Historical aircraft enters Turkish museum's inventory after 70 years

ESKİŞEHİR

A 79-year-old fighter aircraft, taken by the Turkish Air Force shortly after its production in Britain to be utilized for homeland defense and later sent back to the place of production, has entered the Air and Space Museum’s inventory at the Sivrihisar Aviation Center in the northwestern province of Eskişehir after 70 years.

The 1945 Spitfire Mk9 fighter plane – of which there are only 27 in the world – was successfully employed for Turkish air defense up until 1954. Necati Artan, one of the first jet pilots in Türkiye and the founder of the second aerobatic team of the Turkish Air Force, National Acroteam, often known as the "Flying Swans," flew the aircraft during these years.

Following his death in 2015, his student, Ali İsmet Öztürk, Türkiye's first professional civilian aerobatic pilot, completed his goal of bringing the Spitfire aircraft after 38 years of contemplation as a token of appreciation to Artan.

“I was intending to launch a project to restore the ability of a Spitfire to take to the Turkish skies. I felt that this would be a very heartfelt thank you. Just to spite the dusty pages of history, one of the Spitfire planes, which was employed by the Turkish Air Force for years in defense of the motherland, will now once again take to the skies of our country,” Öztürk said in an exclusive organization held for the aircraft that joined the air museum’s inventory after 70 years.

Expressing her opinions about the remarkable incident, the aviation center’s organizing committee deputy chairman, Işıl Görenoğlu, noted that the museum is Türkiye's first and only aviation museum, which has numerous priceless historical airplanes that are capable of operating.

“Spitfire also has a spot now in our museum. Currently, there are only 27 1945-model Spitfire Mk9 fighter planes capable of operating in the world. Having one of these in Türkiye fills us with immense pride,” Görenoğlu noted.

Following the introductory remarks, the organization concluded with British pilot Edward Yard making a demonstration with the historical fighter plane and the participants having a souvenir photograph taken with the legendary aircraft.