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Prison Break↕ | Prison↕ | Year↕ | Method↕ | Known For↕ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Escape from Alcatraz | Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary | 1962 | Dummy heads + raft from raincoats | Frank Morris + Anglin brothers, bodies never found, 'officially presumed drowned' but maybe not |
The Great Escape | Stalag Luft III, Germany | 1944 | 3 tunnels (Tom, Dick, Harry) | 76 POWs escaped through tunnel 'Harry', 50 recaptured and executed, Steve McQueen movie |
El Chapo's Tunnel Escape | Altiplano Prison, Mexico | 2015 | Mile-long motorcycle tunnel | Tunnel with motorcycle rail led to construction site, GPS-tracked him to the inch, second escape |
Colditz Castle Escapes | Oflag IV-C, Germany | 1940-1945 | Various (hidden glider, uniforms) | Nazi 'escape-proof' castle, 30+ successful escapes, POWs built a hidden glider in the attic |
John Dillinger's Wooden Gun | Crown Point Jail, Indiana | 1934 | Fake gun carved from wood | Bluffed guards with a wooden gun darkened with shoe polish, stole the sheriff's car, folk hero |
Pascal Payet's Helicopter Escapes | Multiple French prisons | 2001, 2003, 2007 | Helicopter extraction from roof | Escaped by helicopter THREE times, also helped others escape, France had to ban helicopter flights near prisons |
Papillon's Devil's Island Escape | Devil's Island, French Guiana | 1941 | Coconut-sack raft on ocean currents | Henri Charrière's memoir, shark-infested waters, Steve McQueen + Dustin Hoffman movie |
Maze Prison Escape | HMP Maze, Northern Ireland | 1983 | Hijacked food truck + guns | 38 IRA prisoners escaped, largest prison break in UK history, guards taken hostage |
Texas Seven | Connally Unit, Texas | 2000 | Overpowered guards, stole clothes | 7 inmates escaped together, America's Most Wanted led to capture, killed a police officer |
Casanova's Venice Escape | The Leads (Palazzo Ducale), Venice | 1756 | Iron spike through ceiling | Giacomo Casanova escaped Venice's infamous lead-roofed prison, wrote a book about it, legendary charm |
Dannemora Prison Break | Clinton Correctional, New York | 2015 | Power tools + underground pipes | Two inmates seduced a prison worker for tools, 3-week manhunt, Ben Stiller directed the miniseries |
Libby Prison Tunnel Escape | Libby Prison, Richmond, VA | 1864 | 57-foot tunnel | 109 Union officers escaped through tunnel, largest Civil War prison break, 48 recaptured |
Yoshie Shiratori's 4 Escapes | 4 different Japanese prisons | 1936-1947 | Miso soup on handcuffs, climbing walls | Escaped 4 prisons including Abashiri in winter, used miso soup to rust handcuffs, Japanese folk legend |
Jack Sheppard's London Escapes | Newgate Prison, London | 1724 | Filed through chains, climbed chimneys | Escaped 4 times, became 18th-century celebrity, public attended his execution, inspired Dickens |
Billy Hayes' Midnight Express | Sagmalcilar Prison, Turkey | 1975 | Rowboat across Sea of Marmara | American caught smuggling hashish, escaped Turkish prison, controversial 1978 movie, diplomatic incident |
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