This is one of at least four Colditz Cock replicas which have been built, two of which have flown. This one was used in the 1972-74 TV Series "Colditz", the particular episode being Series 2 Episode 6 "Ace in the Hole" which aired on February 11th 1974. It was subsequently loaned by the IWM to the Torbay Aircraft Museum (reported there April 1984)" and probably returned to the IWM when Torbay closed in 1988. It was reported to be in store with the IWM in 2011 but its whereabouts after that are not clear. It is not the one at Lasham, that is BAPC.347, or the one at Flixton which is BGA.4757.

The original "Colditz Cock" was built by British prisoners during WWII in the hope of a planned escape from Colditz castle. The original "Colditz Cock" never saw its maiden flight, as the American Army liberated the camp on the 16th of April 1945. This photo shows a full-sized replica of the glider which was built by Southdown Aviation Ltd at Lasham Airfield to support the Channel 4 documentary on the Colditz Cock which was first screened on 13th August 2012. It was used to sort out problems/solutions during the building of a flying replica in the Colditz attics. Never flown, its sister was launched under radio control on 17th Mar 2012 from the roof of Colditz Castle and crashed in the originally intended landing field next the river Mulde.

During WW II the castle at Colditz was used to house Prisoners of War (Oflag IVC) who had a history of attempted escape. A plan was thought up for two prisoners to escape by glider and the Colditz Cock was built in the roof of the castle using materials available to the prisoners. The camp was however liberated before the escape was attempted. In a reversal of the norm, the original never flew but this replica built using the original plans was flown for the Channel 4 TV Series, Escape from Colditz. The aircraft is displayed at the Norfolk and Suffolk Aviation Museum, on loan from the Imperial War Museum