The action-packed flick involves a daring escape of Allied soldiers from a German POW camp during WWII. This event was portrayed in the 1950 film ‘The Wooden Horse’. It was an American-made film about an escape by Allied prisoners of war from a German PoW camp during World War II, and starred Steve McQueen, James Garner and Richard Attenborough. Now that the true scale of the escape is fully known, the search order is upgraded to a Grossfahndung – the highest in the land. The Great Escape was not the first escape attempt from Stalag Luft III Many attempts had been made to dig tunnels out of the camp. Hollywood immortalized the breakout in … Lots were drawn for the 200 places and maps, papers and disguises were completed. Conducting a roll call, the Germans quickly learned the scope of the escape. The Great Escape An audacious plan for a mass escape was put together in early 1943 by the man who became known as Big “X” – Squadron Leader Roger Bushell – a captive RAF officer. 2. Eventually ‘Harry’ was completed and the night of the Great Escape was planned for 24th March 1944, a moonless night. The incredible true story behind ‘The Great Escape’ is far more epic than the film Millions of people have viewed the stunning 1963 drama-thriller The Great Escape. The true story of The Great Escape Captured RAF pilots in Stalag Luft III 75 years ago this month, on the night of the 24 March 1944, one of the most audacious projects carried out during WW2 occurred. When news of the escape reached Hitler, the irate German leader initially ordered that … The characters are composites of real men and the events in the film are based around real events – with the usual Hollywood spin – and based on the book The Great Escape by Paul Brickhill. Around 5:00 AM on March 25, the 77th man was spotted by the guards as he emerged from the tunnel. The Gestapo temporarily seizes control of running Stalag Luft III. Peter Devitt of the RAF Museum, London, and the NSW Premier, Mike Baird launched A True Story of the Great Escape on Monday, August 31 at the Manly Life Saving Club.. In 1943, Oliver Philpot, Eric Williams and Michael Codner successfully escaped from Stalag Luft III by digging a tunnel under the perimeter fence concealed by a wooden vaulting horse. The Squadron Leader was being held in North compound, the home of British airmen. The Gestapo temporarily seizes control of running Stalag Luft III. The launch was attended by senior RAAF, RAF and RNZAF officers, representatives of the surf life saving movement, the extended Williams and Kierath families and friends. In 1947, a military tribunal found 18 Nazi soldiers guilty of war crimes for shooting the recaptured prisoners of war, and 13 of them were executed.