FETHI BEY -1914

Fethi Bey Collection of Tosun Saral, 2-25-07

 

"Turkish Aviators Killed," Knoxville Journal and Tribune, Knoxville, Tennessee: March 1, 1914, Transcribed by Bob Davis - 2-20-07 "Constantinople, Feb. 28. - Fethy Bey and Sadik Bey, young aviators of the Turkish military aviation corps, were killed today while attempting to fly from Constantinople to Alexandria, Egypt. After leaving Damascus on the way to Jerusalem the aeroplane broke down in mid air and the two aviators fell wth it from a high altitude. Fethy Bey rendered great assistance to the Ottoman army during the Balkan war, making many flights over the Bulgarina positions."

 

ONLINE RESOURCES      If you search for "Fethi Bey", using the Google search engine, (2-23-07), you will find 58,500 links, most of them in Turkish!! If you search for links in English, you will still find at least 988.Of these, the following is very helpful and interesting.

Fethiye the Place of Fethi by Tosun Saral - Last Update Mar 1 2005 My Birthplace       On this page you will find a very helpful resumé of the lives and careers of both Fethi Bey and Sadik Bey. The author of the article, Tosun Saral, has included photos of both Fethi Bey and Sadik Bey.      In addition, he explains how the town was renamed by his grandfather from Megri to Fethiye which means "The place of Fethi," this to honor the first Turkish airman to die in military service. He reviews the history of the town, and includes a photo of the house in which he was born, You can access the site by clicking on the title above.       If time permits, I suggest that you visit the home of the Virtual Tourist website and sample some of the many features which are available. Of special interest is the homepage of Tosun himself. You can access it by clicking on: Sirvictor

 

History of the Turkish Air Force Commentary by Mehmet Birbiri 39th Air Base Wing Host Nation Adviser       This first installment covers the development from 1911 to 1920. Included are two references to the activities of Fethi Bey. You may want to use the FIND function on "Fethi Bey" to locate them on the page. You can access the site by clicking on the title above.       If time permits, I think you will want to read the whole article so as to better understand the history of this airforce.

 

Cedarjet Pages       This remarkable resource was written by Wassim Chemaitelli and introduces the "Dawn of Aviation in Lebanon, (1913-1914)." It contains numerous references to both Fethi Bey and Sadik Bey. You will also find a small photograph of them, standing with their colleagues, Ismail Hakki Bey and Nuri Bey. You can access the site by clicking on the title above.

 

Fethi Bey was killed on February 28, 1914. Editor's Note: If you have any more information on this pioneer aviator, please contact me. E-mail to Ralph Cooper   Back