Turkish Naval Forces

Turkish Naval Forces
Turkish Naval Forces
Türk Deniz Kuvvetleri;
	Seal of the Turkish Naval Forces
Founded	1081 (official claim: the first Turkish fleet in the Aegean Sea); 10 July 1920 (as the Directorate of Naval Affairs); 1 July 1949 (as the Turkish Naval Forces Command);
Country	Turkey
Type	Navy
Role	Naval warfare
Size	45,000 active personnel; 55,000 reserve personnel
Part of	TAF
Headquarters	Ankara
Mottos	"Effective, Deterrent, and Respected." (Turkish: "Etkin, Caydırıcı, Saygın."
Colors	Blue; Gold; White;
March	Turkish Navy March Playⓘ
Anniversaries	27 September
Equipment	List of equipment of the Turkish Naval Forces; List of active ships of the Turkish Naval Forces
Website	www.dzkk.tsk.tr/en-US
Commanders
Commander-in-Chief	President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
Minister of National Defence	Yaşar Güler
Chief of the General Staff	General Metin Gürak
Commander	Admiral Ercüment Tatlıoğlu
Chief of Staff of Turkish Naval Forces	Vice Admiral İbrahim Özdem Koçer
Insignia
Identification; symbol
Naval Aviation Roundel
Masthead Pennant

The Turkish Naval Forces (Turkish: Türk Deniz Kuvvetleri), or Turkish Navy (Turkish: Türk Donanması), is the naval warfare service branch of the Turkish Armed Forces.

The modern naval traditions and customs of the Turkish Navy can be traced back to 10 July 1920, when it was established as the Directorate of Naval Affairs during the Turkish War of Independence led by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. Since July 1949, the service has been officially known as the Turkish Naval Forces.

In 2008, the Turkish Navy had a reported active personnel strength of 48,600; this figure included an Amphibious Marines Brigade as well as several Special Forces and Commando detachments. As of early 2021, the navy operates a wide variety of ships and 60 maritime aircraft.