Escape tunnel
Encyclopedia
An escape tunnel is a form of secret passage
used as part of an escape from siege
or captivity. In medieval times such tunnel
s are usually constructed by the builders of castle
s or palace
s who wish to have an escape route if their domain is under attack. In the case of prisoners, escape tunnels are dug to be free of captivity.
In road and rail tunnels, narrower escape tunnels are provided to enable people to escape on foot in the event of a fire or other accident in the main tunnel. For example, between the two main bores of the Channel Tunnel
is an access tunnel large enough to take a fire engine.
(Scotland
) and the Bishops Palace at Exeter (England
).
Secret passage
Secret passages, also commonly referred to as hidden passages or secret tunnels, are hidden routes used for stealthy travel. Such passageways are sometimes inside buildings leading to secret rooms. Others allow occupants to enter or exit buildings without being seen...
used as part of an escape from siege
Siege
A siege is a military blockade of a city or fortress with the intent of conquering by attrition or assault. The term derives from sedere, Latin for "to sit". Generally speaking, siege warfare is a form of constant, low intensity conflict characterized by one party holding a strong, static...
or captivity. In medieval times such tunnel
Tunnel
A tunnel is an underground passageway, completely enclosed except for openings for egress, commonly at each end.A tunnel may be for foot or vehicular road traffic, for rail traffic, or for a canal. Some tunnels are aqueducts to supply water for consumption or for hydroelectric stations or are sewers...
s are usually constructed by the builders of castle
Castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...
s or palace
Palace
A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word itself is derived from the Latin name Palātium, for Palatine Hill, one of the seven hills in Rome. In many parts of Europe, the...
s who wish to have an escape route if their domain is under attack. In the case of prisoners, escape tunnels are dug to be free of captivity.
In road and rail tunnels, narrower escape tunnels are provided to enable people to escape on foot in the event of a fire or other accident in the main tunnel. For example, between the two main bores of the Channel Tunnel
Channel Tunnel
The Channel Tunnel is a undersea rail tunnel linking Folkestone, Kent in the United Kingdom with Coquelles, Pas-de-Calais near Calais in northern France beneath the English Channel at the Strait of Dover. At its lowest point, it is deep...
is an access tunnel large enough to take a fire engine.
Medieval escape tunnels
Throughout the British Isles and much of northern Europe escape tunnels were often part of the intrinsic design of fortified houses and palaces. The tunnel would typically be one half to two kilometers long and open in a location not readily visible to attackers. Examples of these tunnels are at Muchalls CastleMuchalls Castle
Muchalls Castle stands overlooking the North Sea in the countryside of Kincardine and Mearns, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The lower course is a well preserved double groined 13th century towerhouse structure, built by the Frasers of Muchalls. Upon this structure, the 17th century castle was begun by...
(Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
) and the Bishops Palace at Exeter (England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
).
Successful Escapes
The following escapes were at least a partial success, with prisoners going through the tunnel and out the other side:| Prison Location | Year | Number of Successful Escapees | Length of Tunnel | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stalag Luft III Stalag Luft III Stalag Luft III was a Luftwaffe-run prisoner-of-war camp during World War II that housed captured air force servicemen. It was in the German Province of Lower Silesia near the town of Sagan , southeast of Berlin... |
1943 | 3 | 30m | "The Wooden Horse", Lieutenant Michael Codner, Flight Lieutenant Eric Williams, and Flight Lieutenant Oliver Philpot |
| Stalag Luft III Stalag Luft III Stalag Luft III was a Luftwaffe-run prisoner-of-war camp during World War II that housed captured air force servicemen. It was in the German Province of Lower Silesia near the town of Sagan , southeast of Berlin... |
1944 | 76 | 102m | Led by Roger Bushell Roger Bushell Squadron Leader Roger Joyce Bushell RAF was a South African-born British Auxiliary Air Force pilot who organised and led the famous escape from the Nazi prisoner of war camp, Stalag Luft III. He was a victim of the Stalag Luft III murders. The escape was used as the basis for the film The Great... during World War II World War II World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis... . The story was made into a film: The Great Escape The Great Escape (film) The Great Escape is a 1963 American film about an escape by Allied prisoners of war from a German POW camp during World War II, starring Steve McQueen, James Garner, and Richard Attenborough... . |
| Island Farm Island Farm Island Farm was a Prisoner of War Camp on the outskirts of the town of Bridgend, South Wales. It hosted a number of Axis prisoners, mainly German, and was the scene of the largest escape attempt by German POWs in Britain during World War II. Near the end of the war it became known as Special Camp XI... |
1945 | 70 | 21 m | http://www.islandfarm.fsnet.co.uk/The%20Escape%20Tunnel.htm |
| Carandiru prison, São Paulo São Paulo São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among... Brazil Brazil Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people... . |
2001 | 100 (approx) | unreported | Moises Teixeira da Silva Moises Teixeira da Silva Moises Teixeira da Silva is a convicted robber who escaped São Paulo, Brazil's Carandiru prison with about 100 others through a tunnel in 2001. He was serving a 25-year sentence at the time.... , a convicted robber |
| Dugaluft, Frankfurt Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010... |
1941 | 1 | unknown | Peter Butterworth Peter Butterworth Peter William Shorrocks Butterworth was an English comedy actor and comedian, best known for his appearances in the Carry On series of films. He was also a regular on children's television and radio and appeared in seven early episodes of Doctor Who in 1965 as the 'The Meddling Monk'... was an English comic actor. |
| Vellore Fort 1995 Vellore Fort Jailbreak 1995 Vellore Fort Jailbreak , happened in Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India on 15 August 1995. After digging a tunnel, 43 Tamil Tiger inmates escaped from the prison, 21 of the escapees were re-captured within weeks of the escape.... , India India India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world... |
1995 | 43 | TODO | Tamil Tiger inmates. |
| Yemen Yemen The Republic of Yemen , commonly known as Yemen , is a country located in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east.... |
2006 | 23 | TODO | Innmates of Political Security Organization, including convicted mastermind of the USS Cole Bombing USS Cole bombing The USS Cole Bombing, or the USS Cole Incident, was a suicide attack against the United States Navy destroyer on October 12, 2000 while it was harbored and refueled in the Yemeni port of Aden. Seventeen American sailors were killed, and 39 were injured... Jamal al-Badawi. |
| Burail Jail | 1998 | 3 | TODO | Escapees: Jagtar Singh Hawara, Jagtar Singh Tara, Paramjit Singh Beora |
| Sarposa Prison Sarposa prison The Sarposa prison is a high security prison in Kandahar, Afghanistan, used to hold Taliban militants and other criminals including drug traffickers... , Kandahar Kandahar Kandahar is the second largest city in Afghanistan, with a population of about 512,200 as of 2011. It is the capital of Kandahar Province, located in the south of the country at about 1,005 m above sea level... , Afghanistan Afghanistan Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world... |
2011 | 476 | 320m | All but one were Taliban members. http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/25/us-afghanistan-prison-idUSTRE73O0O420110425 |
Unsuccessful escapes
- Prisoners at Camp BuccaCamp BuccaCamp Bucca was a detention facility maintained by the United States military in the vicinity of Umm Qasr, Iraq. As of June 2011, a group of entrepreneurial Iraqis and Americans are re-building Camp Bucca as Basra Gateway, a logistics city and environmentally-friendly industrial hub to lead the new...
, a U.S.United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
-run prison in IraqIraqIraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
, completed their tunnelling but did not make their bid for freedom, with the tunnel being discovered in March 2005 http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/03/25/iraq.tunnel/.
Fictional escapes
- Agamemnon BusmalisAgamemnon BusmalisAgamemnon "Aggie" Busmalis a.k.a. The Mole is a fictional character of the television series Oz, portrayed by Tom Mardirosian. He is also referenced in OZ: Behind These Walls: The Journal of Augustus Hill.-Character's backstory:...
from the television series OzOz (TV series)Oz is an American television drama series created by Tom Fontana, who also wrote or co-wrote all of the series' 56 episodes . It was the first one-hour dramatic television series to be produced by premium cable network HBO. Oz premiered on July 12, 1997 and ran for six seasons... - The Count of Monte CristoThe Count of Monte CristoThe Count of Monte Cristo is an adventure novel by Alexandre Dumas. It is often considered to be, along with The Three Musketeers, Dumas's most popular work. He completed the work in 1844...
- Hogan's HeroesHogan's HeroesHogan's Heroes is an American television sitcom that ran for 168 episodes from September 17, 1965, to March 28, 1971, on the CBS network. The show was set in a German prisoner of war camp during the Second World War. Bob Crane had the starring role as Colonel Robert E...
- The Shawshank RedemptionThe Shawshank RedemptionThe Shawshank Redemption is a 1994 American drama film written and directed by Frank Darabont and starring Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman....
- Stalag 17Stalag 17Stalag 17 is a 1953 war film which tells the story of a group of American airmen held in a German World War II prisoner of war camp, who come to suspect that one of their number is a traitor...
- Prison BreakPrison BreakPrison Break is an American television serial drama created by Paul Scheuring, that was broadcast on the Fox Broadcasting Company for four seasons, from 2005 until 2009. The series revolves around two brothers; one has been sentenced to death for a crime he did not commit, and the other devises an...
- Homer SimpsonHomer SimpsonHomer Jay Simpson is a fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons and the patriarch of the eponymous family. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared on television, along with the rest of his family, in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
, in a parody of Edmond DantèsEdmond DantèsEdmond Dantès is the protagonist and title character of Alexandre Dumas, père's novel, The Count of Monte Cristo.Dumas may have gotten the idea for the character of Edmond from a story which he found in a book compiled by Jacques Peuchet, archivist to the French police. Peuchet related the tale of...
, in the episode "Revenge is a Dish Best Served Three TimesRevenge Is a Dish Best Served Three Times"Revenge is a Dish Best Served Three Times" is the eleventh episode of The Simpsons eighteenth season, which originally aired on January 28, 2007. It was written by Joel H...
" - Prisoner Cell Block H, six inmates attempted to escape through a tunnel found in the prison grounds, when the tunnel collapsed, only two of the six got away. 3 were trapped between the rubble and the blocked entrance and another was killed from the falling rubble. (Note: only 4 were meant to escape, but 2 followed to prevent them from going)