Sabiha Gökçen: Atatürk’s Adopted Daughter and Pilot
Sabiha Gökçen in dated facts and photographs: her adoption by Atatürk, the Türkkuşu school, her military certificate and the 1938 Balkan flight.
Table of Contents
Sabiha Gökçen (1913 to 2001) was a Turkish pilot and Atatürk’s adopted daughter. She learned to fly at the Türkkuşu school from 1935, received her military flying certificate on 30 August 1937 and flew to four Balkan capitals in June 1938.
The short version
A pilot, an adopted daughter and the woman who flew to four Balkan capitals in 1938.
- Her life: born in 1913 in Bursa, died on 22 March 2001 aged 88, buried at the military cemetery at Cebeci (Cebeci Şehitliği) in Ankara.
- Her flying: first female student at the Türkkuşu school in 1935; military flying certificate on 30 August 1937.
- The Balkan flight: 16 to 21 June 1938, from Istanbul to Athens, Thessaloniki, Sofia, Belgrade and Bucharest and back, about 3,000 km.
- The title: sources word “first” in several ways, among them “first woman military pilot of the Republic of Türkiye”, “the world’s first woman combat pilot” and “first military aircraft pilot”.
Seven moments
The honours case
Her seven badges
“First woman military pilot”
Directorate General of Civil Aviation, list of women’s aviation firsts (checked 22 October 2026)
«İlk Askeri Uçak Pilotu · 1936 · Hava Kuvvetleri Komutanlığı»
first military aircraft pilot · 1936 · Air Force Command
Atatürk Research Center, entry on the air force in Atatürk’s time (entry updated 9 October 2026)
«Dünya'nın ilk kadın askerî pilotu olur»
becomes the world’s first woman military pilot
Atatürk Research Center, her entry, summary line (entry updated 8 October 2026)
«Türkiye Cumhuriyeti'nin ilk kadın askeri pilotu»
the first woman military pilot of the Republic of Türkiye
Citation slip
In English
The Atatürk Research Center’s encyclopedia calls Sabiha Gökçen “the first woman military pilot of the Republic of Türkiye” (her entry, updated 8 October 2026) and “the world’s first woman military pilot” (its entry on the air force, updated 9 October 2026); the Directorate General of Civil Aviation’s list names her “first military aircraft pilot”, 1936 (checked 22 October 2026).
In Turkish
Atatürk Araştırma Merkezi’nin ansiklopedisi Sabiha Gökçen’i kendi maddesinde “Türkiye Cumhuriyeti’nin ilk kadın askeri pilotu” (madde güncelleme tarihi 08.10.2026), Atatürk Dönemi Türk Hava Kuvvetleri maddesinde “Dünya’nın ilk kadın askerî pilotu” (madde güncelleme tarihi 09.10.2026) diye anar; Sivil Havacılık Genel Müdürlüğü’nün listesi onu 1936 tarihli “İlk Askeri Uçak Pilotu” olarak gösterir (sayfa kontrol tarihi 22.10.2026).
The seven badges as a table
| Badge | Source | The words | Meaning | Date of the page |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First female student, 1935 | Atatürk Research Center, her entry | «ilk kız öğrenci olarak 1935 yılında Türk Hava Kurumunun Türk Kuşu Sivil Havacılık Okuluna girmiş oldu» | she entered the Türkkuşu Civil Aviation School of the Turkish Aeronautical Association in 1935 as its first girl student | entry updated 8 October 2026 |
| “First woman military pilot” | Directorate General of Civil Aviation, list of women’s aviation firsts | «İlk Askeri Uçak Pilotu · 1936 · Hava Kuvvetleri Komutanlığı» | first military aircraft pilot · 1936 · Air Force Command | checked 22 October 2026 |
| “First woman military pilot” | Atatürk Research Center, entry on the air force in Atatürk’s time | «Dünya'nın ilk kadın askerî pilotu olur» | becomes the world’s first woman military pilot | entry updated 9 October 2026 |
| “First woman military pilot” | Atatürk Research Center, her entry, summary line | «Türkiye Cumhuriyeti'nin ilk kadın askeri pilotu» | the first woman military pilot of the Republic of Türkiye | entry updated 8 October 2026 |
| “World’s first woman combat pilot” | Atatürk Research Center, her entry | «dünyanın ilk kadın savaş pilotu ünvanına da sahip oldu» | also came to hold the title of the world’s first woman combat pilot | entry updated 8 October 2026 |
| “World’s first woman combat pilot” | Atatürk Research Center, entry on aviation and the aircraft industry in Atatürk’s time | «Atatürk’ün manevi kızı ve dünyanın ilk kadın savaş pilotu olan Sabiha Gökçen» | Atatürk’s manevi daughter and the world’s first woman combat pilot, Sabiha Gökçen | entry updated 9 October 2026 |
| Balkan flight, 1938 | Atatürk Research Center, her entry | «Balkan turu kapsamında 3.000 kilometrelik uçuş gerçekleştirmişti» | had flown 3,000 kilometres in the Balkan tour | entry updated 8 October 2026 |
| Balkan flight, 1938 | Her own words in Athens, as the entry quotes them | «Balkan turuna çıkan ilk askerî Türk kadın pilotu olduğum için mutluyum» | I am happy to be the first Turkish woman military pilot to set out on a Balkan tour | entry updated 8 October 2026 |
| Yugoslav honours, 1938 | Atatürk Research Center, her entry | «Yugoslav Hava Kuvvetleri Komutanı General Yankoviç tarafından Yugoslav Hava Nişanı takdim edildi» | the commander of the Yugoslav air force, General Yankoviç, presented the Yugoslav Air Medal | entry updated 8 October 2026 |
| Yugoslav honours, 1938 | Atatürk Research Center, her entry | «“Beyaz Kartal Nişanı”, o güne kadar sadece dört kişiye verilmişti» | the Order of the White Eagle had been given to only four people until then | entry updated 8 October 2026 |
| One of 20 aviators, 1996 | Atatürk Research Center, her entry | «dünya tarihine adını yazdıran 20 havacıdan biri seçildi. Bu ödüle layık görülen ilk ve tek kadın havacı oldu» | was chosen as one of the 20 aviators who wrote their names into world history. She became the first and only woman aviator thought worthy of this award | entry updated 8 October 2026 |
| Atatürk’s adopted daughter | Atatürk Research Center, her entry | «Bursa gezisi sırasında manevi evlat edindi» | took her in as a manevi child (adopted; literally “of the spirit”) during the Bursa trip | entry updated 8 October 2026 |
| Atatürk’s adopted daughter | Ministry of National Defence, Anıtkabir Museum page | «ATATÜRK'ün manevi kızı Sabiha GÖKÇEN'e soyadı verdiğini gösteren belge» | the paper that shows Atatürk gave his manevi daughter Sabiha Gökçen her surname | checked 22 October 2026 |
Childhood and adoption
She was born in 1913 in Bursa. The Atatürk Research Center’s encyclopedia names her father as Mustafa İzzet Bey, the chief clerk of the province (Vilayet Başkâtibi), and her mother as Hayriye Hanım. She lost both parents young and was brought up by her elder brother. She was the last of six children, and her father had been sent to Bursa in exile by Sultan Abdülhamid II.
Atatürk met her on his trip to Bursa, between 22 September and 8 October 1925. When he learned how hard her life was, he spoke to her elder brother and took her in as his manevi child (“of the spirit”, the word for the children he adopted). After that her life changed. She went to the primary school at Çankaya, a one-storey, two-room school built in the garden of the Çankaya Mansion for the children who lived nearby.
One of eleven
Atatürk took in eleven manevi children, five before the Republic was declared and six after it. She was one of the six. The Atatürk Research Center’s encyclopedia says he wanted to raise them as examples for Turkish women, and that she was shown to the public as a role model in aviation, a field that seemed out of reach for women.
Of the other three, Afet (Afetinan) was a teacher who became a professor in 1950. Rukiye married a gendarmerie captain, Hüsnü Erkin, and Atatürk danced the first dance with her at the wedding at Dolmabahçe Palace. Zehra was sent to school in London and died in 1936.
After Çankaya she went to two girls’ colleges in Istanbul, at Arnavutköy and at Üsküdar. Illness broke off her schooling. She was treated on Heybeliada and in Vienna, and spent some time in Paris to improve her French.
In 1934, when the Surname Law was passed, Atatürk gave her the surname Gökçen. The law was accepted on 21 June 1934; the law that gave Atatürk his own surname followed on 24 November 1934. She later told the story of that evening.
The night of the surname
- At his tableEvery night at his table Atatürk found a surname for a friend or a relative, and one night it was her turn.
- Her answer«Siz ne emrederseniz o olsun efendim», she stammered: “Let it be whatever you command, sir.”
- His thoughtHe thought for a while and said «Sana Atatürk kızı soyadını vermek isterdim ama…» (“I would have liked to give you the surname Atatürk’s daughter, but…”).
- One wordThen he took a paper and wrote one word on it: Gökçen.
She added that many people think she took the name after she began to fly, and that it was the other way round: «Ata’nın Gökçen soyadını bana vermesinden sonra göklerle buluşup havacılığa başladım» (“Only after Atatürk gave me the surname Gökçen did I meet the skies and begin to fly”).
«Sabiha Gökçen – S. Gökçen’dir»
K. Atatürk
«19.XII.1934 kutlu olsun»
The desk
Three papers in the Anıtkabir Museum
The surname paper
The paper that, in the museum’s words, shows Atatürk gave his manevi daughter Sabiha Gökçen her surname. It reads «Sabiha Gökçen – S. Gökçen’dir» (“Sabiha Gökçen: it is S. Gökçen”), is signed “K. Atatürk” and has «19.XII.1934 kutlu olsun» (“19 December 1934, may it be blessed”) under the signature. She donated it to the museum.
The three papers as a table
| Paper | What it is | Size |
|---|---|---|
| The 5 TL note | A 5 TL banknote dated 1 January 1938 and signed “K. Atatürk”. Atatürk signed it and handed it to his manevi daughter Sabiha Gökçen at a meeting in Çankaya, and she donated it to the Anıtkabir Museum. | 15.7 × 7.3 cm |
| The pencil letter | A letter written by Atatürk in pencil, in his own hand, that begins «Kızım Uçman Gökçen’e» (“To my daughter, aviator Gökçen”). It is signed “K. Atatürk”, and she donated it to the museum. | 24 × 18 cm |
| The surname paper | The paper that, in the museum’s words, shows Atatürk gave his manevi daughter Sabiha Gökçen her surname. It reads «Sabiha Gökçen – S. Gökçen’dir» (“Sabiha Gökçen: it is S. Gökçen”), is signed “K. Atatürk” and has «19.XII.1934 kutlu olsun» (“19 December 1934, may it be blessed”) under the signature. She donated it to the museum. | 27 × 21 cm |
Sources: Atatürk Encyclopedia, her entry; Atatürk Encyclopedia, Atatürk’s manevi children; Atatürk chronology; Anıtkabir Museum pages.
3 May 1935, the day Türkkuşu opened
Türkkuşu (“Turkish bird”) was the flying school of the Turkish Aeronautical Association. It was to teach women and men from 18 to 35 to fly gliders and to jump with a parachute.
- 16 February 1925
- The Turkish Aircraft Society (Türk Tayyare Cemiyeti) is founded. It lives on gifts from the public.
- 3 May 1935
- Türkkuşu opens. At the start its Ankara branch has 200 members.
- 24 May 1935
- The sixth congress of the society gives it its present name, the Turkish Aeronautical Association (Türk Hava Kurumu).
Atatürk had asked the association’s chairman, Fuat Bulca, about working with Soviet aviation and about the activities of Vecihi Hürkuş, a Turkish aviator he followed in the press. Bulca gave a favourable opinion on both. Atatürk then asked for a flying unit with the name Türkkuşu and said that Vecihi Bey should be used.
Sabiha Gökçen remembered the morning of 3 May 1935: Atatürk got up very early, put on his favourite sports clothes and his cap. «Haydi bakalım Gökçen,» he said. «Gidiyoruz.» (“Come on, Gökçen. We are going.”)
The speech at Etimesgut
The opening took place on the airfield at Etimesgut, near Ankara. In his speech Atatürk said that the world is made of earth, water and air, and that a nation that loves its life must take more interest in its air every day, as it does in its land and seas. Four of his sentences, as the printed speech has them:
Atatürk, Etimesgut, 3 May 1935
«Bizim dünyamız bilirsiniz topraktan, sudan ve havadan oluşmuştur.» “Our world, as you know, is made of earth, water and air.”
«Türk yurdun dağlarında, ormanlarında, ovalarında, denizlerinde, her bucağında, nasıl bir bilgi ve kendine güvenle yürüyor, dolaşıyorsa, yurdun asumanında da aynı suretle dolaşabilmelidir.» “As the Turk walks with knowledge and self-confidence in every corner of the homeland’s mountains, forests, plains and seas, so he must be able to move in the homeland’s sky.”
The same speech, the last lines
«Bu ödevimizi başarmada, bizden değerli yardımlarını esirgemeyen, dostumuz Rus Sovyet Cumhuriyeti’ne ve onun Sayın Büyükelçisi Bay Karahan’a önünüzde açıkça teşekkür etmekten kıvanç duyarım.» “I am proud to thank openly, before you, our friend the Russian Soviet Republic, which did not hold back its valuable help in this task, and its ambassador, Mr Karahan.”
«Türk çocuğu, her işte olduğu gibi havacılıkta da en yüksek düzeyde, gökte seni bekleyen yerini az zamanda dolduracaksın.» “Turkish child, in aviation as in everything else you will soon fill, at the highest level, the place that is waiting for you in the sky.”
“I would like to be in their place”
There were glider displays at the opening. Atatürk saw how excited she was and asked «Nasıl, sen de böyle havalarda süzülebilir, paraşütle atlayabilir misin bakalım?» (“Well, could you glide in the air like that, and jump with a parachute?”). She answered «Onların yerinde olmak isterdim» (“I would like to be in their place”). He said «cesaretini beğendim» (“I liked your courage”) and told Fuat Bulca «Fuat Bey, Bizim Gökçen de çalışmalara katılmak istiyor» (“Fuat Bey, our Gökçen also wants to join the work”). He had her name entered on the spot.
She started the next day, 4 May 1935, as the school’s first female student. She trained in parachuting and gliding and won the A and B gliding certificates. Young people applied from every corner of the country.
- 10 July 1936
- The association opens a glider camp at İnönü.
- 1937
- The Etimesgut flying camp for powered aircraft begins work. Parachute towers open in Ankara and İzmir.
The association in numbers
- 350
- aircraft bought for the air force by 24 May 1935
- 72
- pilots trained at Etimesgut in its first year, 1937
- 193
- pilots trained by 1940
- 52
- aircraft owned by the association in 1940
- 72.8
- million TL in gifts by 1940, 54 million of it for the air force budget
Sources: Atatürk’s Speeches and Statements, vol. III; Atatürk Encyclopedia, her entry; Atatürk Encyclopedia, the Turkish Aeronautical Association; Atatürk Encyclopedia, aviation and the aircraft industry; Atatürk chronology.
From glider to military school, 1935 to 1937
Turkish military flying was young. The Ottoman state formed an air commission on 1 June 1911 and opened its air school at Yeşilköy on 3 July 1912. In 1936 and 1937 she went through the steps that made a woman a military pilot: gliders, a powered aircraft, then the military flying school.
- 10 July 1935
- She leaves with seven male students for the Koktebel Higher Glider School in Crimea. They reach Odesa on 12 July, travel on through Sevastopol, Yalta and Feodosia, and go by bus to Koktebel. She finishes the six-month course with the title of glider instructor (Planör Öğretmeni).
- 25 February 1936
- Her first flight in a powered aircraft.
- 7 June 1936
- She flies from Yeşilköy in Istanbul to Bursa in 35 minutes, after a circle over Yalova.
- 1936 to 1937
- She trains for 11 months at the Eskişehir Aircraft School, then serves six months in the 1st Aircraft Regiment, where she specialises in fighter and bomber aircraft.
- 1937
- She takes part in the Aegean and Thrace manoeuvres.
- 30 August 1937
- She receives her military flying certificate. 30 August is the day the Battle of Dumlupınar was won in 1922.
- Also in 1937
- According to the Atatürk Research Center’s encyclopedia, she took part in 1937, at her own request, in the military operation in Dersim (today Tunceli).
Koktebel, Crimea
When the group arrived, the school had hung a banner reading Hoş Geldiniz (“welcome”) at its gate and raised the Turkish flag on a pole. At the graduation ceremony she ended her speech with the hope of seeing aviation, in a future world at peace, “outside war and in the greater services of humanity”.
Landing in Bursa
- The welcomeOn 7 June 1936 the governor of Bursa, the mayor, General Fahrettin Altay and the leaders of the party were at the field to meet her. She landed with skilful turns in front of a crowd of students.
- The giftsThe mayor gave her a bouquet and a piece of silk in the name of the city, and a Türkkuşu student gave her a second bouquet.
- Round twoAt the crowd’s wish she took off again before she had left the aircraft and flew a second round over the green Bursa of her childhood and around Uludağ before she landed.
- The decisionAtatürk decided to send her to the Aircraft School at Eskişehir for special training.
The certificate, 30 August 1937
She received the certificate in a ceremony she remembered in these words: «Ne mutlu bana ki, bu şeref beratını, milletimin ve vatanımın en büyük şerefe ulaştığı bu kutsal 30 Ağustos gününde almış bulunuyorum» (“How happy I am to receive this certificate of honour on this sacred 30 August, the day my nation and my homeland reached their greatest honour”).
Sources: Atatürk Encyclopedia, her entry; Atatürk Encyclopedia, aviation and the aircraft industry; Atatürk chronology.
The “first” titles
Sources word her title differently. Some say “combat pilot” and some say “military pilot”; some say “the world’s first” and some say first in Türkiye.
| Source | The words | In English | Date of the page |
|---|---|---|---|
| Atatürk Research Center, her entry | «dünyanın ilk kadın savaş pilotu ünvanına da sahip oldu» | also came to hold the title of the world’s first woman combat pilot | entry updated 8 October 2026 |
| The same entry, summary line | «Türkiye Cumhuriyeti’nin ilk kadın askeri pilotu» | the first woman military pilot of the Republic of Türkiye | entry updated 8 October 2026 |
| Atatürk Research Center, entry on the air force in Atatürk’s time | «Dünya’nın ilk kadın askerî pilotu olur» | becomes the world’s first woman military pilot | entry updated 9 October 2026 |
| Atatürk Research Center, entry on Atatürk’s manevi children | «İlk Türk kadın savaş pilotu olan Sabiha Gökçen» | Sabiha Gökçen, the first Turkish woman combat pilot | entry updated 9 October 2026 |
| Atatürk Research Center, entry on aviation and the aircraft industry in Atatürk’s time | «Atatürk’ün manevi kızı ve dünyanın ilk kadın savaş pilotu olan Sabiha Gökçen» | Atatürk’s manevi daughter and the world’s first woman combat pilot, Sabiha Gökçen | entry updated 9 October 2026 |
| Directorate General of Civil Aviation, list of women’s aviation firsts | «İlk Askeri Uçak Pilotu», 1936 | first military aircraft pilot, 1936 (under Air Force Command) | checked 22 October 2026 |
Atatürk’s sentence
The entry quotes Atatürk telling her after her flight to Bursa in 1936: Belki de dünyada ilk askerî kadın pilot olacaksın, “Maybe you will be the first woman military pilot in the world.”
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation publishes a list of sixteen women’s firsts in Turkish aviation, from 1913 to 2001. Hers is the fourth entry, in 1936, the year the list also records the first glider pilot and the first martyred aviator.
The flight register
Sixteen women’s firsts, 1913 to 2001
| Year | Name | Title as printed | In English | Institution |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1913 | Belkıs Şevket | «İlk Uçakla Uçan» | first to fly in an aircraft | Müdâfaa-i Hukûk-u Nisvân Cemiyeti Society for the Defence of Women’s Rights |
| 1933 | Bedriye Tahir Gökmen | «İlk Pilot» | first pilot | Vecihi Sivil Tayyare Mektebi Vecihi Civil Aircraft School |
| 1935 | Yıldız Uçman | «İlk Paraşütçü» | first parachutist | Türk Hava Kurumu Turkish Aeronautical Association |
| 1936 | Sabiha Gökçen | «İlk Askeri Uçak Pilotu» | first military aircraft pilot | Hava Kuvvetleri Komutanlığı Air Force Command |
| 1936 | Naciye Toros | «İlk Planör Pilotu» | first glider pilot | Türk Hava Kurumu Turkish Aeronautical Association |
| 1936 | Eribe Kartal Hürkuş | «İlk Şehit Havacı» | first martyred aviator | Türk Hava Kurumu Turkish Aeronautical Association |
| 1937 | Edibe Subaşı Kutucuoğlu | «İlk Akrobası Pilotu» | first aerobatics pilot | Türk Hava Kurumu Turkish Aeronautical Association |
| 1948 | Adile Tuğrul | «İlk Hava Kamarotu & Hostes» | first flight attendant and hostess | Türk Hava Yolları Turkish Airlines |
| 1956 | Nazmiye Göyük | «İlk Hava Trafik Kontrolörü» | first air traffic controller | Devlet Hava Meydanları İşletmesi Genel Müdürlüğü State Airports Authority |
| 1958 | Leman Bozkurt Altınçekiç | «İlk Jet (Turbo Motorlu) Uçak Pilotu» | first jet (turbine-engine) aircraft pilot | Hava Kuvvetleri Komutanlığı Air Force Command |
| 1958 | Melahat Morçöl | «SHGM Kayıtlarına Göre Lisans Alan İlk Pilot» | first pilot to get a licence, in the directorate’s records | Sivil Havacılık Genel Müdürlüğü Directorate General of Civil Aviation |
| 1960 | Şenay Günay | «İlk Jet Savaş Uçak Pilotu» | first jet fighter pilot | Hava Kuvvetleri Komutanlığı Air Force Command |
| 1961 | Dilhan Ezer Eryurt | «NASA'DA Görev Yapan İlk Havacı» | first aviator to work at NASA | NASA |
| 1961 | Leman Aldak | «İlk Uçak Yüksek Mühendisi» | first senior aircraft engineer | İstanbul Teknik Üniversitesi Istanbul Technical University |
| 1964 | Türkan Demirel | «İlk Uçuş Doktoru» | first flight doctor | Hava Kuvvetleri Komutanlığı Air Force Command |
| 2001 | Ayfer Gök | «İlk Şehit Jet Savaş Uçağı Pilotu» | first martyred jet fighter pilot | Hava Kuvvetleri Komutanlığı Air Force Command |
The directorate invited objections to the list until 30 January 2019.
Sources: Directorate General of Civil Aviation, list of women’s firsts; Atatürk Encyclopedia, her entry; Atatürk Encyclopedia, the air force in Atatürk’s time; Atatürk Encyclopedia, Atatürk’s manevi children; Atatürk Encyclopedia, aviation and the aircraft industry.
The Balkan flight, 16 to 21 June 1938
In June 1938 she flew alone from Istanbul to Athens, Thessaloniki, Sofia, Belgrade and Bucharest, and back to Yeşilköy. The flight was about 3,000 km. Members of the Balkan Pact delegation in Ankara had asked her to visit their capitals by air; Atatürk accepted on her behalf, and at his wish she flew the route alone. The Balkan countries already knew her from their radio, newspapers and magazines.
Atatürk asked her whether she could do it, and she said she could if she trained. He told the guests «Bir ay sonra Türkiye’den uçarak değerli ülkelerinizin başkentlerini ziyaret edecek» (“In a month she will fly from Türkiye and visit the capitals of your countries”).
The aircraft and the practice round
She flew a Vultee-type aircraft. She trained for it at Yeşilköy with an American instructor, Jack, then flew test flights alone. Her practice round ran from Istanbul to Köyceğiz, Lake Tuz (Tuz Gölü), Ankara and Zonguldak and back, 5½ hours without a stop. She remembered that Jack was glad to see her back because she had reached every place on time, and that he said «Artık bu kadar çalışma yeter… Göreceksin Balkan turu senin için bundan da kolay olacak» (“That is enough practice… you will find the Balkan tour even easier than this”).
Before she left, she paid Atatürk a farewell visit. He told her «Barışçı bir ülkenin barışçı kızı olduğunu, yurtta ve dünyada barışı arzu ettiğini, her Türk gibi bunu gönülden istediğini söylemeyi unutma» (“Do not forget to say that you are the peaceful daughter of a peaceful country, that you want peace at home and in the world, and that, like every Turk, you want it from your heart”).
| Date | Place | Time | What happened |
|---|---|---|---|
| 16 June 1938 | Athens (Tatoi) | landed 11:25 | She circles over the city, lands at Tatoi and is met by a delegation, the mayor of Athens and a crowd. She talks to journalists, visits the military aircraft school and, with the ambassador Ruşen Eşref Ünaydın, is received by the Greek prime minister. |
| 17 June 1938 | Thessaloniki | left Athens 11:20 | Atatürk had asked her to visit. She stays about two hours and visits his house. |
| 17 June 1938 | Sofia | landed 17:15 | A crowd with Turkish flags and a Bulgarian delegation meet her. She goes to the palace, signs the guest book and joins a tea at the Turkish embassy with ministers, deputies, ambassadors, military attachés, the chief of staff, pilots and the press. |
| 18 June 1938 | Belgrade (Zemun) | landed 10:45 | Yugoslav fighter aircraft meet her over the city. A larger crowd than in the other two capitals greets her. At lunch in the hotel on Mount Avala she is given the Yugoslav Air Medal; at the dinner at the Turkish embassy, the Order of the White Eagle. |
| 19 June 1938 | Bucharest | flew 1 h 15 min | A large delegation and a crowd meet her at the air station. An international air meeting opens on the same field at 14:00, and in the evening Romanian aviation gives a dinner for her. |
| 20 June 1938 | Bucharest | display flight 17:30 | At the crowd’s wish she flies a display over the field; the spectators throw flowers. In the evening the Turkish embassy gives a dinner. |
| 21 June 1938 | Yeşilköy, Istanbul | left Bucharest 11:30 | Crowds and schoolgirls with flowers meet her. The crowd shouts «Yaşa Atatürk kızı! Yaşa çelik kanatlı kartal! Varol kahraman» (“Long live Atatürk’s daughter! Long live the steel-winged eagle! Live on, hero!”). |
In Athens
In Athens she told journalists: Balkan turuna çıkan ilk askerî Türk kadın pilotu olduğum için mutluyum, “I am happy to be the first Turkish woman military pilot to set out on a Balkan tour.” She added: «Beni bir barış elçisi olarak da kabul edebilirsiniz» (“You can also regard me as an envoy of peace”) and «Savaşı değil barışı sevmeliyiz» (“We must love peace, not war”).
At Belgrade, the entry says, the commander of the Yugoslav air force presented her with the Yugoslav Air Medal at a lunch on 18 June 1938. That evening the Yugoslav Minister of War presented her with the Order of the White Eagle, which was given in the name of the king by the regent. Until then the Order of the White Eagle had been given to only four people.
At Belgrade she also met the first Yugoslav woman aviator. She remembered her saying «Ben sizin yaptığınızı asla yapamazdım» (“I could never have done what you did”), and she answered that she thought no woman flier would try this tour for many more years. In Bucharest, a radio programme before her display flight greeted “brother Türkiye and Turkish aviation” in her person.
Sources: Atatürk Encyclopedia, her entry; Atatürk Encyclopedia, the air force in Atatürk’s time.
After 1938, teaching, family and the last flight
Atatürk died on 10 November 1938. No law had yet let women serve in the army, so she had to leave it. In her life she had flown 22 types of light bomber and aerobatic aircraft.
- 1938
- She is appointed chief instructor (Başöğretmen) of Türkkuşu, the school of the Turkish Aeronautical Association. She holds the post until 1955.
- 1940
- She marries First Lieutenant Kemal Esiner, a teacher of military geography and topography at the Air School. He dies in 1943.
- 1953 and 1959
- She goes to the United States on invitation, to present Turkish society and Turkish women. A large tour is organised for her.
- 1955
- She becomes a board member of the Turkish Aeronautical Association.
- 1964
- She retires.
- 1996
- Her last flight, aged 83, in a Falcon 2000 with the French pilot Daniel Acton.
- 22 March 2001
- She dies aged 88 and is buried at the Cebeci cemetery in Ankara.
In the same year as her last flight she was guest of honour at the Eagles Meeting held for a graduation ceremony of the American Air Command and Staff College. At the ceremony at Maxwell Air Force Base, the entry says, she was chosen as one of 20 aviators who wrote their names into world history. She was the first and only woman given this award.
Atatürk once said of Turkish women: «Kadınlarımızın, daha elverişsiz şartlar altında erkeklerden geri kalmayışı ve belki aynı şartlar altında erkeklerden ileri gidişi övüncü gerektirir» (“That our women do not fall behind men under harder conditions, and perhaps go ahead of men under the same conditions, calls for pride”).
Sources: Atatürk Encyclopedia, her entry; Atatürk Encyclopedia, the air force in Atatürk’s time; Atatürk chronology.
Her name today, the will and the airport
Atatürk wrote his will at Dolmabahçe Palace on 5 September 1938 and gave it to a notary the next day. The will asked for monthly payments to his manevi children from the yearly income of his share in İş Bankası: 800 TL for Afet İnan, 600 TL for Sabiha Gökçen, 200 TL for Ülkü and 100 TL each for Rukiye and Nebile. Sabiha Gökçen was also to be given the money to buy a house.
Her name was given to the airport that was being built at Kurtköy in Istanbul. The entry says she visited it during its construction.
Sources: Atatürk Encyclopedia, Atatürk’s manevi children; Atatürk Encyclopedia, her entry; Atatürk chronology.
Quick answers, and the sources
Who were her parents?
The Atatürk Research Center’s encyclopedia names her father as Mustafa İzzet Bey, chief clerk of the province, and her mother as Hayriye Hanım. It gives Bursa as her birthplace and 1913 as her birth year. A second entry gives her father’s name as Hafız Mustafa İzzet.
Was she adopted by Atatürk?
Atatürk took her in as his manevi (adopted) daughter during his Bursa trip of 22 September to 8 October 1925.
Was she the world’s first woman combat pilot?
The Atatürk Research Center’s encyclopedia says she held that title, in her own entry and in its entry on aviation in Atatürk’s time. In the same encyclopedia her summary line says “first woman military pilot of the Republic”, the entry on the air force says “world’s first woman military pilot”, the entry on Atatürk’s manevi children says “first Turkish woman combat pilot”, and the civil aviation directorate’s list says “first military aircraft pilot”, 1936.
When did she start to fly?
On 4 May 1935, the day after Atatürk opened the Türkkuşu school at Etimesgut, Ankara. Her first flight in a powered aircraft was on 25 February 1936.
Which aircraft flew the Balkan route?
A Vultee-type aircraft.
When did she die, and where is she buried?
She died on 22 March 2001, aged 88, and is buried at the Cebeci cemetery in Ankara.
Read the sources
- Sabiha Gökçen (Esiner) (1913-2001), by Saime Yüceer (her entry) — Atatürk Research Center, Atatürk Encyclopedia, entry released 26 February 2021, updated 8 October 2026, checked 22 October 2026
- Atatürk’ün Manevi Çocukları, by Ali Güler (the entry on Atatürk’s manevi children) — Atatürk Research Center, Atatürk Encyclopedia, entry released 22 May 2024, updated 9 October 2026, checked 22 October 2026
- Atatürk Dönemi Türk Hava Kuvvetleri, by Osman Yalçın (the entry on the Turkish air force in Atatürk’s time) — Atatürk Research Center, Atatürk Encyclopedia, entry released 17 October 2022, updated 9 October 2026, checked 22 October 2026
- Türk Hava Kurumu, by İsmail Yavuz (the entry on the Turkish Aeronautical Association) — Atatürk Research Center, Atatürk Encyclopedia, entry released 8 March 2021, updated 7 October 2026, checked 22 October 2026
- Atatürk Döneminde Havacılık ve Uçak Sanayii, by Saim Dilek (the entry on aviation and the aircraft industry in Atatürk’s time) — Atatürk Research Center, Atatürk Encyclopedia, entry released 9 April 2021, updated 9 October 2026, checked 22 October 2026
- Atatürk’ün Söylev ve Demeçleri, vol. III, pp. 221 to 222: “Etimesgut Havaalanında Havacılık Hakkında Yaptığı Konuşma”, 3 May 1935 — Atatürk Research Center, checked 22 October 2026
- Atatürk Kronolojisi (the chronology of Atatürk’s life) — Ministry of National Defence, Atatürk site, checked 22 October 2026
- Atatürk Sitesi, Anıtkabir Museum: personal objects, other (banknote, letter and surname paper donated by Sabiha Gökçen) — Ministry of National Defence, checked 22 October 2026
- İlk Sivil Havacı Kadın Sicil Düzenlemeleri (the list of women’s aviation firsts) — Directorate General of Civil Aviation, checked 22 October 2026
