Ahmet Ali Çelikten facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Ahmet Ali Çelikten
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Çelikten with his flight cap, Istanbul , Place. Yeşilköy Airfield - today Istanbul Atatürk Airport.
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| Birth name | İzmir´li Alioğlu, Ahmed Ali Çelikten |
| Nickname(s) | Arap Ahmet Ali İzmirli Ahmet Ali, Pilot Code-Call Name - Black Steel Eagle of Izmir, in short Black Eagle |
| Born | 1883, Izmir İzmir, Aydin Vilayet, Ottoman Empire |
| Died | June 24th 1969 Izmir, Türkiye |
| Allegiance |  Ottoman Empire Turkey |
| Service/ |
 Ottoman Navy Ottoman Aviation Squadrons Turkish Naval Forces Turkish Air Force |
| Years of service | Ottoman Empire: 1904–1920 Turkey: 1920–1949 |
| Rank | Colonel (Albay) |
| Unit | June 25th 1914, Istanbul Bahri Teyyare Bölüğü |
| Battles/wars | Gallipoli campaign World War I Turkish War of Independence Battle with a Greek aircraft over the Aegean Sea in 1919. Ahmet Ali shot one Greek fighter aircraft. He protected the civilians of Izmir from air attack. |
| Awards | Yellow Navy Medal of the Turkish Navy, "Turkish Independence Medal Nr. 480" awarded in 1924 by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and İsmet İnönü for his heroism in rescuing Türkiye in the war of liberation. |
| Children | Muammer Celikten, Yilmaz Celikten, and Mehmet Ali Şeker (nephew) |
Ahmet Ali Çelikten (born İzmirli Alioğlu Ahmed; 1883 – 1969), also known as İzmirli Ahmet Ali (English: Ahmet Ali from Izmir), was a Turkish aviator, of Afro-Turkish ethnicity, regarded as the first black pilot in history. He was one of the first black males becoming a fighter pilot, receiving his “wings” in 1914. He was one of the few black pilots in World War I, like African American Eugene Jacques Bullard (flying for France), William Robinson Clarke from Jamaica (flying for Britain), Pierre Réjon from Martinique (flying for France) and Domenico Mondelli from Eritrea (flying for Italy), first black pilot ever (he received his license by Fédération Aéronautique Internationale on February 20, 1914). Ahmet's maternal grandmother was born in Bornu (now in Nigeria) and was brought to what is now Turkey as part of the Ottoman slave trade.
Biography
Ahmet was born in 1883 in Izmir (ancient Smyrna), in the Aidin Vilayet of the Ottoman Empire. His mother, Zenciye Emine Hanım, was of Nigerian descent; his father, Ali Bey, was also Afro-Turkish. The Family flew from Cairo, Egypt to Crete because Egypt was occupied by the French in the Years 1798-1801, they moved from Crete to Izmir. He aimed to become a sailor and entered the Naval Technical School Haddehâne Mektebi (literally "School of the Blooming Mill") in 1904. In 1908, he graduated from this school as a First Lieutenant (Mülâzım-ı evvel). And then he went to aviation courses in the Naval Flight School (Deniz Tayyare Mektebi), formed on 25 June 1914 at Yeşilköy. He was then a member of the Ottoman Air Force.
During World War I, he married Hatice Hanım (1897–1991) who was an immigrant from Preveza.
He became one of the first black military pilots in aviation history in 11.November 1916. on 14 February 1917, Ahmed Ali was made a Captain (Yüzbaşı) and sent to Berlin 18.Dezember 1917 to complete aviation courses. Following the completion of these courses, he was assigned to the Izmir Naval Aircraft Company. His Code Name was "Celik Kara Kartal" - Black Eagle of Steel, derived from his name.
Following the end of World War I, Ahmed Ali became involved with the Turkish War of Independence and supported the Turkish National Movement. He volunteered his services as a pilot at the Konya Military Air Base, in Konya, Turkey. At this time, Turkish Nationalists enacted a plan to steal airplanes from Ottoman warehouses and bring them to Amasra, a port town on the Black Sea. Ahmed was sent to Amasra in 1922 in order to assist with this operation. Pilots utilized these airplanes to monitor the Black Sea and protect their naval operations.
Upon the establishment of the Republic of Turkey in 1923, a division was created to move aviation operations from Konya to Izmir. Ahmed was assigned to this division and continued his service in Izmir. In 1928, he was appointed to the Air Undersecretariat, a division of the Turkish Air Force which operated under the Ministry of National Defense. He was Honored by the "Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Istiklal Madalyasi" (Independence Medal) with the Nr: 480 in 1924 by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk - and Ismet Inönü for his bravery in the Türkish Independence War.
Ahmed Ali retired in 1949 as Türk Hava Kuvvetleri Albayi (Colonel) the Turkish Air Force, after his pension he devoted his time to his family and led a secluded life. He died in 24. June 1969 in Izmir, Turkey. Ahmet Ali´s grandchildren are widely active in the Aviation Industry in Turkey and Germany, one grandson is Pilot in Germany.
Legacy
To quote David Nicolle's book, The Ottoman Army 1904–1918, "Most Ottoman aircrew were recruited from the Turkish heartland ... others came from the Arab provinces of the Ottoman Empire as far south as Yemen, or even from neutral Iran. Captain Ahmet was a mix of Arab-African and Turkish origin and may have been the first 'Black' Air Force pilot in aviation history, having received his 'wings' in 1914-15." The book features a photo of Ahmet in front of a Bleriot XI-2 trainer at the Yeşilköy flying school. The same photo is featured in "Over the Front", Volume 9, No. 3, Fall 1994. Ahmet's "wings" would seem to have been earned prior to Bullard's earning his brevet No. 6259 on 20 July 1917, though Bullard is often cited as history's first black military aviator.
Gallery
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Ahmet Ali in flight suit with officers wearing a fez in the background.
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Ottoman naval aviators of the Naval Flight School (Deniz Tayyare Mektebi) at Aya Stefanos; left to right: pilot Ahmet Ali (Çelikten), Sami (Uçan), İhsan and observer Hüseyin Kâmil (Görgün).
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Ottoman pilots in 1914/1915 next to a Blériot XI-2 monoplane. Ahmet Ali Çelikten can be seen next to the propeller.
