The Turkish Destroyer TCG Kocatepe (D-354)(22/7/1974)
/NOVEMBER 2010
Starting from 1971, the Turkish Navy acquired a total of ten U.S.-built FRAM I Gearing class destroyers from the United States, namely Adatepe-II (D 353) (1971), Kocatepe-II (D 354) (1971), Tınaztepe-II (D 355) (1972).
Sinking of the ship:
When the Cyprus operations begun at 20th of July 1974, Kocatepe destroyer was ready at the Mersin Harbor. It was heard that the Greek Ships would change their flags with Turkish flags and use radio operators who knew Turkish. That era's head minister Ecevit was interviewed with the American authorities but couldn't accomplish anything. While the operations going on, Turks got an intelligence that was saying that there was a Greek fleet around Paphos at 21st of July 1974. Because of this S-2E class Tracker Sea Sentry planes belonging to the 301 fleet were sent to area for sentry. The radar was showing 4 destroyers and 7 cargo ships headed to the island. For confirmation, RF-84F planes belonging to the 184th fleet were sent to area. But no physical contact made. Kocatepe and two other destroyers were sent to area for investigation. There was little or no armed contest at the beachhead on 21 July 1974, and during this time, the second wave of Turkish forces departed from Mersin port.
Following the dispatch of the L176 Lesvos landing craft vessel to Paphos by the Hellenic Navy, the Turkish Air Force received reports of a Greek task force of ships off the coast of Paphos and assembled a force of around 28 strike aircraft from two squadrons to attack the force with 750lb bombs and guns. This however, was a signals deception performed by the Greek Cypriot Naval Command, which transmitted false radio signals indicating that three Turkish destroyers (looking for the Lesvos) off Paphos, were in fact Greek ships. They were actually the Turkish Navy vessels D-354 Kocatepe, D-353 Adatepe and D-355 Tinaztepe. All three vessels were struck by friendly fire, and in turn put up 20mm and 40mm anti-aircraft fire, reportedly downing three aircraft. The D-354 Kocatepe sustained a fatal hit and sank with the loss of 54 crew. ["Cyprus, 1974", by T. Cooper and N. Tselepidis, published October 28, 2003 for ACIG.org. ]
Having intercepted intelligence that Greek Cypriot Commander of the Navy, Lt. Col Papayiannis is heading to Karavas to assess the size and dimensions of the Turkish landing force, a team of 12 Turkish parachutists are dropped on the Mirtou-Asomatou road in order to ambush his convoy. The Turkish troops manage to wound Papayiannis before they are wiped out by his personal guard force, forcing the Greek Cypriot plan to be abandoned.
At the morning of 21st July everyone was waiting information. Because Greek support could reach the island. Also none of planes made contact; the Anamur radar was showing the ships. Turkish operation center was determined to block the fleet. At 1:00 pm an attack was planned on this fleet. At 2:00 pm F-100D planes from 111th fleet and F-104 planes from 141th fleet got on their way. For stopping a possible Greek landing, all the ships around the area would be bombed. The report that came shocked everyone, who was waiting good news that would say Greek ships found and sunken. Because in the area that Turkiye didn't supposed to have any ships, Turkiye confirmed not to have any ship, Turkiye had 3 destroyers. Which one of them was Kocatepe and which sunken by Turkish planes at 22nd of July 1974. The others Adatepe and Maresal Cakmak had reached to Mersin with survivors and wounded. With this tragic accident Turkiye lost 54 good marines. The best reasons of this accident were the need to stop any Greek landing, tension of this possible landing, and the intelligence about the Greek ships with Turkish flags. After this, the possible leaks, needs and musts had been completed in the Turkish army. Also gossips were saying that there could be an interference with the radar systems of the Turkish navy. It is thought that the ship was sunken near Akrotiri. Before the ship sunken, the crew abandoned the ship with the order of the Captain Colonel Guven Erkaya. The survivors had been rescued by different navies. A group including captain had been rescued by Israel navy, a group had been rescued by English and some rescued by Turkish navy.Captain Ian Mckechnie (unpublicized for political reasons, was his ship-to-ship transfer by helicopter of 72 survivors from a Turkish destroyer, sunk by friendly fire during the Cyprus war in 1974. He was later awarded the Turkish Distinguished Service Medal, the only foreign recipient in the history of Ataturk's republic, and allowed to wear it by the Queen.The captain of the Kocatepe destroyer had become the head of the Turkish Navy on the following years.
Wrong. The LST Lesvos did not "turn" back "halfway". They were on course to Paphos and suddenly, on orders from Greek HQ, turned south towards Africa (Greek HQ knowing full well that the Turks were monitoring the position of the Lesvos and it's 500 Marines). The Kocatepe, and its sister ships, in pursuit of the Lesvos's last known heading went south and got themselves caught in the "kill zone" desginated to the THK. Cypriot National Guard units near Paphos noticed the Turkish Destroyers, and sent a message to Greek HQ asking where or not those ships were friendly's. Again, knowing that the Turks were monitoring, Greek HQ responded that they were a Greek taskforce. Since the Kocatepe and it's ships weren't in contact with the Turkish HQ, and since they were in the kill zone, and since the Turks intercepted the Greek comm traffic identifying the ships as Greek, the Turks put 2 and 2 together and got unfortunately for 200 some souls on those ships, 3.
2 shaft; General Electric steam turbines; 4 boilers; 60,000 shp
Speed: 36.8 knots (68.2 km/h)
4,500 nmi (8,330 km) at 20 knots (37 km/h)
F-100D being bombed up for the mistaken and ill-fated attack on the Turkish destroyer Kocatepe with M-117 750 pound bombs
Sixteen F-104Gs of 141.Filo each carrying a 750 pound bomb departed from Ankara/Mürted in the time from 1443 to 1451. In addition two more Filos, 112. Filo with F-100Cs and 191. Filo with F-104Gs were put on ready alert.
FACTS:
- THK F-104G (64-17783 of 191.Filo) - Shot down by Turkish naval AA fire? 21 July 1974
THK F-100D (55-2825 of 111. Filo) - Shot down by Turkish naval AA fire? 21 July 1974
THK F-100C (54-2083 of 112.Filo) - Shot down by Turkish naval AA fire? 21 July 1974 - Turkish Navy destroyer D-354 Kocatepe erroneously sunk by Turkish fighter aircraft on 21 July 74
Turkish Navy destroyer D-353 Adatepe erroneously damaged by Turkish fighter aircraft on 21 July 74
Turkish Navy destroyer D-355 Tinaztepe erroneously damaged by Turkish fighter aircraft on 21 July 74. - THK F-102A (54-1403 of 142. Filo) - Claimed shot down with AIM-9B Sidewinder by F-5A (66-9137) of the EPA, piloted by G.Dinopolous of 337MAH. Disputed. 22nd July 1974
THK F-102A (55-3413 of 142. Filo) - Claimed destroyed due to fuel starvation after engagement with F-5A (66-9137) and F-5A (63-8414) of EPA, piloted by G.Dinopolous and T.Scabardonis of 337MAH. Disputed. 22nd July
Sunday July 21, 1974
14:30 Cyprus The Naval Commander of Cyprus is moving along the road between Mirtou and Asomatou, on his way to Karavas so as to determine the state of the Turkish forces on the beachhead and possible Hellenic measures. A force of about 10-12 Turkish paratroopers is dropped from a transport aircraft, and manage to injure the Commander prior to their destruction. His mission is postponed.
Cyprus ELDYK, now reinforced with the additional 450 troops that disembarked the "Lesbos", manages to obliterate an entire Turkish regiment at Kioneli. The GEEF once again orders the unit to withdraw, in order perhaps to make sufficient forces available for the defense of the airport.
Hellas The landing ship "Rethimno" heads to Cyprus carrying the 573 TP and 550 Cypriot volunteers.
Cyprus The Commander of the Naval Station in Pafos informs the GEEF that 3 ships (the destroyers Turkey had sent in search of the "Lesbos") have been detected. The GEEF responds that this is a Hellenic task force, knowing that its communications were monitored. The Turkish Air Force Command sends 7 aircraft to sink the ships, without first verifying the presence of Turkish vessels in the area.
14:35 Cyprus The Turkish aircraft spot the 3 destroyers 10 nm west of Pafos and begin their attack. The visible Turkish flags are ignored as a Hellenic attempt at confusion. 2 or 3 aircraft are shot down by the defending Turkish ships.
14:45 Cyprus The Turkish Navy destroyer "Kocatepe" is sunk, while the other two suffer significant damage that renders them non-battle worthy. The ships head towards Mersin having suffered more than 232 dead from the sunken ship alone. Turkey claimed this event as a resounding victory against the Hellenic Navy up until July 25 - the date they announced the loss of the "Kocatepe".
The survivors of the Turkish destroyer Kocatepe which was sunk during the conflict were treated at TPMH RAF Akrotiri Cyprus - The Princess Mary's Hospital until repatriated to Turkey by the Turkish Red Cross.
SHIPS HISTORY
The USS HARWOOD (DD861), a Gearing class destroyer, was the last combatant vessel built by the Bethlehem Steel Corporation at their San Pedro, California, shipyard. The ship is named for Commander Bruce Lawrence Harwood, an heroic aviator, who was killed while leading a fire fighting party aboard the USS PRINCETON (CVL 23) when that vessel was under attack by enemy Japanese aircraft in the vicinity of the Philippine Islands, during the Second Battle of the Philippine Sea on 24 October 1944. CDR Harwood was awarded the Navy Cross and Purple Heart Medal posthumously. The ship’s keel was laid on 29 October 1944, launched on 22 May and was commissioned 28 September 1945, just six weeks after World War II ended. The first Commanding Officer was CDR Reid P. Fiala.
For the first three and a half years of her life, the ship operated with the Pacific Fleet and was home ported at San Diego. HARWOOD made two Far East Cruises, during which she visited ports in China, Japan, Korea, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Okinawa. Between these two cruises she underwent three months’ overhaul at Bremerton, Washington, in late 1947. In January 1949, she entered Mare Island, California, shipyard for an eight months’ overhaul. At this time the most modern anti-submarine equipment then known was added to the ship, and she was redesigned an escort destroyer (DDE).
A long awaited period of leave and upkeep was abruptly interrupted by the Cuban crisis. On only four hours notice, the ship got underway for the Caribbean on 26 October, leaving forty-five of the crew on shore. All of these were flown to the ship within ten days. After nearly a month of continuous steaming, she returned to Mayport on 21 November, just in time for Thanksgiving. The ship provided plane guard services intermittently for the Lexington for the next two weeks.
The HARWOOD deployed to Vietnam on 10 April of 1968. After transit of the Panama Canal and brief but enjoyable stays in San Diego and Pearl Harbor, HARWOOD, the lone wolf of DesRon 14, began her long journey across the Pacific to Subic Bay, R.P. There she underwent a short upkeep and preparation before leaving for Vietnam and the gunline. Naval gunfire support off the coast of South Vietnam was her primary duty, and one in which she was extremely successful.HARWOOD spent forty-two days on the gunline in support of our troops ashore, destroying or damaging 410 enemy bunkers and structures, neutralizing numerous storage and assembly areas and accounting for many confirmed enemy causalities, firing a total of over 10,000 rounds. In this effort, the Naval Gunfire Support Officer working for the 1st Marine Division and directing the HARWOOD’s targeting was a former 1st Lt on the HARWOOD.
HARWOOD operated off the coast of North Vietnam in OPERATION SEA DRAGON, during which time she worked with the USS BERKELEY in a massive interdiction of enemy waterborne logistics craft described as “one if the heaviest off-shore bombardments of the war”, Fifty-eight “WBLC’s” were either destroyed or damaged by the HARWOOD-BERKELEY team. Of these, thirty-six were officially credited to the HARWOOD.
On five separate occasions the ship was taken under fire by enemy coastal defense batteries and in one instance received a hit in her after gun mount, inflicting two personnel casualties and resulting in two Purple Hearts and one Bronze Star awarded to HARWOOD crew members.
During a 1970 Med deployment, HARWOOD distinguished herself in operations with carriers, oilers and other destroyers. She was part of the effective show of United States strength in the Eastern Mediterranean during the September 1970, Middle East crisis. Also during this time HARWOOD participated with other NATO forces in exercises off the coast of Greece.
The Harwood was loaned to Turkey 17 December 1971 and was decommissioned and stricken from the rolls February 1, 1973.On 15 February, 1973 HARWOOD was officially transferred to the Turkish Navy, and renamed TCS Kocatepe, D-354. Her last Commanding Officer and Executive Officer were Captain Robert M. Marshall, USN, and LCDR McGhee, USN.
On 22 July 1974, a tragic military blunder occurred during the brief conflict on Cyprus, in which a Turkish plane or planes, bombed and sank a Turkish destroyer mistaken for part of an invading force from Greece.