The Colditz Glider: A makeshift sailplane made by British prisoners of war during WWII
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During WWII, Colditz Castle held Allied officers deemed escape risks. British prisoners Bill Goldfinch and Jack Best secretly built a two-man glider in the attic from bed boards and sleeping bags, hoping to soar over the walls to freedom. The war ended before they could test it. Decades later, in 2000, engineers recreated the glider, launched it, and proved it could fly—showing that the prisoners’ audacious plan might really have worked.
Colditz Castle in Germany during WWII, British & French POWs hatched several escape plans.To conceal the projects, they used wooden shutters & mud to create a false ceiling in the castle’s attic.The room was disguised so well it was possible to enter the attic and have no idea that it contained a secret.A glider was painstakingly assembled in the concealed space, and a secret radio listening station also operated from there. In the end, the glider never saw its launch due to the end of the war.
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Photos of Colditz Castle
Colditz Castle
