Bombing of Constantinople in World War I

Constantinople or Istanbul, the capital and the largest city of the Ottoman Empire, was subject to several air raids during the WWI by the British from 1916 to 1918.

History

The bombing had a strategic background. Many times civilians were also wounded and killed. The British Forces organized their air forces and deployed them to strategic areas in the air hinterland of Istanbul, namely the Aegean Islands, and organized the squadrons that would perform fight and bombing missions from there. Thus the Minister of War Enver Pasha sent a note threatening England due to the airstrikes and civilian casualties.^[1]

The bombings were the cause of creating an electric line to the Air Force Command to speed up communication, to transfer more experienced pilots to the Aircraft Company,^[1] establishment of İstanbul Muharebat-ı Havaiyye Komutanlığı (Istanbul Command of Air Defense), and the Ottoman acknowledgment that the danger is much greater than the government used to believe.^[2]

Because of the bombing, the government took measures to protect the civilian population, but in many cases it failed; this creater greater censure of the government by the people. A clever reconnaissance network was created, which followed the following principle: when enemy aircraft approached, the city fell into darkness so that the Turkish projector and its lights could identify the aircraft. The 9th Aviation Squadron took responsibility for chasing and engaging enemy aircraft. This contributed to minimal damage to the city during the period July–August 1918.^[2] On August 13, the empire created new directives aimed at the active protection of the population. Citizens were obliged to be more careful and to beware of espionage activities. The commission Tetkık-i Hasarat Komisyonu was created to help the civilians and restore their damaged property. According to the British reports, while Istanbul was vulnerable to air strikes, the British were not able to create the atmosphere of fear and panic they expected among the public.^[1]

During the war, the Ottoman cities of Trabzon,^[3][4] İzmir^[5] and Giresun^[6] were also bombarded.

Chronology

Date	Air Force	Area	Victims	Notes
9 July 1917	two British planes	Istanbul from the west, İstiniye	30 sailors killed, 10 injuries	the British wanted to cause damage to the Ministry of War building, destroying the aircraft hangars at Yeşilköy, sinking the warship Yavuz. Although the first two targets were bombed, the last one was missed.[2]
9 March 1918	unknown	unknown	unknown	unknown[7]
7[2] or 9 July[7] 1918	five bombing raids	Zeytinburnu, the train station in Haydarpaşa, the Golden Horn, Selimiye, Davutpaşa Barracks, Gülhane Gardens	unknown	instead of running, civilians came out to the streets to see the fallen bombs[2]
23 July 1918	seven British planes	Hasköy, Yeşilköy	injured people in Yeşilköy	houses in Hasköy were damaged[7] the airstrike was two months after Sultan Mehmed VI Vahdeddin ascended the throne[8]
27 July 1918	two British planes	Istanbul Electric Factory, Tersane, Kağıthane, Galata bridge	5 or 6 kiled, many injured	not reported in newspapers due to censorship[7]
20 August 1918	four bombs	Ayvansaray, Esirkapı, Fener, Beyazıt, Eyüp, Karagümrük, Yeşilköy	5 injuries	1 shop, 4 houses, and a wall were damaged, the attack lasts 15 minutes[9]
22 August 1918	nine bombs	Samatya, Beyazıt, Eyüp, Karagümrük, Pangaltı, Hasköy, Ayasofya	2 killed, 6 injured	one shop, two hamams, two walls, 9 houses damaged[10]
25 or 27 August 1918	unknown	unknown	1 child killed, 11 civilians injured	propaganda brochures were also dropped[8]
26 August 1918	two planes	Bakırköy, Hasköy, Eyüp, Beyazıt, Eminönü, Unkapanı, Aksaray, Karagümrük	2 injuries	8 houses, one wall, one hotel, one coffeeshop and one inn were damaged[11]
27-28 August 1918	17 bombs	Hasköy, Kalenderhane, Üsküdar, Kasımpaşa, Bahriye Garden	3 killed 17 injured	12 houses, one hamam, one bakery shop, one wall were destroyed, a wounded British aviator was captured, Ottoman air attack was launched to Tassos and Lymni, destroying 3 aircraft[12]
13 September 1918	unknown	unknown	unknown	unknown[7]
20-21[2] or 22–23 September	13 bombs	unsuccessful	none	the two planes were destroyed, a British pilot was captured[13]
18 October 1918	first wave - seven planes second wave - five planes	Beyazıt, Üsküdar, Eminönü, Galata, Unkapanı, Fatih, Samatya, Karaköy, Aksaray, Şehremini, Karagümrük, Fener, Kumkapı, Kasımpaşa, Eyüp, Hasköy, Pangaltı, Arnavutköy, Beyoğlu	50-70 civilians killed, 100-200 civilians injured	the most serious air strike[8] the Sultan sought refuge in a mosque, since he was exposed to the bombings while going to the Friday prayer.[2]
25 October 1918	six British planes	unsuccessful	none	Captain Fazıl Bey from the 9th Squadron incapacitated a British observer.[2]

References

1. Kurt, Emin; Güvenbaş, Mesut (2018). Birinci Dünya Savaşı'nda İstanbul'a Yapılan Hava Saldırıları [Air Raids on Istanbul in World War I]. Istanbul: Türkiye İş Bankası Kültür Yayınları. ISBN 978-605-295-369-3.
2. "Air Defense". Turkey in the First World War. Retrieved 2025-04-15.
3. Tetik, Ahmet; Kiper, Sema; Seven, Ayşe; Demirtaş, Serdar (2005). Birinci Dünya Savaşın'da Doğu Cephesi Harekatı [The Eastern Front During the WWI] (PDF). Ankara: Genelkurmay Basın Evi. p. 38.
4. Bal, Mehmet Akif (2011). "Trabzon'un Rus Donanmasınca Bombardımanı ve Bombardımanın Trabzon'a Etkileri (1914-1916)" [The Bombardment of Trabzon by the Russian Navy and the Effects of the Bombardment on Trabzon (1914-1916)]. Atatürk Araştırma Merkezi Dergisi. 27 (81): 545–576. eISSN 2667-5420. ISSN 1011-727X.
5. Bakacak, Alper. "I. Dünya Savaşında İzmir Bombardımanı (5-9 Mart 1915)" [Bombardment of Izmir in World War I (March 5–9, 1915)] (PDF). Çağdaş Türkiye Tarihi Araştırmaları Dergisi: 5–27.
6. Yüksel, Ayhan (2014). "Birinci Dünya Savaşı Yıllarında Giresun" [Giresun during the years of World War I]. Karadeniz İncelemeleri Dergisi. 17 (17): 55–70.
7. Selçuk, Mustafa (2014). "Birinci Dünya Savaşın'da İtilaf Devletleri'nin İstanbul'a Yönelik Hava Taaruzları" [The Allied Powers' Air Attacks on Istanbul in World War I]. Marmara Türkiyat Araştırmaları Dergisi: 101.
8. "ISTANBUL DURING THE FIRST WORLD WAR YEARS | History of Istanbul". istanbultarihi.ist. Retrieved 2025-04-15.
9. Selçuk 2014, p. 102.
10. Selçuk 2014, pp. 102–103.
11. Selçuk 2014, p. 103.
12. Selçuk 2014, p. 103-104.
13. Selçuk 2014, p. 104.