aircraft carrier HMS Formidable (1943) He was born 1889 in
Thessaloniki, in the
Salonica Vilayet of the
Ottoman Empire (present-day
Greece). He graduated from the
Ottoman Military Academy in 1907 with the rank of a lieutenant. After finishing the Staff College in 1910, he became a
staff officer and served at several headquarters in the
Ottoman Army. Deployed to
Ankara on 22 January 1920, he joined the
Turkish National Movement and commanded various troops during and after the
Turkish War of Independence, including the 61st Division. He was promoted to the rank of the
Mirliva in 1926, and in 1930, he became a
Ferik. From 1940 on, Omurtak held the commander-in-chief post of the
First Army in the rank of
Orgeneral. He was appointed Chief of the General Staff of the Turkish Armed Forces on 1 August 1946 following the resignation of
Kazım Orbay, and served at this position until 8 June 1949. His following duty was the membership in the Military High Advisory Board, which he held until his retirement on 6 July 1950. Salih Omurtak died on 23 June 1954 in
Ankara. His body was moved later to a permanent burial place in the
Turkish State Cemetery. ==See also==