Cengiz Topel

Cengiz Topel (September 2, 1934 – August 8, 1964) was a fighter pilot and captain of the Turkish Air Force.

Topel illegally dropped napalm on civilian-populated areas during the Battle of Tillyria, causing civilian casualties and immense destruction. He was later killed by the Cypriot National Guard, becoming the first war casualty of the Turkish Air Force in Cyprus. Remembered as a hero in Turkey, his name was posthumously given to several schools, neighborhoods, streets and avenues.

Early life Topel was born in İzmit, Kocaeli on September 2, 1934 to Mebuse Hanım and Hakkı Bey, a tobacco expert from Trabzon. He was the third of four children.

He started attending primary school in Bandırma, and later continued it in Gönen after his father was reassigned there. His father died in 1943, when Topel was 9, and the family moved to Istanbul. Topel completed his primary education at Kadıköy Elementary School and his secondary education at Kadıköy Yeldeğirmeni School. After briefly attending Haydarpaşa High School, Topel transferred to Kuleli Military High School. He graduated from the school in 1953 and entered the Turkish Military Academy, graduating in 1955 with the rank of second lieutenant.

Career His interest in aviation led him to the Turkish Air Force. The same year he graduated from the Turkish Military Academy, he took part in a NATO training program for Turkish pilots; attending the program in Gaziemir, and later Canada. During his 20-month stay in Canada, he completed a language course, basic flight training with the T-6 aircraft, advanced flight training with the T-33, and fighter training with the F-86. He logged 181.35 hours on the T-6, 83.15 hours on the T-33, and 25 hours on the F-86. In 1957, he earned his pilot wings and returned to Turkey, where he began serving at the 5th Main Jet Base Command in Merzifon.

In 1961, he was assigned to the 1st Main Jet Base in Eskişehir, where he was trained as a combat-ready pilot on the F-100 aircraft. In 1963, he was promoted to the rank of captain.

Battle of Tillyria

War crimes On August 8, 1964, during the Battle of Tylliria, he led a four-fighter flight of the 112th Air Squadron leaving Eskişehir Air Base around 17:00 local time for Cyprus. Topel's F-100 Super Sabre illegally dropped napalm bombs onto Greek Cypriot civilians and civilian-populated areas, leaving many Greek civilians dead and homeless; several animals were also killed in the bombing.

A British Pathé video documented the war crime, noting its "tragic aftermath". On the other hand, Turkish sources maintain that he was captured, tortured and lynched. A Turkish Cypriot autopsy showed Topel with extensive bruising and hemorrhaging around the right eye, neck, shoulder and scapular area, a fractured right scapula and several ribs, and a small wound in the upper arm. These wounds are interpreted by Turks as having been deliberately inflicted, as revenge for Topel napalm bombing a civilian-populated area.

Legacy Topel is remembered as a Turkish hero. His personal belongings are displayed at the Istanbul Military Museum in Harbiye and he is known as the first Turkish air combat loss in Cyprus.

A former Turkish Air Force base located near İzmit, currently in use as Cengiz Topel Naval Air Station, is named after him. A monument was erected on the coastal road in the village Gemikonağı near Lefke in Northern Cyprus, where he had landed by parachute. A bronze statue in Eskişehir depicts him in flight suit. A number of places, including schools, in Turkey and a hospital in Northern Cyprus are named after him.