Original Soviet WWII Curtiss P-40 Warhawk AK-255 Crashed Aircraft Skin - Plan e Now Recovered in National Museum of Naval Aviation in Pensacola Florida - 12 x 64”

Original Item. One-of-a-Kind. The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk is an American single-engined, single-seat, all-metal fighter-bomber that first flew in 1938. The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36 Hawk which reduced development time and enabled a rapid entry into production and operational service. The Warhawk was used by most Allied powers during World War II, and remained in frontline service until the end of the war. It was the third most-produced American fighter of World War II, after the North American P-51 Mustang and Republic P-47 Thunderbolt; by November 1944, when production of the P-40 ceased, 13,738 had been built, all at Curtiss-Wright Corporation's main production facilities in Buffalo, New York.

This is an outstanding piece of aircraft skin taken from a Soviet-used P-40 Warhawk, AK-255, that was shot down over Arkhangelsk, Soviet Union in 1942. This P-40 was made in the United States and sold to the British, who then sold it to the Soviet Union to use against Germany. The Germans shot it down in 1942 and this long fragment of skin was recovered from the crash site in 1990. The plane is now restored and on display at the National Museum Of Naval Aviation, NAS Pensacola, Florida. 

The aircraft skin measures roughly 12 x 64” and is rather jagged, but very light given its aluminum construction. There is heavy paint retention, and some various later added markings including one reading:

AK255
ARKANGEL
RUSSIA
1942

A tremendous piece of aviation history, ready to mount on the wall and display!