Brunson W Bolin

Military
The crew of the 305th Bomb Group B-17 Flying Fortress nicknamed "Lazy Baby" the day after the record-breaking long-distance bombing mission to Eastern Prussia and Pomerania on the 9th of October 1943. Passed for publication 10 Oct 1943. Printed caption on reverse: 'Greatest Day Raid. American heavy bombers from Britain yesterday set up a new record for a long-distance raid when they made a round flight of 2,000 miles to bomb Pomerania, Poland and East Prussia ... Gdynia, Anklam, Marienburg and Danzig (Gda media-458174.jpg FRE 10445 The crew of the 305th Bomb Group B-17 Flying Fortress nicknamed "Lazy Baby" the day after the record-breaking long-distance bombing mission to Eastern Prussia and Pomerania on the 9th of October 1943. Brunson W Bolin is standing to the far right wearing the M41 jacket and the garrison cap.
Passed for publication 10 Oct 1943.

Printed caption on reverse: 'Greatest Day Raid. American heavy bombers from Britain yesterday set up a new record for a long-distance raid when they made a round flight of 2,000 miles to bomb Pomerania, Poland and East Prussia ... Gdynia, Anklam, Marienburg and Danzig (Gda?sk) all attacked.' Printed caption also attached: 'O.P.S. This is the crew of the "Lazy Baby", a Flying Fortress that took part in the raid.' Censor no: 287676. On reverse: Daily Sketch Copyright [Stamp]. Roger Freeman Collection

Correspondence with Brunson W Bolin's son, Tim Bolin.

Object Number - FRE 10445 - The crew of the 305th Bomb Group B-17 Flying Fortress nicknamed "Lazy Baby" the day after the record-breaking long-distance bombing mission to...

Shot down 14 October 1943 in B-17 #42-30831 'Lazy Baby'. A/C landed in Switzerland, however, Lt. Bolin was ordered by the pilot to bail out and did so after getting the top turret gunner out of the A/C. He was captured by German soldiers but not before being shot at while still in his parachute by a German civilian. He spent the remainder of the war as a Prisoner of War (POW) at Stalag III.

Connections

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Units served with

Unofficial emblem, 305th Bomb Group.
  • Unit Hierarchy: Group
  • Air Force: Eighth Air Force
  • Type Category: Bombardment

Aircraft

  • Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
  • Nicknames: Lazy Baby
  • Unit: 305th Bomb Group 364th Bomb Squadron

Missions

Places

  • Site type: Prisoner of war camp
  • Known as: Stalag Luft III, Sagan, Germany

Events

Event Location Date Description

Born

Greenville, SC, USA 15 February 1924 Born in Greenville, South Carolina

Other

Prisoner of War (POW)

Zagan, Poland 14 October 1943 - 29 June 1945 Stalag Luft 3 Sagan-Silesia Bavaria (Moved to Nuremberg-Langwasser) 49-11
Atlanta, GA, USA 3 August 2011 Hired on with Delta Air Lines in Greenville, SC, 1946, moved to Atlanta, Georgia in 1957. Retired from Delta in 1986.

Revisions

Date
Contributorjmoore43
Changes
Sources

Added a "-" to the A/C tail # in the "Summary biography" to aid clarity & consistency.
Added POW Camp info to the POW event from WW2 POW records at the National Archives (NARA).

Date
Contributortimboln
Changes
Sources

Additional information provided by T. Bolin as told to by his father Brunson Bolin.

Date
Contributortimboln
Changes
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Info added by T. Bolin

Date
ContributorAAM
Changes
Sources

Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 913 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database

Brunson W Bolin: Gallery (5 items)