his life.  H\u00fcrku\u015f, who is famous for his planes and piloting, has been the subject of films and documentaries about his struggles to overcome the obstacles he encounters.<\/strong><\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"600\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5790\" data-lazy-=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/kasifiz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Vecihi-Hurkus3.jpg\" title=\"\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/kasifiz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Vecihi-Hurkus3.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5790\" title=\"\"><\/noscript><\/figure>\n<h3 id=\"h-tbmm-tarafindan-uc-kez-takdirname-verilen-tek-kisi\">The Only Person Given Three Commendations by the Turkish Grand National Assembly<\/h3>\n<p>Vecihi H\u00fcrku\u015f;  He was born in Istanbul on January 6, 1896. He attended primary school in Istanbul.  When he was wounded during World War I, he returned to Istanbul and entered the Aircraft School in Ye\u015filk\u00f6y and graduated as a pilot.  During the First World War, he received a pilot&#8217;s badge and participated in the operation against the Russians in the 7th Aircraft Company and made successful reconnaissance and bombardment flights.  He also shot down a Russian plane in an air battle, thus becoming Turkey&#8217;s first plane crasher.  Vecihi H\u00fcrku\u015f, who was captured during the war, managed to escape via Iran by swimming from Nargin Island in the Azerbaijan part of the Caspian Sea.  Returning to his homeland, he served in the 9th War Aircraft Division stationed in Ye\u015filk\u00f6y at the beginning of the summer of 1918.<\/p>\n<p>Vecihi H\u00fcrku\u015f also played an active role during the Turkish War of Independence.  He continued his fighter aircraft design project, which was left unfinished with the signing of the Mudros Armistice Agreement.  He made very successful reconnaissance and support flights, especially during the Battle of \u0130n\u00f6n\u00fc and Sakarya.  He shot down a Greek plane and made the first and last flight of the War of Independence.  He was also the first person to enter the Izmir (Gaziemir &#8211; Seydik\u00f6y) airport and try to save it from the occupation.  Vecihi H\u00fcrku\u015f was awarded the Medal of Independence with a red stripe and is considered the only person to be given a commendation three times by the Turkish Grand National Assembly.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"626\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5789\" data-lazy-=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/kasifiz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Vecihi-Hurkus1-1024x626.jpg\" title=\"\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"626\" src=\"https:\/\/kasifiz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Vecihi-Hurkus1-1024x626.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5789\" title=\"\"><\/noscript><\/figure>\n<h3>Manufactured First Turkish Plane, Received Penalty Instead of Award<\/h3>\n<p>After the war, Vecihi H\u00fcrku\u015f started training new aviators in \u0130zmir.  He was tasked with picking up a passenger plane that accidentally landed in Edirne.  When the plane was named \u201cVECIH\u0130\u201d in return for its service, the ideas of building an airplane were revived.  He continued his aircraft construction project at Izmir Seydik\u00f6y Air School (today&#8217;s Gaziemir Air Technical Schools Command).  In 1923, he manufactured the first Turkish airplane, using the engines seized from the Greeks as booty.  On January 28, 1925, he flew his plane named &#8220;VECIHI K-VI&#8221;, but received a penalty instead of a reward.  The reason why Vecihi H\u00fcrku\u015f was punished while waiting for a reward is that there is no one who understands aviation and he took off without permission by building airplanes.<\/p>\n<p>Later, he left military aviation and continued his work on aircraft design and construction.  Vecihi H\u00fcrku\u015f, who devoted himself to aviation, is one of the important names in Turkish aviation history.  He is also one of the interesting figures in the history of Turkey.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5791\" data-lazy-=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/kasifiz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Vecihi-Hurkus2-1024x683.jpg\" title=\"\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/kasifiz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Vecihi-Hurkus2-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5791\" title=\"\"><\/noscript><\/figure>\n<h3>Aircraft Manufacturing in the Lumber Shop<\/h3>\n<p>In 1930, he leased a lumber shop in Kad\u0131k\u00f6y and manufactured the first Turkish civil aircraft, actually the second aircraft, VECIH\u0130 XIV, within three months.  It made its first flight on September 27, 1930 in Kad\u0131k\u00f6y Fikirtepe, in front of a large crowd and press.  He then flew with VECIHI XIV to Yesilkoy and Ankara.  However, when he applied to the Ministry of Economics for the Airworthiness Certificate, he received an answer that &#8220;The required document was not given because there was no one to determine the technical qualifications of the aircraft&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>Thereupon, Vecihi H\u00fcrku\u015f went to Czechoslovakia to get the plane&#8217;s documents.  After all kinds of flight and technical control of the aircraft were made there, the flight was allowed.  H\u00fcrku\u015f was honored with a ceremony by the authorities in Czechoslovakia on April 23, 1931.  He was awarded with a banner that read &#8220;Long Live Turkish Aircraft&#8221; by getting a flight permit.  He set off by flying from Czechoslovakia to Turkey on April 25, 1931 and returned to Turkey on May 5, 1931.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"597\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5792\" data-lazy-=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/kasifiz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Vecihi-Hurkus4-1024x597.jpg\" title=\"\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"597\" src=\"https:\/\/kasifiz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Vecihi-Hurkus4-1024x597.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5792\" title=\"\"><\/noscript><\/figure>\n<h3>Trained the First Turkish Female Pilot Bedriye G\u00f6kmen<\/h3>\n<p>In 1932, Vecihi H\u00fcrku\u015f opened the Civil Aircraft School, the first Turkish Civil Aviation School.  He trained 12 pilots together with Bedriye G\u00f6kmen, who was the first Turkish female pilot at the school.  Turkey&#8217;s first civilian aircraft VECIHI XIV, the first training and sports aircraft VECIHI XV, and 160 hp Mercedes aircraft powered mermaid VECIHI SK-X were produced in Istanbul Kalam\u0131\u015f-Kad\u0131k\u00f6y.  Nuri Demira\u011f gave 5,000 TL for the construction of an airplane and thus, the VECIHI XVI cabin plane, named NUR\u0130 BEY, was built by Vecihi H\u00fcrku\u015f in 1933.  While training, Vecihi made advertisements for some institutions, such as TEKEL Administration and T\u00fcrkiye \u0130\u015f Bankas\u0131, under difficult conditions, and received the help of some patriotic authorities.<\/p>\n<p>In 1937, the Turkish Aeronautical Association sent Vecihi H\u00fcrku\u015f to receive engineering education at an engineering school in Germany.  Vecihi H\u00fcrku\u015f, who returned to his country after graduating in 1939, was not given an &#8220;aircraft engineer&#8221; license on the grounds that it was impossible to become an engineer in two years.  He founded the first civilian airline, H\u00fcrku\u015f Airlines, in 1954, but the company was banned from flying due to accidents, kidnappings and sabotage.  Vecihi H\u00fcrku\u015f, one of the most productive and enterprising figures in the history of Turkish aviation, passed away in 1969 at the G\u00fclhane Military Medical Academy Hospital in Ankara.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5793\" width=\"838\" height=\"450\" data-lazy-=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/kasifiz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Bedriye-Gokmen.jpg\" title=\"\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/kasifiz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Bedriye-Gokmen.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5793\" width=\"838\" height=\"450\" title=\"\"><\/noscript><\/figure>\n<h5>Share<\/h5>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Vecihi H\u00fcrku\u015f; He is a pilot, engineer and entrepreneur who has devoted his life to the development of the Turkish aviation industry. He is considered to be the first aircraft designer and manufacturer of Turkey. It was called &#8220;Black Danger&#8221; because it shot down Russian planes during the War of Independence. H\u00fcrku\u015f, who received the &hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1683,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[1450,1399,1452,1449,1370,1451],"class_list":["post-1682","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-genel","tag-aviation","tag-history","tag-hurkus","tag-leading","tag-turkish","tag-vecihi"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kasifiz.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1682","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kasifiz.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kasifiz.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kasifiz.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kasifiz.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1682"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kasifiz.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1682\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kasifiz.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1683"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kasifiz.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1682"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kasifiz.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1682"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kasifiz.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1682"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}