Sabiha Gökçen
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Sabiha Gökçen (March 22, 1913, Bursa—March 22, 2001, Ankara) was the first Turkish female aviator and the first female combat pilot of the world. She was one of the eight adoptive children of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.
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[edit] Biography
According to Turkish sources and the interviews with Sabiha Gökçen, she was the daughter of Mustafa İzzet Bey and Hayriye Hanım.[1][2] Other sources state that she was of Armenian origin[3] (i.e. Agos, Dr. Hans-Lukas Kieser, etc.)[4], but this is disputed by official Turkish sources.[5][6] Atatürk met her during a visit to Bursa in 1925. She was only 13 years of age at the time and expressed her will to go to a boarding school. So, Atatürk adopted the little girl when he heard of her miserable living conditions. Sabiha attended Çankaya Primary School in Ankara and then Üsküdar Kız Lisesi (Üsküdar Girls College) in Üsküdar, Istanbul.
Just after the introduction of the surname act (June 21, 1934), Atatürk gave her the family name Gökçen on December 19, the same year. Gök means sky in Turkish and Gökçen means 'belonging or relating to the sky'. However, she was not an aviator at the date and it was only six months later that Sabiha developed a passion for flying.
Atatürk attached great importance to aviation and for that purpose, oversaw the foundation of the Turkish Aeronautical Association in 1925. He took Sabiha along with him to the opening ceremony of Türkkuşu (the Turkish bird) Flight School of this institution on May 5, 1935. During the airshow of gliders and parachutists invited from foreign countries, she got very excited. As Atatürk asked her whether she would also be 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 should have become a skydiver, however she was much more interested in flying an airplane. So, she learned flying and received her pilot licence. Gökçen was sent to Russia, together with seven male students for an advanced training in gliding.
In the beginning of 1936, Atatürk urged her to attend the Air Force Academy to become the first female military pilot of Turkey. She improved her skills by flying bomber and fighter planes at the 1st Aircraft Regiment in Eskişehir Airbase and got experience after participating in the Aegean and Thrace exercises in 1937.
In 1938, she carried out a five-day flight around the Balkan countries to great acclaim. Later, she was appointed chief trainer of the Türkkuşu Flight School of Turkish Aeronautical Association where she served until 1955 and became a member of the association's executive board. Sabiha Gökçen flew around the world for a period of 28 years until 1964. Her book entitled "A Life Along the Path of Atatürk" was published in 1981 by the Turkish Aeronautical Association to commemorate Atatürk's 100th birthday.
[edit] Legacy
The second international airport of Istanbul on the Asian side, the Sabiha Gökçen Airport, is named after Sabiha Gökçen.
[edit] References
- ^ Hürriyet
- ^ CNN Turk
- ^ Hürriyet
- ^ Hans-Lukas Kieser, "Verlierer der postosmanischen Ordnung", (Enteignet – Vertrieben – Ermordet, Beiträge zur Genozidforschung, Chronos Verlag, 2004, Zürich, ISBN 3-0340-0642-X)
- ^ BBC News, "Turkish heroine's roots spark row", Tabitha Morgan, 29 February 2004
- ^ U.S. Department of State - Turkey - Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2004
