Christos Adamidis

Christos Adamidis (Greek: Χρήστος Αδαμίδης, 1885–1949) was a Greek pioneer aviator and Air Force general. He was one of the first three Greek officers that received aviation training and later participated in air operations during the Balkan Wars (1912–1913).

Balkan Wars

Adamidis was born in Ioannina, Greece in 1885, when Ioannina was still part of the Janina Vilayet of the Ottoman Empire. He became a cavalry officer in the Greek Army. At 1912, Adamidis was selected as one of the first three Greek officers, together with Dimitrios Kamberos and Michael Moutoussis, in order to receive aviation training in France and to man the newly established aviation branch of the Greek Army.

During the following Balkan Wars he was positioned in Epirus front where he performed reconnaissance and bombing missions against Ottoman positions during the battle of Bizani. These missions also included leaflet and food dropping to the population of Ioannina, the urban center of the area, who was starving due to the extended military conflicts. The Greek forces finally won the battle and Ioannina, on 6 March [O.S. 21 February] 1913 came under Greek control. On that day, Adamidis landed his Farman MF.7 aircraft on the Town Hall square of the city, to the adulation of an enthusiastic crowd.

Later career

In 1927 Adamidis became commander of the air arm of the Hellenic Army. In June 1928, Adamidis together with Lt Evangelos Papadakis, flew around the Mediterranean Sea with a Breguet 19 aircraft. The tour lasted 20 days covering a distance of 12,000 km (7,456 mi), and was considered a significant achievement in relation to the capabilities of Greek aviation of that time. In 1931, when the Air Force became a separate branch of the Hellenic Armed Forces, he was appointed director of the Aeronautics Department. Adamidis was discharged in 1935 with the rank of Major General.