I'm glad to have been of some help, even if we didn't come up with anything conclusive!
B.B.
I'm glad to have been of some help, even if we didn't come up with anything conclusive!
B.B.
UPDATE!!
It's Soviet!
I mentioned previously, I had posted the airplane skin to WW2aircraft.net's forum, too. One member, MiTasol, really worked with me. He let me know that even with those stringers, it could have been any country that made it. From the color, he also at first thought it could have been American, so Lend-Lease like we had wondered. But, he informed me that inspection stamps are often on the stringers and angle brackets, and to look there. I felt a little like an idiot that I never thought to give those parts a closer look, but sure enough on the inside of the stringer, I found two stamps (but didn't find any on the angle bracket). Here they are:
The "Д -4" is Russian. Their "Д " is our English "D". So, all-in-all, it's Soviet-made! I'm so excited to officially know now! I have asked, and am waiting for a response, to see if they know of any sort of list of Soviet inspector markings to tell who manufactured it or any other information like that. I haven't had much luck just Googling it to find a source like that.
If anyone else here happens to know anything about inspection marks, I'd appreciate any feedback. Thank you!
Mystery Solved!
After being directed through three different forums (2 Russian), the mystery has finally been solved!
Based on the technological hallmarks, it came from the USSR aircraft Plant Number 1, and based on where the piece was found (Stalingrad), the airplane skin is most likely from the Il-2.
I'm including an article I found on Smithsonian on the Il-2:
Stalin’s “Essential Aircraft:” Ilyushin Il-2 in WWII | National Air and Space Museum
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