Let's remember one thing about 2-V-1-1 - the experts at the National Museum of the USAF were unanimous that it was not field applied. The precision of the 1-inch rivet pitch meant, to them, that it had to have been applied in some sort of industrial-type setting, as opposed to a jungle airstrip or something similar.
Is there any way to get a feel for the level of industrial expertise at Mantz's shop? That might, or might not, indicate whether 2-V-1-1 was done at the Lockheed plant, and might help pin down a date range.
LTM, who finds dry paint and emergency exits really interesting,
Monty Fowler, TIGHAR No. 2189 ECSP