How To Escape From Alcatraz In 10 Easy Steps
A break down of the most infamous prison break in history.
Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary served the U.S. as a maximum security prison from 1934 to 1963. Alcatraz Island is also historically significant for being home to the first lighthouse to have been constructed on the west coast of America. The name Alcatraz stirs up images of despair and hopelessness and not without good reason. The prison was fitted with state of the art steel bars, barbed wire fences, thick concrete walls and armed guards who were not afraid to shoot to kill. On top of that, more than a mile of cold and dangerous water separated the island from the next nearest point of land. The prisons infamous name comes from the spanish for pelicans, many of which were nested on the island when settlers first reached it.
Alcatraz was designed and built to be an escape proof prison but this didnt stop people from trying. During its time as a high security state penitentiary, 36 men tried to escape in 14 failed break out attempts. Only one of the escape attempts in the history of the prison succeeded and the three men responsible for pulling it off disappeared without a trace. On the morning of the 11th of June 1962, the quiet of the island was disturbed by whaling sirens, the morning head count was short. Three men had done the impossible and escaped from Alcatraz. So how exactly did they pull off an escape from the United States most secure prison facility? Here we have a break down of the escape plan and also examine the potential fates of the men involved.