The Shelburne Escape Line

"The Shelburne Line was the only Underground escape line to successfully evade the Gestapo. Allied airmen, rescued after being shot down, were taken to Paris by Resistance members where—after intense interrogation—they received new names, identity cards, clothing, training and special passes for the forbidden coastal zone in Brittany. They were hidden in "safe houses" of loyal French, waiting until a moonless night for evacuation to England via the Royal Navy's motor gunboat, MGB 503. Sixty years later, there remain WWII stories most of us have not yet heard. The Shelburne Escape Line, which is one of the most poignant, includes Luftwaffe jets attacking Allied bombers, air crews trapped behind enemy lines, secret agents, and audacious midnight rescues. Revealed here are extraordinary examples of ingenuity and quiet heroism by French civilians caught up in helping fight a ruthless enemy." Major General John D. Altenburgh Jr. United States Army, Retired