NAA F-6K standard equipment

[Speeddemon651]

Beyond the obvious added photographic equipment, were F-6K reconnaissance mustangs equipped with armor plating and guns ?

What were the differences between a P-51K and F-6K equipment wise?

[JohnTerrell]

Besides the camera mounts/camera/camera ports and related modifications in the rear fuselage, and the camera intervalometer control unit and an extra switch/circuit breaker panel installed in the cockpit, the rest of the aircraft was stock/unchanged, with full armament and full armor plating. The only operational difference was that, with any one of the cameras installed in the rear fuselage, there were restrictions as to how much fuel could be put in the fuselage tank (rather than being able to fill the fuselage tank to the full 85-gallons, when a camera was installed, the limit was 30-gallons, and even without a camera installed, due to the modifications/additional weight in the rear fuselage, the limit was set at no more than 60-gallons).

The F-6K/F-6D could support installing up to three different camera types - the K-17, K-22, and K-24 - but only one camera could be installed at any given time. I have diagrams showing that the K-17, when installed, would utilize the bottom-facing camera port, the K-22 would utilize either the bottom-facing camera port or the large left-facing camera port (if present), and the K-24 would utilize either the smaller left-downward facing camera port or the bottom-facing camera port.

[Speeddemon651]

Thanks for the info.

I had watched this video recently of a photo recon Spit:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ie3SrjLlcUY

When the US used Spitfires for photo reconnaissance, all guns were removed and it made me wonder if F-6's also had them removed.

[JohnTerrell]

The British PR Spitfires came to the USAAF guys with no guns or means to install guns as that's the way they were specially configured for the job (they seemed to use every bit of the aircraft they could for fuel and oil to increase the range in order to get the, normally short-legged, Spitfire to fly to Berlin and back). The photo-recon Mustangs, on the other hand, came from the factory with all armament/armor plating in-place, and there were some guys who shot down quite a few enemy aircraft flying PR Mustangs. In the European Theatre, most PR Mustang missions were meant to be quiet ("get in and get out" without tangling with the enemy style), but there was still action to be found (as the exploits of double ace Clyde B. East and the 10th PRG illustrate), where as in the Pacific and CBI, there were often times missions involving PR Mustangs which included both photographing and strafing/bombing targets in a single mission, and then sometimes mixing it up with enemy fighters besides (such as the case with the exploits of William A. Shomo and the 71st TRG, or Edward McComas and the 118th TRS).

[Neal Nurmi]

Not a -K, but a well restored F-6D:

[JohnTerrell]

Not a -K, but a well restored F-6D:

Although no firm way to tell the difference other than the serial number and canopy shape/form (at least in original WWII service) - P-51K's/F-6K's that were in service for any real amount of time usually ended up with Hamilton Standard props and cones from D's anyway - just as the Friedkins had to deal with on their restored P-51K "Fragile but Agile", just a couple years ago.

Speaking of F-6K's, would anyone happen to know/at liberty to speak on the current status of the Friedkin's example (which used to be Jim Beasley's "Frenesi")? The project has been off the radar for so long now (7 years), despite having been so close to completion when sold. I've had the thought in the back of my mind as to how neat it would be to see it re-emerge in stock F-6K configuration/i.e., to have another one restored/flying like "Lil' Margaret".