Flight from Colditz: Would the Second World War's Most Audacious Escape Plan Have Succeeded?

by Anthony Hoskins

Overview

Colditz Castle was one of the most famous Prisoner of War camps of the Second World War. It was there that the Germans interred their most troublesome or important prisoners. Hundreds of ingenious escape attempts were made but the most ambitious of all was to build a glider and fly to freedom.Though the glider was built, the war ended before it could be used, and it was subsequently destroyed. Using the original plans and materials used by the prisoners, in March 2012 a replica of the glider was constructed in a bid to see if the escape attempt would have succeeded. The glider was then launched from the roof of the castle roof.Anthony Hoskins is the man who built, and helped launch, the glider. As well as examining the story behind the building of the original glider, he details the construction of the replica and the nail-biting excitement as the Colditz Cock finally took to the skies. Packed with photos of the glider and its flight over Colditz, this is the inside story of the recreation of one of the most intriguing episodes of the Second World War.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781473848559
Publisher:	Pen & Sword Books Limited
Publication date:	01/24/2020
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	184
File size:	7 MB

About the Author

Tony Hoskins started learning to glide in 1994 at the Oxford Gliding Club, RAF Weston-on-the-Green, and, alongside his flying training, soon began assisting the club's maintenance team looking after the training fleet. In 2009 he formed his own company, South East Aircraft Services, to serve the gliding industry, through maintenance, modifications and repairs.

Table of Contents

Foreword Regina Thiede vii

Introduction xi

Acknowledgements xiii

Part I

Offizierslager IV-C - Colditz Castle 1

The Colditz Cock 21

Part II

The Challenge 51

The Build Begins 64

Colditz Here We Come 89

Ready to Roll 108

To the Skies 127

Appendix: The Other Replicas 157

References and Notes 167

Editorial Reviews

"...exciting account of an escape plan put into action by the Allied prisoners of war held at Colditz Castle in Germany during World War II. ... details the research process, reconstruction, and launch of the glider over a period of fourteen days, while also providing an engaging narrative look into the past"

ProtoView

...exciting account of an escape plan put into action by the Allied prisoners of war held at Colditz Castle in Germany during World War II. ... details the research process, reconstruction, and launch of the glider over a period of fourteen days, while also providing an engaging narrative look into the past

Protoview