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Clyde East

Clyde East Name : Clyde East Born : 19th July 1921 Died : 30th July 2014 Air Victories : 12.00 Awards : Silver Star Distinguished Flying Cross (US) Air Medal

By the summer of 1941, at 19 years of age, Clyde was hitchhiking up to Canada to enlist in the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). His goal was to become a military pilot and help fight the war against Hitler. He achieved that goal and became an accomplished fighter and reconnaissance pilot, first with the RCAF, then with the US Army Air Corps beginning in January, 1944. Staged in England and flying Spitfire and Mustang recon/fighter planes, he flew in and led numerous missions across the English Channel. Significantly, Clyde is merited with shooting down the first plane on D-Day, giving ground support to Patton's troops as they marched across France, and participating in the Battle of the Bulge. By war's end in 1945, Captain East had flown approx. 250 missions, and amassed 400 flight hours and 13 aerial victories. He was awarded the Silver Star, two Distinguished Flying Crosses and the Air Medal with 36 Oak Leaf Clusters. His career as a military pilot continued on in the Korean War (1950-1953) where he earned the rank of Major and was awarded three more Flying Crosses and six additional Air Medals. With this achievement Clyde held the record for the highest number of repeat combat medals, an honor which stood unchallenged in the Guinness World Records for 13 years. Clyde's accomplishments in the USAF continued through the 1950's and 60's, first as Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron Commander at Shaw AFB (1951-1954), then with a three-year stint as Training Advisor for the Italian Air Force (1954-1957). Returning to the States with his family, which now included wife Margaret and 6 children, Clyde attended USAF War College at Maxwell AFB, Montgomery, AL then on to TacRecon Squadron Commander at Shaw AFB, Sumter, SC where he flew the McDonnell RF-101 Voodoo. He was subsequently promoted to Lieutenant Colonel in 1959, then served overseas another 3 years as a Squadron Commander at Laon AFB near Laon, France. Lt/Col East spent his last three years of active military service back at Shaw AFB as a Squadron Commander and Voodoo pilot. Notably, during the fall of 1962, he served as Detachment Commander in the Cuban Missile Crisis. Clyde flew numerous visual and photographic missions over Cuba and was later awarded the fourth cluster to his Distinguished Flying Cross. In 1964 he commanded a Voodoo unit deployed to South Vietnam in response to the Gulf of Tonkin incident. East was one of the most decorated fighter pilots during World War II. He was awarded the Silver Star, Distinguished Flying Cross, and Air Medal with 36 Oak Leaf Clusters. In 1955, The Guinness Book of World Records listed him as having the highest number of repeat awards of combat medals. After a 25-year period of exemplary service spanning three major wars across the globe, Lt/Col Clyde East retired from Air Force life in February, 1965. Clyde's commitment to his country continued an additional 28 years as a military analyst for RAND Corporation in Santa Monica, CA.

Known Service Details :
Squadron	Rank	Start of Service	End of Service	Known Dates	Aircraft	Airframes	Notes
15th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron		unknown	unknown

Artwork signed by this Pilot or Aircrew

Clipped Signature - Clyde East.

Running the Gauntlet by Robert Taylor.

Clash of Eagles by Anthony Saunders.

Opening Sky by Robert Taylor.

Top Cover by Gerald Coulson.

Dual Victory by Richard Taylor.

P-51 Mustang by Nicolas Trudgian. (APB)

Wounded Warrior by Richard Taylor. (AP)

The Eagles Divide by Robert Taylor. (C)

Eagles on the Rampage by Robert Taylor.

Eagles Over the Rhine by Robert Taylor.

Artwork with companion print(s) signed by this Pilot or Aircrew

Looking for Trouble by Robert Taylor. (C)

Photos Submitted Through Our Directory

Clyde East

Aircraft for : Clyde East
A list of all aircraft associated with Clyde East. A profile page including a list of all art prints for the aircraft is available by clicking the aircraft name.
Aircraft	Info
Mustang Click the name above to see prints featuring Mustang aircraft. Manufacturer : North American	Mustang The ubiquitous North American P-51 Mustang, which many consider to be the best all-around fighter of WW II, owes its origins to the British Air Ministry. Following Britains entry into WW II in 1939, the RAF was interested in purchasing additional fighter aircraft from American sources, particularly the Curtiss P-40. Curtiss, which was busy, was unable to guarantee timely delivery so the British approached North American Aviation as a possible second source for the P-40. North American chose to propose its own fighter design which would use the same Allison engine as the P-40. Utilizing new laminar flow wings, the North American fighter was expected to have performance better than the P-40. Developed in record time the new aircraft was designated as a Mustang I by the Brits, whereas the USAAF ordered two for evaluation which were designated XP-51 Apaches. Intrigued with the possibility of using this aircraft also as a dive bomber, North American proposed this to the USAAF which decided to order 500 of the P-51 aircraft to be modified for dive bombing use. Designated as the A-36 Invader, this version of the Mustang utilized dive flaps, and bomb racks under each wing. Some reinforcing of the structural members was also required because of the G-forces to be encountered in dive bombing. A-36s entered combat service with the USAAF prior to any P-51s. In early 1943 the 86th and 27th Fighter Bomber Groups of the 12th Air Force began flying A-36s out of Northern Africa. Despite some early problems with instability caused by the dive flaps, the A-36 was effective in light bombing and strafing roles. It was not, however, capable of dog fighting with German fighters, especially at higher altitudes. Despite these drawbacks one USAAF pilot, Captain Michael T. Russo, who served with the 16th Bomb Squadron of the 27th Fighter Bomber Group, was credited with five confirmed aerial victories in the A-36, thereby becoming the first mustang ace.
Shooting Star Click the name above to see prints featuring Shooting Star aircraft. Manufacturer : Lockheed	Shooting Star (P-80), (RF-80), (T-33)
Spitfire Click the name above to see prints featuring Spitfire aircraft. Manufacturer : Supermarine Production Began : 1936 Retired : 1948 Number Built : 20351	Spitfire Royal Air Force fighter aircraft, maximum speed for mark I Supermarine Spitfire, 362mph up to The Seafire 47 with a top speed of 452mph. maximum ceiling for Mk I 34,000feet up to 44,500 for the mark XIV. Maximum range for MK I 575 miles . up to 1475 miles for the Seafire 47. Armament for the various Marks of Spitfire. for MK I, and II . eight fixed .303 browning Machine guns, for MKs V-IX and XVI two 20mm Hispano cannons and four .303 browning machine guns. and on later Marks, six to eight Rockets under the wings or a maximum bomb load of 1,000 lbs. Designed by R J Mitchell, The proto type Spitfire first flew on the 5th March 1936. and entered service with the Royal Air Force in August 1938, with 19 squadron based and RAF Duxford. by the outbreak of World war two, there were twelve squadrons with a total of 187 spitfires, with another 83 in store. Between 1939 and 1945, a large variety of modifications and developments produced a variety of MK,s from I to XVI. The mark II came into service in late 1940, and in March 1941, the Mk,V came into service. To counter the Improvements in fighters of the Luftwaffe especially the FW190, the MK,XII was introduced with its Griffin engine. The Fleet Air Arm used the Mk,I and II and were named Seafires. By the end of production in 1948 a total of 20,351 spitfires had been made and 2408 Seafires. The most produced variant was the Spitfire Mark V, with a total of 6479 spitfires produced. The Royal Air Force kept Spitfires in front line use until April 1954.

Squadrons for : Clyde East
A list of all squadrons known to have been served with by Clyde East. A profile page is available by clicking the squadron name.
Squadron	Info
15th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron Country : US Click the name above to see prints featuring aircraft of 15th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron	15th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron Full profile not yet available.
No.414 Sqn RCAF Country : Canada Founded : 12th August 1941 Fate : Disbanded 7th August 1945 Imperial Totis viribus - With all our might Click the name above to see prints featuring aircraft of No.414 Sqn RCAF	No.414 Sqn RCAF Full profile not yet available.

Last edited : 14:27, April 5, 2017
Last editor : kc

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