Turkey is on fire, sells off assets
While Turkey is fighting off the biggest forest fires it has ever seen, it is unable to cope with the demand using the fire-fighting assets it owns.
This has led to the activation of the 'EU Civil Protection Mechanism', under which assistance is provided by the European reserve of civil protection assets. In this case CL-415 fire bombers from Croatia and Spain.
When the scale of an emergency overwhelms the response capabilities of a country, it can request assistance via the Mechanism, which Turkey reluctantly did. Besides the EU assets, Turkey received help from the Ukraine and Russia which provided An-32P fire bombers, Beriev 200 water bombers as well as Mi-26, Mi-8 and Kamov 28 water bomber helicopters equipped with Bambi Buckets. Iran sent two IRGCAF Mi-171 helicopters and an An Il-76 brought supplies to Adana.
Ironically, as recent as October 2020 the Türk Hava Kurumu (THK - Turkish Aeronautical Association) put some of its critical fire-fighting assets for sale. Three Canadair CL-215 fire bombers and eleven PZL M-18A/B Dromader spotter planes were offered in an auction.
Scramble Magazine assesses that none of these aircraft were actually sold, they were generally in a bad shape and have been in open storage at Ankara Etimesgut airport for a number of years. Many Turkish media outlets argue that more funds should be made available to make Turkey more self-sufficient in fighting the fires; the THK has been struggling with its funding for years whilst trying its upmost to keep the critical fire-fighting capabilities in its arsenal operational.
In Turkey there is huge criticism towards the Turkish government on how the forest fires are handled and the lack of funds to fight them with domestic capabilities. Traditionally, the Orman Genel Müdürlüğü Havacılık (OGM - Turkish General Directorate of Forestry Aviation Department) assets, that comprises of six Bell 429 helicopters and one Cessna 650 liaison aircraft, are augmented by assets of the THK. The THK has nine CL-215s in her arsenal. Each fire season, these assets are seconded by the OGM and forward deployed to airfields near high-risk areas, typically Antalya and Izmir.
The Türk Hava Kurumu is a non-government and non-profit organisation that was founded in 1925 by the founder of the Republic of Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. The aim of the THK is to increase general public awareness and participation in aviation-related activities. To this day it plays a pivotal role in motivating young people to pursue a career in the aviation sector, which has proven to be of great importance for the development of the high-tech and defence industries in Turkey.
The following assets were put up for sale in 2020:
The remaining six THK CL-215s are:
Photos by Marco Dijkshoorn
With thanks to the online Turkish civil register maintained by Ole Nikolajsen at CIVIL AIRCRAFT SECTION (ole-nikolajsen.com)