10 Most Insane Prison Breaks Of All Time
4. The Great Escape
Tired of the horrors of a German PoW camp during World War II, Roger Bushell led a band of captives on an escape mission that would go down in history as one of the most innovative, but also one of the most tragic.
Bushell's plan involved digging a trio of deep tunnels codenamed Tom, Dick, and Harry under the noses of their captors, but strategically positioned out of sight. These weren't just any tunnels - they had their own air supplies, electrical lighting hooked up to the camp's grid, and rail car systems for transporting materials for one end to another.
Work on the tunnels began in January 1943 and Harry was finally ready by March the following year. On a moonless night, the camp's inmates piled in, only to find that the tunnel came up short. Instead of reaching a nearby forest as planned, the exit was within the enemy's line of sight.
Freedom was shortlived for most of the Stalag Luft III escapees. Fifty were killed, others were sent back to the camp and just three escaped.
The Stalag Luft III was famously turned into a Hollywood movie in 1963, starring Steve McQueen, James Garner, and Richard Attenborough, which went on to be just as famous for its Elmer Bernstein score as the events it depicted.