The United States demanded the destruction of the German Focke-Wulf Fw 190s in order to sell Turkey its secondhand military aircraft
One of the best fighters flown by the Luftwaffe (German Air Force) during World War II, the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, may have been buried in Turkey about 70 years ago.
According to a recent article by Hurriyetdailynews.com, since 1947, more than fifty Fw 190A-3 warplanes have been buried beneath the former airfield of the Kayseri Province, which is located in Central Anatolia.
Germany provided 72 Focke-Wulf Fw 190A-3s to Turkey as part of a barter agreement whereby Germany would send these fighters to modernize the Turkish Air Force in exchange for chromium and high-grade iron that Germany’s arms industry required.
The Fw 190A-3 export order was finished between July 1942 and March 1943. The paucity of spare parts forced the aircraft to be withdrawn in 1949, after which they were still in operation.
Instead, it was discovered through recently made public documents that the fighters were retired because the United States required the destruction of German Focke-Wulf Fw 190s before selling its old aircraft to Turkey. Therefore, fifty of them were flown to Kayseri airfield in 1947 to be buried and struck out from the inventory in order to prevent their destruction.
A statement made to HurriyetdailyNews.com by Turkish historian Uluhan Hasdal, who has been researching the subject for almost 25 years confirmed that: “The U.S. wanted to give its planes without charge. However, they had only one condition; the destruction of the German planes. Nearly fifty warplanes were brought to Kayseri Airport and were left outside the inventory. According to the documents, the planes were buried while wrapped in oily canvases.”
If the fifty Fw 190A-3s were discovered, this would be excellent news for any aviation enthusiast as all of the planes might still be in airworthy condition, as stated by Hasdal: “[German authorities] told me that the planes were resistant to corrosion and could fly if they are unearthed.”
Photo by U.S. Air Force
