Dulag Luft Dulag Luft was the abbreviated name given to Prisoner of War ( POW ) transit camps for Air Force prisoners captured by Germany during the Second World War . Their main purpose was to act as collection and interrogation centres for newly captured aircrew , before being transferred in batches to the permanent camps . Dulag Luft derives from the German Durchgangslager der Luftwaffe ( Transit Camp - Air Force ) . Several camps were set up throughout Germany and the occupied countries , however the main centre used throughout the war was at Oberursel near Frankfurt . A satellite camp at Wetzlar was set up later in the war to help cope with the large numbers of aircrew captured as the bombing campaign intensified against Germany . Allegations of interrogation under torture have been made by numerous POWs who passed through the camps . The Germans had established a similar facility , the " Listening Hotel " , in the First World War . This was located at 39 Ettlinger Strasse in Karlsruhe and was a former business hotel , the " Europäischer Hof " . The " Listening Hotel " should not be confused with the regular Officers ' Camp in Karlsuhe in that war . Oberursel Camp . The camp was built on the site of an old government poultry farm , approximately 300 yards north of the main Frankfurt to Bad Homburg road . The camp first opened in December 1939 when a small number of British and French POWs were transferred in from Oflag IX - A / H . These first prisoners were to act as a permanent staff of the camp to help new POWs become accustomed to camp life . The main building , known as the stonehouse , had been used as a prison for a small number of airmen captured in the early months of the war , before it became a transit camp . The stonehouse , which had been used to house farm pupils prior to its conversion to the prison camp , was originally the only building in the camp , however from April 1940 onwards the camp expanded with the completion of three wooden barrack blocks . After this point the stonehouse was used as the interrogation centre for new POWs , and the barrack blocks were used to house the permanent staff POWs and other POWs awaiting transfer to other camps . The first Senior British Officer ( SBO ) was Wing Commander Harry Day . The camp steadily grew in size . Post - war the site was taken over by the United States Army and renamed Camp King . It remained in use until 1993 . Wetzlar Camp . Located a few miles from Frankfurt and was opened towards the end of the war . This camp was mainly used for captured USAAF personnel . Dulag Luft ( Oberursel ) Escape . As with all POWs , escape was always in mind . Despite initial appearances , and some accusations of collaboration with the Germans , the permanent staff , headed by Day , had set up an escape committee with other members of the staff , including Squadron Leader Roger Bushell and Lt Cmdr Jimmy Buckley RN . Buckley was a pilot in the Fleet Air Arm and as such the Germans had placed him , with all other FAA aircrew , under the responsibility of the " Luftwaffe " . Bushell was later to be murdered by the Gestapo following The Great Escape from Stalag Luft III in March 1944 . Several tunnels were started , but the first two ran into flooding problems . However , they were not discovered . The third tunnel ran west from the western barrack block under a sentry tower on the south - western corner of the camp . This was completed in the spring of 1941 , and was used by 17 British officers ( mainly RAF ) in June 1941 . The exact date of the escape is not known , but many sources quote it as occurring during the Whitsun weekend . The escapers , including Day , Buckley , Johnnie Dodge and future Carry On Film star Peter Butterworth were all recaptured within a week . Roger Bushell is believed not to have used the tunnel , instead escaping on the same night from a goat shed in the camp grounds . It is understood that he wished for a slightly earlier start to catch a train for his intended escape route . He was also recaptured . This was the first mass escape of the war by British officers , and the first tunnel constructed by RAF POWs to be completed and used . All the recaptured escapers were well treated , and after serving their solitary confinement as punishment for the attempt were all transferred to Stalag Luft I . It is reputed that the German Camp Commandant Major Rumpel , gave the escapers a case of champagne with the words " Better luck next time , even if I ' m not supposed to say so " . After this , no further actual escapes took place from this camp , though others were planned , including one by Wing Commander Douglas Bader , the legless fighter ace , during his brief stay at the camp .