Bleriot XI-2 'Ertugrul' with its crew of Fethi and Sadik plus officers and local dignitaries in Damascus. The aircraft crashed near Lake Tiberius on the next leg of its journey, killing both crew.

A unique photograph of Bleriot XI-2 'Ertugrul' at Yesilkoy during the World War One. It was taken either just before the aeroplane left for Canakkale prior to the Gallipoli campaign, or more likely, after it returned late in March 1915. The red-white-red cockade form of national markings are visible beneath its wings, these perhaps having been inspired by French practice during the first months of the war before the Ottoman Empire entered as an ally of Germany. Several pilots can be identified, including Sakir (1), Cemal who flew this Bleriot over Gallipoli (2) and Fevzi (3). The black African pilot standing in front of the engine is Naval Yuzbasi Ahmet Ali Arab who is understood to have been descended from a freed slave in the Ottoman Sultan's Palace. He and a colleague named Ali Mehmet were the first two black pilots in the history of aviation.

One of the first Bleriot XI-2 'Genie' (Engineer) monoplanes to be delivered to the Ottomans. It has not yet been given national markings consisting of an Ottoman-Turkish flag on the rudder.

The first two crews to attempt the long-distance flight from Istanbul to Egypt in 1914, standing in front of Bleriot XI-2 'Ertugrul'. From left to right: Sadik, Hakki, Fethi and Nuri.

The Bleriot XI-2 taking off from Yesilkoy on the first leg of its attempted flight to Alexandria. A dark patch on the top front of the engine cowling was where its name 'Ertugrul' was painted in Turco-Arabic lettering.

Bleriot XI-2 'Genie' (Engineers) of the Ottoman air arm, named 'Ertugrul' as it appeared in early 1915, during the first phase of the Gallipoli campaign. Red and white cockade-style markings beneath its wings, though not on the upper surfaces; while it still had the Ottoman-Turkish flag on its rudder. The upper part of the metal engine cowling had also been removed, perhaps because this was damaged beyond repair when the machine crashed near Lake Tiberius in 1914. Detail view shows the engine cowling as in 1914, during the tragic attempted flight from Istanbul to Egypt. The machine's name of'Ertugrul' was painted in Turco-Arabic lettering on the upper front of the engine cowling. The letters were white, while the small panel may have been red or black.

Турецкий авиаотряд на Чаталджийских позициях, весна 1913г.
French-built REP and Deperdussin TT monoplanes newly delivered to the Ottoman Army's new air unit. This photograph was taken when the Minister of War, Mahmud Sevkat Pasa, visited the aerodrome at Yesilkoy near Istanbul on April 26, 1912. He is the elderly man with a white beard in front of the REP whose pilot, Fesa, is standing in the cockpit.

Captain The Marquis De Goys standing in the cockpit of one of the Ottomans' Deperdussin TT monoplanes, probably a two-seater. In the background is the airship shed built for the unsuccessful Parseval P9 airship in 1913.

One of the Ottomans' two Bristol-Prier-Dicksons (left) with a Deperdussin in the centre and an unidentified aircraft, perhaps the second Bristol-Prier-Dickson, on the far right. Only the Deperdussin has national markings in the form of an Ottoman-Turkish flag on its rudder.

The Ottoman Deperdussin flown by Fethi and given the name 'Osmanli' at Buyuk Cekmece during the First Balkan War.

The Deperdussin 'Osmanli' in which Nuri and Hakki also attempted to fly to Egypt.

On October 24, 1913 one of the Ottomans’ Deperdussins made the first direct flight from Edirne to Istanbul. The pilot was Nuri (rear cockpit) with Prince Celaleddin of the Ottoman royal family as his passenger.

Deperdussin 'Osmanli' after it had landed at Jaffa in Palestine.

Deperdussin TT of the Ottoman air arm, named 'Osmanli'. The Deperdussins seem to have been amongst the first Ottoman aircraft to have the flag-style identification marking painted on their rudders. The appearance of ‘Osmanli’ does not seen to have changed from 1913 to 1915. Underside scrap-view shows large national identification markings in the form of Ottoman-Turkish flags painted beneath the wings, though not on the upper surfaces.

Russian volunteer pilot Savalieff, who flew for the Serbs during the First Balkan War, standing beside the tail of an REP captured from the Ottoman Army following the battle of Kumanovo. The machine's national markings consisted solely of a red and white flag painted on the rudder.

Autographed photograph of Fesa Bey, one of the first two Ottoman military pilots with his REP monoplane.

Nieuport seaplane which was almost certainly a Type VII and was probably given the name 'Mahmud Sevkat Pasa'.

Closer view of the other side of the Nieuport seaplane's fuselage shows Turco-Arabic writing which identifies the aircraft as 'Niyupur 7 H', which presumably means that it was a Nieuport Type VIIH or Hydro.