Veteran Mustafa Kemal Atatürk was aware that the Ottoman Empire’s naval forces were becoming outdated in various areas towards the end of the empire’s reign and strived to ensure the prominence of the Turks with the fortitude of the seas both through his statements and actions during the Republic Period in order to avoid the mistakes made by the Empire.

In the first years of the Republic’s foundation, despite the internal and external problems faced, the Turkish Nation realized that the gateway to achieving the level of modern civilizations was through the accomplishment of political, social and economic structural reforms.