Flight from Colditz: British PoWs' daring glider escape finally takes to sky 67 years late...

[Rokke]

Daily Mail:

It may have been 67 years late but a replica of the Colditz glider finally took off from the castle yesterday .  .  . and promptly crashed.

The original glider – nicknamed the Colditz Cock – was part of one of the most audacious escape plans conjured up by British prisoners of war held at the castle.

After discovering a book on aircraft design in the library, the Second World War PoWs designed and constructed it behind a false wall in the attic.

 

The glider was still under construction when the supposedly escape-proof PoW camp Oflag IV-C was liberated by American forces in April 1945. As a result, its launch, planned for later that spring, never took place.

 

 

Read more: http://www.dailymail...l#ixzz1pcuPYXnF

[Rokke]

I first became interested in the history of the POW exploits at Colditz as a 2nd grader when I watched the BBC series based on the prison life there. In WWII, the Germans transfered any allied POW caught attempting to escape from other prisons, to the "escape proof" Colditz castle. The results are predictable. They spent the rest of the war plotting and executing amazing escape attempts. There have been many books written about Colditz, but probably the most famous story involved the construction of a glider in the attic of the castle. The war ended before it was used, but there is continuing speculation on whether it would have actually worked. This news story offers at least one answer.

 

[nickydog]

For me the most amazing thing was that they made (who knows how?) their own sewing machine and sewed German uniforms (is that right, @Rokke?) to wear in their escape attempts.

[Rokke]

For me the most amazing thing was that they made (who knows how?) their own sewing machine and sewed German uniforms (is that right, @Rokke?) to wear in their escape attempts.

True. They made just about anything you can think of. Amazing stuff.