Nuri Demirağ and Selahattin Reşit Alan: Building, Flying, Sustaining
The shared work of two aviation pioneers: training aircraft, facilities and a documented dispute over an order.
From capital to aviation infrastructure
Nuri Demirağ’s aviation venture is an important example of the early Republic’s pursuit of industrialisation. He directed the capital he had earned from railway and factory construction into aircraft production and aviation training. Archival research shows that his relationship with the state cannot be read simply as obstruction from beginning to end. The Ministry of National Defence supported foreign-currency allocations for equipment imports; a Council of Ministers decision dated 1 August 1942 also authorised his facilities to repair air force aircraft, engines and road vehicles and to manufacture some of their parts. These forms of support do not erase the serious later dispute over orders; they allow different periods of the story to be seen together.
More than a workshop
The facilities established in Beşiktaş and Yeşilköy show that the venture involved more than one aircraft. Production workshops, a flying field, hangars and training spaces formed an integrated whole. From the perspective of architectural history, they demonstrate Turkish aviation’s efforts to create spaces and infrastructure. Nuri Bey aimed not merely to build a flying prototype but to establish a system connecting design to production and production to trained people. Research drawing on Republican Archives documents and contemporary photographs gives these facilities a concrete history. Remembering the factory therefore also means remembering its engineers, technicians, maintenance staff and students.
Selahattin Reşit Alan’s engineering legacy
The late Selahattin Reşit Alan, a central figure in this work, was among the pioneers who combined piloting with engineering. TUSAŞ’s institutional commemoration highlights his education in France and his work at the Eskişehir Aircraft Repair Factory after returning home. Alan participated in aircraft design work with Nuri Demirağ. Presenting him solely as the victim of an unfortunate accident pushes his engineering contribution into the background. As one of the first generation of technical professionals in Turkish aviation, his drawings, solutions and production responsibilities deserve recognition in their own right. This generation’s legacy reminds us that design, manufacturing and flight expertise must develop together.
1938: The loss of Alan
Alan died in 1938 when his NuD36 crashed during landing at İnönü Airfield. This severe loss also affected the venture’s personnel and engineering expertise.
NuD36 and NuD38: Design year and flight year
The NuD36 was a two-seat, dual-control trainer. The twin-engine NuD38 prototype, with a metal fuselage, was designed for two pilots and four passengers. TÜBİTAK’s study dates the NuD38’s design to 1938 and its first test flight to 11 February 1944; it dates the opening of the Yeşilköy factory and Gök School to 17 August 1941.
Glider delivery and aircraft acceptance were separate
Academic research describes THK’s order as 65 gliders and 10 training aircraft. The gliders were delivered; the dispute centred on acceptance of the training aircraft. Saying that ‘all orders were cancelled’ therefore obscures completed production and deliveries. Figures of 12 or 24 aircraft found in other accounts should not be treated as the fixed quantity in the same contract. Order quantity, completed production and the number of aircraft accepted by an institution are different measures.
Orders, acceptance and contractual disagreement
The dispute with THK requires its events to be distinguished. According to documents published by Demirağ, the contract of 22 January 1937 covered ten training aircraft. On 1 March 1939, he was informed that they would not be accepted; a letter of 24 March terminated the contract. THK cited engine power, propeller compatibility, performance, aerobatic capability and delivery obligations. Demirağ objected, pointing to the difference between the engine’s catalogue and actual power, his rights to retest and correct defects, and the loss of Alan. Presenting his defence alongside the institution’s grounds does not diminish his loss. The documents show a commercial and technical dispute; a single accident does not automatically establish sabotage.
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REFERENCES / OPEN RESEARCH
Follow the evidence.
- Nuri Demirağ’s Emergence, Rise and Fall as an Entrepreneur: A Historical Study through the Macro-Institutional Approach ↗
- Nuri Demirağ’s Aviation Facilities in Beşiktaş and Yeşilköy ↗
- TUSAŞ Commemorates Turkish Aviation Pioneer Selahattin Reşit Alan with Respect ↗
- Demirağ’s Aircraft, 1936–1944 ↗
- The Life and Work of Mühürdarzade Nuri Bey (Demirağ), 1886–1957 ↗
- The Man Who Made His Dreams Fly: Nuri Demirağ ↗