Lee B Coleman

Military

16 September 1943 in B-17 #42-29699 'Fi Fi' or 'Old Battle Axe'' Plane ditched in North Sea. Returned to base.

14 October 1943 as co-pilot, on return from Schweinfurt mission, with B-17 #42-3037 'Windy City Avenger' abandoned near Corby. Crew returned.

16 July 1944 Shot down by flak and crashed near Neuried in B-17 #42-107064 'Miss Fitt', Prisoner of War (POW) .

Connections

See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.

Units served with

The insignia of the 384th Bomb Group.

384th Bomb Group

  • Unit Hierarchy: Group
  • Air Force: Eighth Air Force
  • Type Category: Bombardment

People

Lawrence John Golka

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 384th Bomb Group 547th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 36257123
  • Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Waist Gunner

Aircraft

42-107064

  • Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
  • Nicknames: Miss Fitt
  • Unit: 384th Bomb Group 547th Bomb Squadron

42-29699

  • Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
  • Nicknames: Fifi, Old Battle Axe
  • Unit: 384th Bomb Group

42-3037

  • Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
  • Nicknames: Windy City Avenger*
  • Unit: 305th Bomb Group Can Do 384th Bomb Group 95th Bomb Group 366th Bomb Squadron 412th Bomb Squadron 544th Bomb Squadron

Events

Event Location Date Description

Other

Prisoner of War (POW)

Barth, Germany 16 July 1944 Shot down by flak and crashed near Neuried in B-17 #42-107064 'Miss Fitt'. Stalag Luft 1 Barth-Vogelsang Prussia 54-12

Born

Lost Creek, West Virginiaa
Climax, North Carolina - it may be that he was born here and not in Lost Creek, West Virginia

Revisions

Date15 Mar 2021 19:42:39
Contributorjmoore43
Sources

Added punctuation to the "Summary biography" to aid clarity.

Date25 Apr 2020 21:31:39
Contributorjmoore43
Sources

Added POW camp information to the POW event and a S/N per WW2 POW records at the National Archives (NARA).

Date23 May 2015 13:22:52
Contributorrossingtonj
Sources

A duplicate record was identified by bombercommand
Sources: http://384thbombgroup.com/_content/_pages/person.php?PersonKey=5314

The duplicate record information has been transferred to this record. The information was drawn from MACR 7553 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database

Date27 Sep 2014 18:18:22
ContributorAAM
Sources

Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 7553, 3 Losses of the 8th & 9th AFs Vol. I by Bishop & Hey p. 285 , http://384thbombgroup.com/_content/_pages/PersonnelSearch.php?LastName=…