Turkey has entered a major development with the proclamation of the Republic. New leaps were being made in almost every field. In the sector of the defense industry, and especially the last episode in the aviation field, press the button to produce its own national warplanes Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, "The future is in heaven" towards the goal of the development of aviation in Turkey attached great importance.
Preparations began for the establishment of an aircraft factory in Kayseri immediately after the establishment of the Turkish Aircraft Association on February 16, 1925. You Kemalled ambassador to Berlin, Sami Pasha, firms might be able to help Turkey prepare a report on this issue in Germany was the only one investigating. Junkers Aircraft Factory Browse among the companies that seemed more advantageous to make a joint production in Turkey.
The Turkish government, which examined the report submitted by Kemalleddin Sami Pasha, approved the establishment of a joint-stock Turkish Joint Stock Company with the Junkers Firm with the decision of the Council of Ministers.
An agreement was signed on August 15, 1925, and Tayyare and Motor Türk Anonim Şirketi (TOMTAŞ) was established. The other partner of the company was the Turkish Aircraft Association. It has been decided that the expenses of the company with a capital of 3.5 million TL will be covered equally by the partners.
Since 51 percent of the company's shares belonged to the Ministry of National Defense, Refik Koraltan was appointed as the head of TOMTAŞ, which was headquartered in Ankara at the first establishment. According to the agreement reached, a workshop will be established in Eskişehir for the repair of small-scale aircraft, the large-scale repairs of Junkers aircraft will be carried out in the factory to be established in Kayseri, then all the necessary aircraft parts will be brought from Germany until the aircraft production is started, and after the production is necessary, strategic products such as steel and aluminum factories would be opened with partners from Turkey.
The factory was intended to produce 250 aircraft per year. The planes to be produced in the first place would be Junkers A 20 and Junkers F-13.
TOMTAŞ aircraft factory was opened with a state ceremony held on October 6, 1926.
Junkers A-1926 aircraft were first installed in TOMTAŞ in 20. Until the end of 1927, 30 Junkers A-20 and 3 Junkers F-13 model aircraft were produced. At the first stage, 50 Turkish and 120 German workers were working in the factory. Turkish personnel went to Germany and received the necessary training before the factory opened.
While productions are continuing at TOMTAŞ, some troubles started to emerge about the German partner Junkers. Because the Junkers were having economic problems at the time. The financial difficulties of the German company caused problems. Junkers failed to fulfill the commitments given to Turkey. There were also disagreements with the Junkers on patent and aircraft testing. When the German government withdrew its support from the Junkers, which was on the verge of bankruptcy, the troubles reached a very high level.
In addition, France, which sold aircraft to the Turkish Air Force, was putting pressure on the German company to close the factory.
On the other hand, the problems faced by the Junkers officials' claim that the Turkish government did not fulfill the necessary responsibilities and especially the difference in salary between the Turkish and German personnel working at the factory negatively affected their production activities.
ZamThe partnership with Junkers did not last long due to all these problems that have accumulated by the moment. On May 3, 1928, Junkers left the project by transferring all its shares to its partner, the Turkish Aircraft Association, and the partnership was officially terminated on June 28, 1928.
TOMTAŞ was closed on October 27, 1928. The Turkish Aircraft Association transferred its shares to the Ministry of National Defense in 1930. The factory, which continued its maintenance and repair activities for a while after its transfer to the Ministry of National Defense, was renamed Kayseri Aircraft Factory in 1931. Around 200 aircraft were produced for Turkish aviation at the factory. With World War II, maintenance and repair works were emphasized instead of production at the factory. After the war, the US Marshall Plan came into play. Within the framework of the Marshall Plan, the United States, 2.c rest of the world in the hands of the warplanes used completely stopped production at the plant began in 1950 to give to Turkey and Kayseri Air Supply and Maintenance Center began to pursue their activities as.
Thus, the National Aircraft production ideal, which started with great hopes, was replaced by the maintenance and repair center. If TOMTAŞ, the aircraft factory established in 1926, could continue its production without interruption or obstacles until today, we would have a world brand aircraft equivalent to an Airbus or a Boing.
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