page_title: Attempts to escape Oflag IV-C
section_title: The "Colditz Cock" glider
hierarchical_section_title: Attempts to escape Oflag IV-C / Unsuccessful attempts / The "Colditz Cock" glider
context_page_description: Prisoners made numerous attempts to escape from Oflag IV-C, one of the most famous German Army prisoner-of-war camps for officers in World War II. Between 30–36 men succeeded in their attempts. The camp was in Colditz Castle, perched on a cliff overlooking the town of Colditz in Saxony.
  The German Army made Colditz a Sonderlager, the only one of its type within Germany. Field Marshal Hermann Göring even declared Colditz "escape-proof." Yet despite this audacious claim, there were multiple escapes by British, Canadian, French, Polish, Dutch, and Belgian inmates. Despite some misapprehensions to the contrary, Colditz Castle was not used as a prisoner of war camp in World War I.
context_section_description: In one of the most ambitious escape attempts from Colditz, the idea of building a glider, was dreamt up by two British pilots, Jack Best and Bill Goldfinch, who had been sent to Colditz after escaping from another POW camp. They were encouraged by two army officers, Tony Rolt and David Walker, who had recently arrived in the camp. It would be Tony Rolt who would recommend the chapel roof, since he noticed it was obscured from the view of the Germans.
  The two-man glider was to be assembled by Bill Goldfinch and Jack Best in the lower attic above the chapel, and was to be launched from the roof in order to fly across the river Mulde, which was about 60 m (200 feet) below. The runway was to be constructed from tables and the glider was to be launched using a pulley system based on a falling metal bathtub full of concrete, which would accelerate the glider to 50 km/h (30 mph).
  Prisoners built a false wall to hide the space in the attic where they slowly built the glider out of stolen pieces of wood. Since the Germans were accustomed to looking down for tunnels, not up for secret workshops, the prisoners felt safe from detection. However, they still placed lookouts, and created an electric alarm system, to warn the builders of approaching guards.
  Hundreds of ribs had to be constructed, predominantly from bed slats, but also from every other piece of wood the POWs could obtain. The wing spars were constructed from floor boards. Control wires were made from electrical wiring taken from unused portions of the castle. A glider expert, Lorne Welch, reviewed the stress diagrams and calculations made by Goldfinch.
  The resulting glider was to be a 109 kg (240 lb) two-seater, high wing, monoplane design. It had a Mooney-style rudder and square elevators. The wingspan, was 9.75 m (32 ft), and the fuselage length was 6 m (19 ft). Prison sleeping bags of blue and white checked cotton were used to skin the glider, and German ration millet was boiled and used to seal the cloth pores. The war ended before the glider was finished.
  Although the Colditz Cock never flew, the concept was fictionalized, depicting a successful flight and escape, in the 1971 TV movie The Birdmen starring Doug McClure, Chuck Connors, René Auberjonois, and Richard Basehart.
  A replica of the Colditz glider was built for the 2000 Channel 4 (UK) 3-part (150 minute total) Escape from Colditz documentary, and was flown successfully by John Lee on its first attempt at RAF Odiham with Best and Goldfinch in tearful attendance. It is currently housed at the Imperial War Museum in London. The Channel 4 material was edited to 60 minutes and shown in the US in 2001 as Nazi Prison Escape on the NOVA television series.
caption: A replica of the Colditz Glider as seen at the Imperial War Museum in London, England.
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