Now that I have your attention. LOL! (Thank you ^^^^ Whitney Jones.)
Thanks to Lyric1 for the photo evidence and Devil505 for help with the bump mapping used on the aft recon camera.
Capt. Clyde Bennett East
F-6D-10-NA (P-51D-10-NA) "Lil' Margaret" (5M*K)
S/N 44-14306
10th TRG, 15th TRS
ETO, April 1945
This is the F-6D-10-NA (P-51D-10-NA) s/n 44-14306, coded 5M*K, and named "Lil' Margaret" flown by 13-victoy ace Captain Clyde B. East of the 10th Tactical Reconnaissance Group, 15th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron. The plane was named for his wife and he scored the majority of his victories in this aircraft. It has an unusual arrangement for the photo equipment with a forward teardrop blister rather than the more commonly seen large aft unit.
Born 19 July 1921 in Virginia, East's military aviation career began when he joined the Royal Canadian Air Force, earning his wings in November 1942. He flew 26 missions in the RAF Mustang Mk. I before voluntarily transferring to the USAAF in January 1944. He was assigned to the 15th TRS of the 10th TRG and on 6 June 1944 downed an FW-190, the first victory scored on D-Day.
The mission of the 10th TRG varied widely. One notable mission flown by Capt. East was as an artilllery director for Patton's Third Army. During an attack on the railroad marshalling yards at Trier, East dodged anti-aircraft fire from altitudes between 300 and 13,000 over a period of two hours, earning a Distinguished Flying Cross for his efforts. By the end of the war he had flown over 250 missions totaling 400 hours, and earned a Silver Star, two Distinguished Flying Crosses, and the Air Medal with 36 Oak Leaf Clusters.
Post war he flew 130 combat recon missions during the Korean War in RF-51s, RF-80s, and T-33s, including the first utilizing mid-air refueling, and rose to command of the 15th TRS with the rank of Major. He received a score of medals and from 1955-1968 held the Guiness Book World Record for the highest number of repeat combat awards.
He was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel in 1959 and flew recon missions over the island of Cuba in RF-101 Voodoos during the Cuban Missile Crisis, having developed the master recon plan used throughout. This earned him his fourth Distinguished Flying Cross.
In 1964 he commanded a Voodoo unit deployed to South Vietnam in response to the Gulf of Tonkin incident. He retired from the Air Force in 1965 and passed away on 14 July 2014.
Offsite Gallery (Uncompressed):
https://postimg.cc/gallery/xk2gmnH
