The Delousing break was a mass escape attempt by allied aircrew officers of British and American nationalities who were held as

prisoners of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held Captivity, captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold priso ...

during the Second World War. It occurred on 12 June 1943 from the North Compound of

Stalag Luft III , partof = ''Luftwaffe'' , location = Sagan, Lower Silesia, Nazi Germany (now Żagań, Poland) , image = , caption = Model of the set used to film the movie ''The Great Escape.'' It depicts a smaller version of a single compound in ''Stalag ...

POW A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war ...

Camp in Germany.

Main Party

The plan was masterminded by Squadron Leader Roger Bushell RAF, who also organized the Great Escape from the same camp. Twenty-four officers, escorted by two fake guards (Allied POWs disguised as Germans), left the camp through the main gate to proceed to the neighbouring compound to be deloused. All twenty-six escapees were recaptured, many within hours. Twenty-four of them were returned to the camp, but

Flight Lieutenant Flight lieutenant is a junior commissioned rank in air forces that use the Royal Air Force (RAF) system of ranks, especially in Commonwealth countries. It has a NATO rank code of OF-2. Flight lieutenant is abbreviated as Flt Lt in the India ...

Lorne Welch Patrick Palles Lorne Elphinstone Welch, (12 August 1916 – 15 May 1998), known as Lorne Welch, was a British engineer, pilot and Colditz prisoner of war. He was educated at Stowe School and became an engineer and then an engine test flight o ...

and

Pilot Officer Pilot officer (Plt Off officially in the RAF; in the RAAF and RNZAF; formerly P/O in all services, and still often used in the RAF) is the lowest commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countri ...

Walter Morison Flight Lieutenant Walter McDonald Morison (26 November 1919 – 26 March 2009) was a Royal Air Force pilot who became a prisoner of war and was sent to Colditz for attempting to steal an enemy aircraft during the Second World War. Early life He ...

were sent to Oflag IV-C at Colditz for attempting to steal an aircraft. Flying Officer Henry Birkland RCAF and

John Stower also took part in this escape attempt; both were later murdered following the Great Escape in March 1944.

Second Party

A second party of six officers, again escorted by a fake guard (

Bram van der Stok Bram van der Stok, (13 October 1915 – 8 February 1993), also known as Bob van der Stok, was a World War II fighter pilot and flying ace, and is the most decorated aviator in Dutch history. In March 1944, he broke out of Stalag Luft III – ...

), also attempted to escape whilst en route to the neighbouring compound shortly after the main party had left, however, the forged pass carried by Van der Stok was out-dated, and the alarm was raised. This party included RAF fighter ace Wing Commander Robert Stanford Tuck. All participants in the escape were held for a period of time in solitary confinement.

References

{{coord missing, Germany POW escapes and rescues during World War II World War II prisoner-of-war camps in Germany 1943 in Germany