the known photo of original cock glider taken unknown american gi in april 1945.
a replica of colditz glider seen @ imperial war museum in london, england.
in 1 of ambitious escape attempts colditz, idea of building glider dreamt 2 british pilots, jack best , bill goldfinch, had been sent colditz after escaping pow camp. encouraged 2 army officers, tony rolt , david walker, had arrived in camp. tony rolt recommend chapel roof, since noticed obscured view of germans.
the two-man glider assembled bill goldfinch , jack best in lower attic above chapel, , launched roof in order fly across river mulde, 60 m (200 feet) below. runway constructed tables , glider launched using pulley system based on falling metal bathtub full of concrete, accelerate glider 50 km/h (30 mph).
prisoners built false wall hide space in attic built glider out of stolen pieces of wood. since germans accustomed looking down tunnels, not secret workshops, prisoners felt safe detection. however, still placed lookouts, , created electric alarm system, warn builders of approaching guards.
hundreds of ribs had constructed, predominantly bed slats, every other piece of wood pows obtain. wing spars constructed floor boards. control wires made electrical wiring taken unused portions of castle. glider expert, lorne welch, reviewed stress diagrams , calculations made goldfinch.
the resulting glider 109 kg (240 lb) two-seater, high wing, monoplane design. had mooney-style rudder , square elevators. wingspan, 9.75 m (32 ft), , fuselage length 6 m (19 ft). prison sleeping bags of blue , white checked cotton used skin glider, , german ration millet boiled , used seal cloth pores. war ended before glider finished.
although colditz cock never flew, concept fictionalized, depicting successful flight , escape, in 1971 tv movie birdmen starring doug mcclure, chuck connors, rené auberjonois, , richard basehart.
a replica of colditz glider built 2000 channel 4 (uk) 3-part (150 minute total) escape colditz documentary, , flown john lee on first attempt @ raf odiham best , goldfinch in tearful attendance. housed @ imperial war museum in london. channel 4 material edited 60 minutes , shown in in 2001 nazi prison escape on nova television series.
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