Cengiz Topel Naval Air Station ( tr, Cengiz Topel Deniz Hava Üssü), a.k.a. Topel Airport or formerly Cengiz Topel Air Base, is a

Turkish Navy The Turkish Naval Forces ( tr, ), or Turkish Navy ( tr, ) is the naval warfare service branch of the Turkish Armed Forces. The modern naval traditions and customs of the Turkish Navy can be traced back to 10 July 1920, when it was establi ...

air station located east of

İzmit İzmit () is a district and the central district of Kocaeli province, Turkey. It is located at the Gulf of İzmit in the Sea of Marmara, about east of Istanbul, on the northwestern part of Anatolia. As of the last 31/12/2019 estimation, the c ...

Kocaeli Province Kocaeli Province ( tr, Kocaeli ili, ) is a Provinces of Turkey, province of Turkey and one of only three not to have the same official name as its capital, İzmit, which is thus also sometimes called Kocaeli. The province is the successor of the ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

. The airport is in joint use for military and civil. Restructured in 1976, it hosts the Turkish Naval Aviation Command with two flying units, the 301st Squadron of

fixed-wing aircraft A fixed-wing aircraft is a heavier-than-air flying machine, such as an airplane, which is capable of flight using wings that generate lift caused by the aircraft's forward airspeed and the shape of the wings. Fixed-wing aircraft are distinc ...

and the 351st Squadron of

rotorcraft A rotorcraft or rotary-wing aircraft is a heavier-than-air aircraft with rotary wings or rotor blades, which generate lift by rotating around a vertical mast. Several rotor blades mounted on a single mast are referred to as a rotor. The Internati ...

s. The facility, formerly a base of the

Turkish Air Force The Turkish Air Force ( tr, ) is the aerial warfare service branch of the Turkish Armed Forces. The Turkish Air Force can trace its origins back to June 1911 when it was founded by the Ottoman Empire, however, the air force as it is known t ...

, is named after the Air Force

fighter pilot A fighter pilot is a military aviator trained to engage in air-to-air combat, air-to-ground combat and sometimes electronic warfare while in the cockpit of a fighter aircraft. Fighter pilots undergo specialized training in aerial warfare and ...

Capt. Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Cengiz Topel Cengiz Topel (September 2, 1934 – August 8, 1964) was a fighter pilot of the Turkish Air Force, who was tortured to death after his plane was shot down while supporting the Turkish army during the 1964 inter-communal conflict "Erenköy Resista ...

, whose

F-100 Super Sabre The North American F-100 Super Sabre is an American supersonic jet fighter aircraft that served with the United States Air Force (USAF) from 1954 to 1971 and with the Air National Guard (ANG) until 1979. The first of the Century Series of ...

was shot down on August 8, 1964 during Turkey's military intervention in Cyprus. He ejected safely over land, but was promptly captured after landing and lynched by members of the

Cyprus National Guard , name2 = National Guard General Staff , image = Emblem of the Cypriot National Guard.svg , image_size = 100px , caption = Emblem of the National Guard of Cyprus , image2 = Flag of the ...

. He was the first Turkish pilot ever killed in action.

History

Topel Airport was originally a Turkish Air Force facility. Following the re-establishment of the aviation branch of the Turkish Navy in 1968, the first naval helicopter pilots were trained by the

Turkish Army Aviation The Turkish Aviation Command and ''Turkish Army Aviation Command'' ( tr, Kara Havacılık Komutanlığı), was established in 1948 under the name of "artillery crafting" within the Turkish Land Forces artillery school. It is the administrative cen ...

Command's flight school at the

Güvercinlik Army Air Base Güvercinlik can refer to: * Güvercinlik, Beşiri * Güvercinlik, Osmancık * Güvercinlik, Sason * the Turkish name for Acheritou Acheritou ( gr, Αχερίτου []; tr, Güvercinlik) is a village in Cyprus, located just to the west of the ...

in Etimesgut, Ankara Province. The unit, formed in 1972 at the same base, was transferred on 19 May 1973 from Ankara to Cengiz Topel Air Base due to its location close to

Gölcük Naval Base Gölcük Naval Base ( tr, Gölcük Deniz Ana Üssü) is the main base of the Turkish Navy on the east coast of the Sea of Marmara in Gölcük, Kocaeli. It is the principal base for logistic support with various facilities stretched over of land ...

in Kocaeli Province following a protocol signed with the Turkish Air Force two weeks before. That day, Turkish Navy's first rotorcraft unit was renamed 351st Naval Helicopter Squadron. The 301st Naval Air Squadron, formed in 1971 at

Etimesgut Air Base Etimesgut Air Base ( tr, Etimesgut Hava Üssü) is an airbase of the Turkish Air Force located west of Ankara, Turkey. It is owned by Turkish Air Force and jointly operated by the air force and the Turkish Aeronautical Association ( tr, Türk Ha ...

in Ankara Province as the fixed wing aviation unit of the Navy, was transferred on 4 August 1972 to

Bandırma Air Base Bandırma () is a city in northwestern Turkey with 161,894 inhabitants as of 2021 on the Sea of Marmara. Bandırma is a district of Balıkesir Province. Bandırma is located in the south of the Marmara Sea, in the bay with the same name, and is a ...

to join the 6th Air Force Wing. With its four

maritime patrol aircraft A maritime patrol aircraft (MPA), also known as a patrol aircraft, maritime reconnaissance aircraft, or by the older American term patrol bomber, is a fixed-wing aircraft designed to operate for long durations over water in maritime patrol roles ...

and twelve

anti-submarine warfare Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations are t ...

(ASW) aircraft of type

S-2 Tracker The Grumman S-2 Tracker (S2F prior to 1962) was the first purpose-built, single airframe anti-submarine warfare (ASW) aircraft to enter service with the United States Navy. Designed and initially built by Grumman, the Tracker was of conventiona ...

, the unit was then relocated to Cengiz Topel Air Base on 14 July 1976. The base, in joint use since 1973 by the air force and the navy, was transferred to the Turkish Navy Command on 14 July 1976 following the order of the

Turkish General Staff , image = , image_size = 160px , caption = Emblem of the General Staff , dates = 3 May 1920 – present , country = , allegiance ...

. Finally, the Naval Air Station Command was established on 4 August 1976. The base was assigned to

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

on 28 October 1981. In 1983, helipads in

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

and

Çanakkale Çanakkale (pronounced ), ancient ''Dardanellia'' (), is a city and seaport in Turkey in Çanakkale province on the southern shore of the Dardanelles at their narrowest point. The population of the city is 195,439 (2021 estimate). Çanakkale is ...

were put in service so that helicopters of the air station could use them also. In 2011, the airport was opened to public air traffic. Anadolujet operate domestic flights.

Airlines and destinations

Traffic Statistics

Access

Cengiz Topel Naval Air Station is situated east of Köseköy neighborhood in İzmit and west of

Lake Sapanca Lake Sapanca ( tr, Sapanca Gölü) (previous Greek name: Boáne (Βοάνη)) is a fresh water lake in Turkey, between the Gulf of İzmit and the Adapazarı Meadow. The lake has a catchment area of 251 km², surface area is 45 km², a l ...

between the highway and the motorway .

References

{{authority control Turkish Navy bases Airports in Turkey Heliports in Turkey Economy of Kocaeli Province Military in Kocaeli Buildings and structures in Kocaeli Province Transport in Kocaeli Province