Based upon true events during the Second World War, ‘The Great Escape’ tells the incredible story of the inmates of the German Prisoner of War camp Stalag Luft III, a maximum-security prison built to contain captured Allied Air Force personnel who had consistently escaped other less secure facilities. Intent on escaping while simultaneously diverting critical German resources away from the frontlines, the POWs audaciously tunnel beneath the fences of the camp towards the forest beyond, and then flee for freedom.

Among the 76 POWs to make it out is Captain Virgil Hilts, otherwise known as ‘The Cooler King’, a frequent escapee who is consistently recaptured and placed in solitary confinement. During the escape, Hilts steals a German army motorcycle and heads for the German-Swiss border, with German soldiers in pursuit. 

He uses the bike to jump one of the barbed wire fences at the border, but is intercepted by the soldiers before he can make his final escape. 73 of the 76 escapees are recaptured, with 50 of them executed on the personal orders of Adolf Hitler. Meanwhile, Hilts is returned to the cooler where he begins to plan another escape.

Among the most iconic motorcycles to ever grace the silver screen, the bike seen in The Great Escape is a modified Triumph Trophy TR6, chosen for its impressive performance and dressed to resemble a period German motorcycle. Production for the film took place on location in Germany, with the motorcycle chase sequences filmed in meadows around the town of Füssen in Bavaria. The famous moment when the motorcycle leaps the barbed wire border fences was performed by stuntman and professional off-road racer Bud Ekins. 

After filming, the motorcycle was sold to a local farmer who used it to herd livestock, but it later languished in a barn for decades. It was rediscovered by Triumph collector Dick Shepherd, who painstakingly restored the unique bike to its 1962 filming specification with 95% of the original parts retained. In 2017, this legendary Triumph motorcycle was placed on display at the Triumph Factory Visitor Experience in Hinckley, UK.