Skeeter's Scooter P51D :: John F McAlevey

SKEETER'S SCOOTER

The author, 1st Lt. John F. McAlevey, with his plane “Skeeter’s Scooter”.

Editor’s note: SKEETER’S SCOOTER
John tells an amusing story of how he acquired his nickname “Skeeter”:

In advanced single engine flight school the cadets were required shoot skeet.
After an assembly when the Commanding Officer asked rhetorically if there
were any questions, young John raised his hand and voiced his concern that his
skeet shooting needed improvement. The startled Colonel turned to his aide and
ordered that “that cadet” be authorized 300 extra rounds of skeet practice.
The nickname “Skeeter” stuck.

The actual aircraft that has become known as “Skeeter’s Scooter” had been Capt.
Jimmy C. Shoffit’s ship, the P-51NA Mustang, serial number-15 44-15102 “Josephine II” while he was with the 370th FS in East Wretham in 1945. “Josephine II” later became
“Skeeter’s Scooter” when John McAlevey flew it.

John's log shows the last flight of the Scooter was to Wattisham AFB, in England on 7 September 1945. It was decommissioned along with a large number of surplus aircraft and assumed destroyed.

Click here to read the story of how Ace Ray Wetmore and his wingman,
John McAlevey, came under friendly fire in the skies above the bridge over
the Rhine River at Remagen.

[Additional Skeeter’s Scooter diagrams, markings and digital avatar follow…]

Wings of Power (WOP) P51D "SKEETER'S SCOOTER"
by Sean Doran
URL: http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?DLID=74751&CatID=fs2004acrp

AVSIM Library System Version 2.00 -- 2004-May-01

This is a repaint of the P-51D by Shockwave for FS2004. Textures only.

This repaint was done using only a side picture as reference so some artistic license was taken.

[fltsim.XX]
title=P-51D 'Skeeter's Scooter'
sim=p51d
ui_manufacturer=Wings of Power
ui_type=P-51D Mustang - Combat
ui_variation='Skeeter's Scooter'

'Cadillac of the Skies' is what pilots and civilians alike came to call the North American P-51
Mustang, and with good reason. Certainly the best all-around fighter of WWII, when all factors
are considered, the aircraft was beautiful to behold, in the air or on the ground. The flight
characteristics, while suicidal for a novice, were sharp-edged and rewarded a skilled pilot with
pulse-pounding performance.

The Mustang, in the 'D' model especially, had impressive range, excellent firepower, superb
visibility, and exemplary agility and speed. While other aircraft were able to match some aspects
of the Mustang's performance, none were able to match all of them. That is why the Mustang
emerged supreme among the piston-engined fighters of WWII, and why it is the most
widely-recognized prop fighter in the world.

About the

USAAF EIGHTH AIR FORCE ETO

359th Fighter Group / 370th Fighter Squadron, A Group

From: http://www.LittleFriends.co.uk/359thfg.php