He was subsequently taken prisoner by the Russians but managed to escape from Nargin island to Iran by swimming with Azeri help and walking for over two months. Following his escape, he returned to Istanbul and joined the 9th combat aircraft squadron in 1918, assigned to protection of Istanbul from aerial attacks by Allies. He designed a fighter airplane but could not finish the project due to the terms contained within the Montreux Ceasefire Agreement. During the Turkish War of Independence, in which he flew as a "civilian pilot", he held the equivalent rank of Captain. During this time he shot down a Greek airplane, and made the first and last flights of the war. In the last flight, he landed at İzmir Seydiköy Airfield, occupying it single-handedly.