THE CONTROVERSIAL INCIDENT OF THE CYPRUS PEACE OPERATION: THE TCG KOCATEPE DESTROYER INCIDENT

Çağhan Sarı

Makale detayları

THE CONTROVERSIAL INCIDENT OF THE CYPRUS PEACE OPERATION: THE TCG KOCATEPE DESTROYER INCIDENT

Yazarlar:

Çağhan Sarı

Yayıncı:

Hatay Mustafa Kemal University

Ana Başlıklar:

Çağdaş Askeri Tarih

Dergi:

BELLEK Uluslararası Tarih ve Kültür Araştırmaları Dergisi Vol.7 Issue 1, pp.36-68

Belge Tipi:

Makale

Yayın Tarihi:

6/2025

Belge Dili:

Türkçe

Document ID (Org No.):

2001352922

pISSN:

2717-6142

Anahtar kelimeler:

Özet:

 Another dimension of wars is the concept of friendly fire, which is when allies or units within the same army hit each other due to intelligence or communication errors. In the Cyprus Peace Operation, upon the news that Greece had sent a reinforcement convoy to the Greek Cypriot Regiment in Cyprus on July 21, 1974, the destroyers TCG Adatepe, TCG Kocatepe and TCG Mareşal Fevzi Çakmak, located off the coast of Kyrenia, received orders for a preventive operation in the direction of the port of Paphos. Considering that this was a deception in response to the statements of the Greek authorities that they had not sent any convoy, the Turkish Armed Forces mobilized elements of the Turkish Air Force. While the destroyers that reached the Paphos region at noon on July 21 did not encounter any Greek naval elements, when the Turkish warplanes arrived in the region, they considered the Turkish destroyers facing them to be Greek warships flying the Turkish flag. In response to the possibility that this could be one of the war tricks that the Greek armed forces could resort to, the Turkish planes attacked the destroyers. Following the bombardment, which lasted approximately five hours, the destroyer TCG Kocatepe sank as a result of the damage it received and sank at 22:20. The other two destroyers, TCG Adatepe and TCG Mareşal Fevzi Çakmak, despite the damage they received, have moved away from the area and returned to Turkish territorial waters. The Turkish radio announcements from the destroyers were not enough to prevent friendly fire, which the Greek side could easily do. The assessment of a ruse of war was also effective in the contacts of Ankara Akıncı Base with the Operations Directorate. As a result of this incident, 54 people were killed on the TCG Kocatepe destroyer. 42 of the destroyers evacuated personnel were rescued by the Israeli Merchant Marine School boat, while 39 personnel were rescued by a Lebanese barge. Due to the separation of the rescue rafts into groups due to the current in the sea, 112 personnel were rescued by British units and the TCG Berk ship. An investigation has been launched into the sinking of the TCG Kocatepe destroyer. The Turkish Air Force claimed that Turkish destroyers were in the area declared off-limits. While the TCG Kocatepe Destroyer incident caused sorrow in the Turkish Armed Forces, some of the destroyer personnel who survived the incident and some pilots who were on duty during the operation wrote their memoirs. This study examines the occurrence of the incident, what happened after the incident and the discussions that continue today. Within the scope of the study, an interview was conducted with one of the officers who wrote his memoirs, Naval Staff Lieutenant General Özhan Bakkalbaşıoğlu, who served on the TCG Kocatepe Destroyer.

 Another dimension of wars is the concept of friendly fire, which is when allies or units within the same army hit each other due to intelligence or communication errors. In the Cyprus Peace Operation, upon the news that Greece had sent a reinforcement convoy to the Greek Cypriot Regiment in Cyprus on July 21, 1974, the destroyers TCG Adatepe, TCG Kocatepe and TCG Mareşal Fevzi Çakmak, located off the coast of Kyrenia, received orders for a preventive operation in the direction of the port of Paphos. Considering that this was a deception in response to the statements of the Greek authorities that they had not sent any convoy, the Turkish Armed Forces mobilized elements of the Turkish Air Force. While the destroyers that reached the Paphos region at noon on July 21 did not encounter any Greek naval elements, when the Turkish warplanes arrived in the region, they considered the Turkish destroyers facing them to be Greek warships flying the Turkish flag. In response to the possibility that this could be one of the war tricks that the Greek armed forces could resort to, the Turkish planes attacked the destroyers. Following the bombardment, which lasted approximately five hours, the destroyer TCG Kocatepe sank as a result of the damage it received and sank at 22:20. The other two destroyers, TCG Adatepe and TCG Mareşal Fevzi Çakmak, despite the damage they received, have moved away from the area and returned to Turkish territorial waters. The Turkish radio announcements from the destroyers were not enough to prevent friendly fire, which the Greek side could easily do. The assessment of a ruse of war was also effective in the contacts of Ankara Akıncı Base with the Operations Directorate. As a result of this incident, 54 people were killed on the TCG Kocatepe destroyer. 42 of the destroyers evacuated personnel were rescued by the Israeli Merchant Marine School boat, while 39 personnel were rescued by a Lebanese barge. Due to the separation of the rescue rafts into groups due to the current in the sea, 112 personnel were rescued by British units and the TCG Berk ship. An investigation has been launched into the sinking of the TCG Kocatepe destroyer. The Turkish Air Force claimed that Turkish destroyers were in the area declared off-limits. While the TCG Kocatepe Destroyer incident caused sorrow in the Turkish Armed Forces, some of the destroyer personnel who survived the incident and some pilots who were on duty during the operation wrote their memoirs. This study examines the occurrence of the incident, what happened after the incident and the discussions that continue today. Within the scope of the study, an interview was conducted with one of the officers who wrote his memoirs, Naval Staff Lieutenant General Özhan Bakkalbaşıoğlu, who served on the TCG Kocatepe Destroyer.

 Another dimension of wars is the concept of friendly fire, which is when allies or units within the same army hit each other due to intelligence or communication errors. In the Cyprus Peace Operation, upon the news that Greece had sent a reinforcement convoy to the Greek Cypriot Regiment in Cyprus on July 21, 1974, the destroyers TCG Adatepe, TCG Kocatepe and TCG Mareşal Fevzi Çakmak, located off the coast of Kyrenia, received orders for a preventive operation in the direction of the port of Paphos. Considering that this was a deception in response to the statements of the Greek authorities that they had not sent any convoy, the Turkish Armed Forces mobilized elements of the Turkish Air Force. While the destroyers that reached the Paphos region at noon on July 21 did not encounter any Greek naval elements, when the Turkish warplanes arrived in the region, they considered the Turkish destroyers facing them to be Greek warships flying the Turkish flag. In response to the possibility that this could be one of the war tricks that the Greek armed forces could resort to, the Turkish planes attacked the destroyers. Following the bombardment, which lasted approximately five hours, the destroyer TCG Kocatepe sank as a result of the damage it received and sank at 22:20. The other two destroyers, TCG Adatepe and TCG Mareşal Fevzi Çakmak, despite the damage they received, have moved away from the area and returned to Turkish territorial waters. The Turkish radio announcements from the destroyers were not enough to prevent friendly fire, which the Greek side could easily do. The assessment of a ruse of war was also effective in the contacts of Ankara Akıncı Base with the Operations Directorate. As a result of this incident, 54 people were killed on the TCG Kocatepe destroyer. 42 of the destroyers evacuated personnel were rescued by the Israeli Merchant Marine School boat, while 39 personnel were rescued by a Lebanese barge. Due to the separation of the rescue rafts into groups due to the current in the sea, 112 personnel were rescued by British units and the TCG Berk ship. An investigation has been launched into the sinking of the TCG Kocatepe destroyer. The Turkish Air Force claimed that Turkish destroyers were in the area declared off-limits. While the TCG Kocatepe Destroyer incident caused sorrow in the Turkish Armed Forces, some of the destroyer personnel who survived the incident and some pilots who were on duty during the operation wrote their memoirs. This study examines the occurrence of the incident, what happened after the incident and the discussions that continue today. Within the scope of the study, an interview was conducted with one of the officers who wrote his memoirs, Naval Staff Lieutenant General Özhan Bakkalbaşıoğlu, who served on the TCG Kocatepe Destroyer.

 Savaşların bir başka boyutu olan dost ateşi kavramı, müttefiklerin yahut aynı ordu içerisinde birliklerin istihbarat veya muhaberat hatasından kaynaklanarak birbirini vurmasıdır. Kıbrıs Barış Harekatında Yunanistanın 21 Temmuz 1974 tarihinde Kıbrıstaki Rum Alayına bir takviye konvoyu gönderdiği haberi üzerine Girne açıklarında bulunan TCG Adatepe, TCG Kocatepe ve TCG Mareşal Fevzi Çakmak muhripleri, Baf limanı yönünde önleme harekâtı emri almıştır. Yunan makamlarının herhangi bir konvoy göndermedikleri beyanlarına karşılık bunun bir aldatmaca olacağı ihtimalinde duran Türk Silahlı Kuvvetleri, Türk Hava Kuvvetlerinin unsurlarını harekete geçirmiştir. 21 Temmuz öğle saatlerinde Baf bölgesine ulaşan muhripler, herhangi bir Yunan deniz unsuruna rastlamazken Türk savaş uçakları bölgeye geldiklerinde karşılarındaki Türk muhriplerini, Türk bayrağı çekmiş Yunan savaş gemileri olarak değerlendirmiştir. Yunan silahlı kuvvetlerinin başvurabileceği savaş hilelerinden biri olabileceği ihtimaline karşılık Türk uçakları, muhriplere taarruz etmiştir. Takriben beş saat süren bombardıman sonucunda TCG Kocatepe muhribi aldığı hasarlar sonucunda batmış saat 22.20de batmıştır. Diğer iki muhrip TCG Adatepe ile TCG Mareşal Fevzi Çakmak muhripleri aldıkları hasarlara rağmen bölgeden uzaklaşarak Türk karasularına dönmüştür Muhriplerden Türkçe telsiz anonslarının da Yunan tarafının kolaylıkla yapabileceği, dost ateşinin önüne geçilmesine yeterli olmamıştır. Ankara Akıncı Üssünün Harekât Başkanlığı ile temaslarında da savaş hilesi değerlendirmesi etkili olmuştur. Bu hadise sonucunda TCG Kocatepe muhribi 54 şehit verilmiştir. Muhribin tahliye olabilen personelinden 42 kişi İsrail Deniz Ticareti Okulu teknesiyle kurtarılırken, 39 personel de bir Lübnan şilebi tarafından kurtarılmıştır. Kurtarma sallarının denizdeki akıntı ile gruplara bölünmesinden ötürü 112 personelde İngiliz unsurları ve TCG Berk gemisi tarafından kurtarılmıştır. TCG Kocatepe muhribinin batması üzerine bir soruşturma açılmıştır. Türk Hava Kuvvetleri, Türk muhriplerinin yasak ilan edilen bölgede bulunduklarını iddia etmiştir. TCG Kocatepe Muhribi olayı Türk Silahlı Kuvvetlerinde üzüntü yaratırken hadiseden sağ kurtulan bazı muhrip personelleri ile harekât esnasında görevli bazı pilotlar anılarını kaleme almıştır. Bu çalışmada hadisenin meydana gelişi, hadiseden sonra yaşananlar ve günümüzde halen sürmekte olan tartışmalar incelenmiştir. Çalışma kapsamında anılarını kaleme almış subaylardan TCG Kocatepe Muhribinde görev yapmış Em. Dnz. Kur. Yrb. Özhan Bakkalbaşıoğlu ile mülakat gerçekleştirilmiştir.

Makale detayları

THE CONTROVERSIAL INCIDENT OF THE CYPRUS PEACE OPERATION: THE TCG KOCATEPE DESTROYER INCIDENT

Yazarlar:

Çağhan Sarı

Yayıncı:

Hatay Mustafa Kemal University

Ana Başlıklar:

Çağdaş Askeri Tarih

Dergi:

BELLEK Uluslararası Tarih ve Kültür Araştırmaları Dergisi Vol.7 Issue 1, pp.36-68

Belge Tipi:

Makale

Yayın Tarihi:

6/2025

Belge Dili:

Türkçe

Document ID (Org No.):

2001352922

pISSN:

2717-6142

Amfibi

Enosis

Cyprus

Destroyer

TCG KocatepeAmfibi

Enosis

Kıbrıs

Muhrip

TCG Kocatepe

Sayı

Makale detayları

Yazarlar: Çağhan Sarı

Yayıncı: Hatay Mustafa Kemal University

Ana Başlıklar: Çağdaş Askeri Tarih

Dergi: BELLEK Uluslararası Tarih ve Kültür Araştırmaları Dergisi Vol.7 Issue 1, pp.36-68

Belge Tipi: Makale

Yayın Tarihi: 6/2025

Belge Dili: Türkçe

Document ID (Org No.): 2001352922

pISSN: 2717-6142

Sayı

Yazarlar:

Çağhan Sarı

Yayıncı:

Hatay Mustafa Kemal University

Ana Başlıklar:

Çağdaş Askeri Tarih

Dergi:

BELLEK Uluslararası Tarih ve Kültür Araştırmaları Dergisi Vol.7 Issue 1, pp.36-68

Belge Tipi:

Makale

Yayın Tarihi:

6/2025

Belge Dili:

Türkçe

Document ID (Org No.):

2001352922

pISSN:

2717-6142