Turkish Naval Academy

The Turkish Naval Academy (Turkish: Deniz Harp Okulu) or as it is known historically and popularly Bahriye is a four-year co-educational military academy and part of the National Defense University in Turkey. It is located in the district of Tuzla in Istanbul. Its mission is to develop cadets mentally and physically for service as commissioned officers in the Turkish Navy. It is distinct from the Turkish Naval War College, which functions as a postgraduate staff college.

History

Foundation

The roots of the Naval Academy go back to 1773, when a naval school under the name of "Naval Engineering at Golden Horn Naval Shipyard" was founded during the reign of Sultan Mustafa III on the command of Grand Vizier and Admiral Cezayirli Gazi Hasan Pasha. François Baron de Tott, a French officer and advisor to the Ottoman military, was appointed for the establishment of a course to provide education on plane geometry and navigation. The course, attended also by civilian captains of the merchant marine, was given on board a galleon anchored at Kasımpaşa in Istanbul and lasted three months.

The temporary course turned into a continuous education on land with the establishment of the Naval Mathematical College in February 1776. With growing number of cadets, the college building at the naval shipyard was extended. On October 22, 1784, the college, renamed the Imperial Naval Engineering School (Ottoman Turkish: Mühendishâne-i Bahrî-i Hümâyûn), started its education for three years in the new building. From 1795 on, the training was divided into navigation and cartography for officers of the deck, and naval architecture and shipbuilding for naval engineers.

Ottoman period

The school was moved 1822 into a reconstructed sawmill building in Parmakkapı after a fire in Kasımpaşa neighborhood in 1821 destroyed also the naval school. Since this building was insufficient for the matters of education, Sultan Mahmud II ordered the construction of a new school building. It was decided that until the completion of the new facility, the navigation division of the school be transferred temporarily to Heybeliada, an island in the Sea of Marmara. In 1838, the naval school moved into its new building in Kasımpaşa. With the beginning of the reformation efforts, the school was renamed to the Naval School (Ottoman Turkish: Mekteb-i Bahriye) and continued to serve in Kasımpaşa for 12 years. Then, it was relocated 1850 to Heybeliada for the last time.

The facilities of the naval school on Heybeliada consisted of 34 rooms for 150 cadets, a 30-bed hospital with a pharmacy, a printing house with a bookbinder's shop, and a rich library. The training followed English education system, and some lessons were taught by English instructors. In that period, in addition to the name "Naval School", it was also called "Imperial Naval School" (Ottoman Turkish: Mekteb-i Bahriye-i Şahane), "School of Naval Sciences" (Ottoman Turkish: Mekteb-i Fünun-i Bahriye) or "Imperial School of Naval Sciences" (Ottoman Turkish: Mekteb-i Fünun-i Bahriye-i Şahane).

Education

Until 1953, education term at the Naval Academy was two years, the first year theoretical at the school and the last year practice in the Navy. In 1953, four-year line system education was adopted. In the first two years, the students were cadets and in the following two years officers. With the academic term 1969–1970, the education structure was reorganized such as the cadets studied three years and the officers one year. One year later, the organization was modified so that the officers were educated in the "Officer Basic Expert School".

In 1974, the education term was increased to four years and the curriculum was extended with electrical, electronic and mechanical engineering, operations research, management science, systems engineering, communications, computer science, shipbuilding, oceanography and international relations. First officers having studied in this program graduated in 1978. With the beginning of the academic term 1986-1987, these modern fields of study are fully implemented in the curriculum as majors.

The Academy facilitates cadet participation in international competitions with other naval academies during the academic year. Cadets who successfully complete specialized training programs conducted by personnel of the Turkish Naval Forces may be awarded internationally recognized qualifications, including the One Star Diver Badge, the Frogman Certificate, and the High Level Sailing Certificate.

As part of annual open-sea training programs, cadets undertake port visits to foreign harbors, including those in France, Italy, Spain, and Portugal, providing opportunities for international exposure. During their careers, naval officers may also gain experience in different countries through port visits, short-term assignments or courses ranging from several weeks to one year, as well as longer-term overseas postings lasting two to three years.

Women and foreign cadets

Admission of female cadets, graduated from civilian high schools, were granted in the academic term 1992–1993.

According to military training cooperation agreements signed with friendly and allied countries, guest students, especially from Turkic Republics as well as from Albania and Pakistan were admitted in the 1993–1994 academic year.

Academics

Academic departments

• Department of Military Sciences
• Military sciences
• Naval machinery operation
• Navigation-ship handling
• Weapons-tactics
• Department of Basic Sciences
• Physics
• Chemistry
• Mathematics
• Department of Social Sciences
• Economics and management
• Political sciences
• History
• Department of Foreign Languages
• English
• German

Engineering programs

• Department of Industrial Engineering
• Industrial engineering
• Operations research
• Department of Mechanical Engineering
• Thermodynamics and energy
• Solid mechanics
• Department of Naval Architecture Engineering
• Naval architecture
• Hydromechanics
• Department of Computer Engineering
• Hardware
• Software
• Department of Electric/Electronics Engineering
• Electronics
• Communication
• Control systems

Postgraduate studies

In the first semester at the Naval Sciences and Engineering Institute, following courses are provided for postgraduate students, who graduate with a master's degree in two semesters.

Computer engineering

• Analysis of algorithms
• Sensor networks
• Data and network security
• New trends in operating systems
• Wireless network protocols

Industrial engineering

• Master of Business Administration (MBA)
• Financial accounting
• Management and organization
• Strategic marketing management
• Research and decision techniques
• Human resources management
• Economics

Mechanical engineering

• Mechanical Engineering Master Program
• Modeling and control of Mechatronics systems
• Advanced fluid mechanics
• Heat transformation with convection
• Thermodynamics simulation of Diesel engines

Notable alumni

• Ahmet Fetgeri Aşeni (1886–1966), founding member of Beşiktaş JK
• Gökçen Fırat (born 1977), first female admiral and ship commander in the history of the Republic of Turkey
• Fahri Korutürk (1903–1987), 6th President of Turkey
• Abdul Aziz Mirza (born 1943), 15th Chief of Pakistan Naval Staff
• Rauf Orbay (1881–1964), 3rd Prime Minister of Turkey
• Nazım Hikmet Ran (1901–1963), poet
• Bülend Ulusu (1922–2015), 18th Prime Minister of Turkey
• Mahmut Yavuz (born 1982), Turkish navy officer, SAT SOF commando and ultramarathon runner

Эх сурвалж: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)