Sabiha Gökçen | |
|---|---|
 Sabiha Gökçen, c. the 1930s | |
| Born | (1913-03-22)22 March 1913 |
| Died | 22 March 2001(2001-03-22) (aged 88) |
| Resting place | Cebeci Askerî Şehitliği,Ankara |
| Alma mater | Üsküdar American Academy |
| Occupations | Aviator, author and spokesperson |
| Known for | World's first femalefighter pilot[1] |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 1 |
| Parents |
|
| Awards | FAI Gold Air Medal |
Sabiha Gökçen (Turkish:[sabiˈhaɟøcˈtʃɛn], born Ćorović; 22 March 1913 – 22 March 2001)[2] was aTurkish aviator. During her flight career, she flew around 8,000 hours and participated in 32 different military operations.[3] She became the world's first femalefighter pilot,[1][4][5] at age 23.[6][a] As anorphan,[12] she was one of the nine childrenadopted byMustafa Kemal Atatürk.
She is recognized as the first female combat pilot byThe Guinness Book of World Records[1] and was selected as the only female pilot for the poster of "The 20 Greatest Aviators in History" published by theUnited States Air Force in 1996.[13]
Sabiha Gökçen International Airport, the second airport in Istanbul, is named after her.
According to official Turkish sources and interviews with Sabiha Gökçen, she was the daughter of Mustafa Izzet Bey and Hayriye Hanım, both of whom were ofBosniak ancestry.[14] During Atatürk's visit toBursa in 1925, Sabiha, who was only twelve years old, asked for permission to talk with Atatürk and expressed her wish to study at aboarding school. After hearing her story and about her miserable living conditions, Atatürk decided to adopt her and asked her brother for permission to take her to theÇankaya Presidential Residence inAnkara, where Sabiha would live with Atatürk's other adoptive daughters, Zehra,Afet and Rukiye. Gökçen attended the Çankaya Primary School inAnkara and theÜsküdar American Academy inIstanbul.
According to a February 2004 article in the newspaperAgos, Gökçen was actually ofArmenian ancestry; seeAncestry controversy.
After the introduction of theSurname Law, Atatürk gave her the family name Gökçen on 19 December 1934. 'Gök' means sky inTurkish and Gökçen means 'belonging or relating to the sky'. However, she was not an aviator at that time,[15][16] and it was only six months later that Sabiha developed a passion for flying.
Atatürk attached great importance toaviation and for that purpose oversaw the foundation of theTurkish Aeronautical Association in 1925. He took Sabiha along with him to the opening ceremony of Türkkuşu (Turkish Bird) Flight School on 5 May 1935. During theairshow ofgliders andparachutists invited from foreign countries, she got very excited. As Atatürk asked her whether she would also want to become a skydiver, she nodded, "yes indeed, I am ready right now". Atatürk instructed Fuat Bulca, the head of the school, to enroll her as the first female trainee. She was meant to become askydiver, but she was much more interested in flying, so she earned herpilot's licence. Gökçen, together with seven male students, was sent toCrimea, Soviet Union for an advanced course in glider and powered aircraft piloting. However, when she was in Moscow, she learned the news that her sister Zehra had died, and with collapsed morale, she immediately returned to Turkey, isolating herself from social activities for some time.
After a while, at Atatürk's insistence, Gökçen began working again. At Eskişehir Aviation School, she received special flight training from Savmi Uçan and Muhittin Bey. She began flying a motorized aircraft for the first time on February 25, 1936.
Gökçen, due to the success in flight training, Ataturk himself said: "You've made me very happy ... Now I can explain what I have planned for you ... Perhaps you'll be the first woman military pilot in the world ... For the world's first military woman pilot to be of Turkish descent would be a proud event, you can imagine, right? Now I will act immediately and send you to Tayyare School in Eskişehir. You will receive a special education there".[15]
As girls were not being accepted by theTurkish War Academies in those years, Gökçen was provided, on Atatürk's orders, with a personalized uniform, and attended a special education programme of eleven months at theTayyare Mektebi (Aviation School) inEskişehir in the academic year 1936–1937. After receiving her flight patents (diploma) she trained to become a war pilot at the 1st Airplane Regiment in Eskişehir for six months.
She improved her skills by flying bomber and fighter planes at the 1st Aircraft Regiment inEskişehir Airbase and gained experience after participating in theAegean andThrace exercises in 1937. In that same year, she took part in military operations during theDersim Massacre and became the first Turkish female air force combat pilot. Turkish planes flew numerous sorties against the Dersim people during the military operation. A report of the General Staff mentioned the "serious damage" that had been caused by her 50 kg bomb upon a group of what the Turkish government referred to as rebels.Nuri Dersimi stated that theTurkish Air Force bombed the district with poisonous gas in 1938 which was later proven correct.[17] In 2011, the Turkish prime ministerRecep Tayyip Erdoğan apologized for the massacre, describing it as "one of the most tragic events of our near history".[18]
In an interview she gave to Halit Kıvanç in 1956, Sabiha Gökçen stated about the time: "They gave us the order 'Shoot every living thing you see', we were firebombing even the goats which were the food of the rebels".[19][20] She was awarded with a commendation for her actions during the operation. She was also awarded theTurkish Aeronautical Association's first "Murassa (Jeweled) Medal" for her superior performance in this operation.[15]
In 1938, she carried out a five-day flight around theBalkan countries to great acclaim. In the same year, she was appointed chief trainer of theTürkkuşu Flight School of theTurkish Aeronautical Association, where she served until 1954 as a flight instructor[15] and became a member of the association's executive board. She trained four female aviators:Edibe Subaşı, Yıldız Uçman, Sahavet Karapas andNezihe Viranyalı. Gökçen flew around the world for a period of 28 years until 1964. Her book entitledA Life Along the Path of Atatürk was published in 1981 by the Turkish Aeronautical Association to commemorate Atatürk's 100th birthday.
In February 2004 an article in the newspaperAgos, headlined "The Secret of Sabiha Hatun", contained an interview with Hripsime Sebilciyan, a former resident ofGaziantep, who claimed to be Gökçen's niece and that Gökçen herself was of Armenian ancestry.[21] Sebilciyan claimed that Gökçen's birth name was Hatun Sebilciyan and that she was adopted by Atatürk from an orphanage in Cibin inUrfa Province.[21] Sebilciyan said that Gökçen had four brothers: Sarkis, Boğos, Haçik and Hovhannes, and a sister, Diruhi (Hripsime's mother).[21] According to Turkish-Armenian linguist Pars Tuğlacı, who knew Gökçen personally and deemed Sebilciyan's story to be false, Gökçen was born to an Armenian family from Bursa and was left in an orphanage there when her family was deported during theArmenian genocide.[22] Tuğlacı also claimed that Gökçen later found out about her Armenian roots when members of her family contacted her fromBeirut and that she visited her Armenian relatives there.[22]
Τhese claims have been disputed by Turkish sources and in interviews with Gökçen herself, as well as by her adopted sisterÜlkü Adatepe, who reiterated that Gökçen and both of Sabiha's parents were of Bosniak ancestry.[14][23][24][25]
The notion that Gökçen could have been Armenian caused controversy in the country[26][27]; theTurkish General Staff released a statement saying that the debate "mocked national values" and was "not conducive to social peace".[28] Hrant Dink, the journalist who wrote the article, came under criticism, most notably from newspaper columnists and Turkish nationalist groups.[29] Aleaked US consul dispatch penned by an official from the American consulate in Istanbul contained the observation that the entire affair "exposed an ugly streak of racism in Turkish society."[29] It is believed that the affair was one of the reasons that led toHrant Dink's assassination in Istanbul in January 2007.[30][31][32]
Gökçen died of heart failure atGülhane Military Medical Academy on 22 March 2001, her 88th birthday.[33][34]
Sabiha Gökçen International Airport inIstanbul is named after her.[35] It opened on 8 January 2001, 2 months before her death.
She is recognized as the first female combat pilot by theGuinness Book of World Records.[1]
She was selected as the only female pilot for the poster of "The 20 Greatest Aviators in History" published by theUnited States Air Force in 1996.[13]
That year, she was also honored at theAir Command and Staff College'sGathering of Eagles atMaxwell Air Force Base. The program encourages the study of aviation history by emphasizing the contributions of aviation pioneers.[5]
She was the subject of aGoogle Doodle honouring her birthday, which was displayed in Turkey on 22 March 2009.[36]
In 1915, Marvingt became the first woman in the world to fly combat missions when she became a volunteer pilot flying bombing missions over German-held territory and she received the Croix de Guerre (Military Cross) for her aerial bombing of a German military base in Metz.
Eugenie Shakhovskaya, a 25 year old Russian princess, was the first female fighter pilot in history.
Princess Eugenie M. Shakhovskaya was Russia's first woman military pilot. Served with the 1st Field Air Squadron. Unknown if she actually flew any combat missions, and she was ultimately charged with treason and attempting to flee to enemy lines. Sentenced to death by firing squad, sentence commuted to life imprisonment by the Tsar, freed during the Revolution, became chief executioner for Gen. Tchecka and drug addict, shot one of her assistants in a narcotic delirium and was herself shot.
In Russia, Princess Eugenie Shakhovskaya is the first female military pilot. She flies reconnaissance missions.
According to Turkish sources and the interview with Sabiha Gokcen herself, she was born on March 22, 1913 in Bursa. She was the daughter of Mustafa İzzet Bey and Hayriye Hanim who were ethnic Bosniaks
In February, the Hurriyet newspaper's publication of a report that Sabiha Gokcen--an adopted daughter of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, who was the country's first female pilot--was of Armenian descent drew a number of racist public statements. The Turkish General Staff issued a statement criticizing the reports on Gokcen's alleged Armenian ancestry as "a claim that abuses national values and feelings" while the Turkish Air Association called the report "an insult" to Gökçen and to Ataturk.
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