AirForces Monthly – May 2018

he Jandarma Havacılık Komutanlığı

answers to the Jandarma Genel

Komutanliği (Gendarmerie General

Command), Turkey’s militarised internal

security force. Operating mostly in rural areas

in a paramilitary role, its assets are scattered

widely around the country and rarely seen.

Its different helicopter types are operated

from locations ranging from a single

helipad adjacent to a regional Jandarma

building to dedicated air bases including

Aydin-Çildir in southwestern Turkey.

The organisation’s headquarters are currently

located at Ankara-Güvercinlik where it

operates alongside the Türk Kara Havacılık

Komutanlığı (Turkish Army Aviation Command).

A brief history

Although the Turkish Gendarmerie has existed

since Ottoman times, the air arm’s history began

in 1968 when its first Gendarmerie aviation

unit, the Hafif Helikopter Bölük Komutanlığı

(Light Helicopter Division Command),

formed at Diyarbakır. It was soon followed

by a similar unit at Ankara-Güvercinlik.

The units originally operated 12 Agusta-

Bell AB206A rotorcraft. Of two AB204B

versions delivered in 1970, one survives in the

Jandarma museum at the Ankara-Beytepe

army barracks. During 1974, the helicopter

force was augmented by another two AB206As,

shortly followed by four more AB206Bs.

Gendarmerie aviation saw considerable

action during Operation Attila, the Turkish

invasion of Cyprus, in July 1974. The

Jandarma Özel Harekât (JÖH, Gendarmerie

Special Forces), supplemented by the

Diyarbakır and Ankara-Güvercinlik-based units,

supported troops of the Nevsehir and Batman

Gendarmerie elite commando battalions.

In March 1975, six AB47G-3B-1 light

helicopters were delivered, but they were soon

transferred to the Army Aviation Command.

A sole AB212 delivered in 1988 for VIP

transport use crashed on an unknown date.

The aviation units at Diyarbakır and

Güvercinlik were redesignated as Jandarma

Hava Grup Komutanlığı (Gendarmerie

Aviation Group Command) during March

1978. Additionally, a third unit – the
      Helikopter Filo (Helicopter Squadron) –
      was formed at Van International Airport.

Narcotics monitors

Shortly after the establishment of the

Gendarmerie Aviation Group Command, the

United Nations donated a handful of fixed-

wing aircraft to closely monitor — and, where

needed, counter — narcotics trading and

production flourishing in eastern Turkey.

In 1969, two U-10A (Helio H-295 Super Courier)

short take-off and landing (STOL) utility aircraft,

a Rockwell 690A Aero Commander and a Piper

PA-32-260 Cherokee Six were provided to the

newly formed Narkotik Filo (Narcotics Squadron).

Equipment included four special cameras and two

mobile development units for forensic reporting.

The Narkotik Filo took on a Reims-Cessna

F182P Skylane in 1977 before disbanding in

the late 1990s, its aircraft being withdrawn.

The Rockwell Commander ended up as

a VIP transport and liaison aircraft before

being decommissioned in 2001. Meanwhile,

sometime in the late 1970s, the Gendarmerie

Aviation Group Command switched to its

current name: Gendarmerie Aviation Command.

Paramilitary responsibilities

Besides combating terrorism, the

Gendarmerie Aviation Command units

execute round-the-clock air transportation,

command and control, reconnaissance

and surveillance and security and public

order services. Missions also include aerial

supply, medical evacuation, natural disaster

relief, humanitarian aid and search and

rescue missions throughout the country.

The command’s paramilitary character is

reflected in the appearance of its helicopters,

some of which don’t sport typical military-

Gendarmerie Aviation

Command – former types

Type Qty First

delivery

Remarks

AB206A 12 March

1968

U-10A 2 1969 ex-Narkotik Filo

(only one ever seen

in service)

PA-32-260

Cherokee Six

1 1969 ex-Narkotik Filo

AC690A Aero

Commander

1 1969 ex-UN, Narkotik Filo;

refurbished in 1990s

and deployed as

staff transport

AB204B 2 July 1970

AB206A 2 April 1974

AB206B 4 1974

AB47G-3B-1 6 March

1975

F182P

Skylane

1 1977 ex-UN, Narkotik

Filo

AB212 1 1988

Serving in

the shadows

T

Above: Approximately 13 of the 24 Bell 205

helicopters delivered remain operational, some

wearing a quasi-civilian colour scheme. Despite

appearances, this ‘Huey’, and all other Jandarma

helicopters, are used mainly for military missions.

A line-up at Ankara-Güvercinlik of three of the helicopter types used by the Jandarma: the Mi-17-1V ‘Hip-H’ (the white, blue and red example is used as a VIP

transport), the Agusta-Bell AB205 ‘Huey’ and the S-70A Black Hawk. Although unconfi rmed, it seems likely that the Gendarmerie unit at Güvercinlik will move

to Aydin-Çildir or Isparta/Süleyman Demirel in future.

http://www.airforcesmonthly.com #362 MAY 2018 // 55