The gang was quite fortunate that the prison was already old and in bad shape, with weak, crumbly walls. If this were a new building, the escape plan would be almost impossible to execute. The saltwater that ran through the pipes for showering and washing dishes was slowly destroying the pipes and leaking into the prison walls.
Over the years, the salt wore down the cement and eventually caused it to crumble. The prison authorities also kept the water slightly warm to keep prisoners from getting used to the cold temperatures out in the icy waters of San Francisco Bay.
Team Assignments
Each team member oversaw a different part of the plan, but they all had to find a way to get out of their cells on the night chosen for the escape. The Angling brothers were responsible for making the fake heads to leave behind in the empty bunks.
The heads were created roughly but efficiently from soap wax, toilet paper, and actual human hair picked off the floor of the Alcatraz barber shop. This was imagination at its best. Morris had the job of fixing up an instrument similar to an accordion so that it would inflate life vests and a raft.
Digging Tools
The crew also worked together to create tools to dig out of their cells and unscrew the bolts from the vents. It’s hard to believe, but they managed to make picks and wrenches from items they snagged around the prison, like wood from the workshop and cafeteria spoons.
Each day, the team would work from 5:30 PM to roughly nine at night, chipping away at their cells and trying to make holes big enough to fit through. They removed the vents in their cells to speed along the process and used the picks to make the holes bigger.
The Noise
You are probably wondering how so much banging and chipping could be going on without anyone being the wiser. The truth is that the escapees cleverly used prison reform to their advantage. In the 1960s, it was decided that inmates should be allowed an hour of music each day. Nothing could be heard over the disharmony that ensued.
Morris also played his accordion as loudly as possible whenever he could, and the racket was enough to conceal any noises made by banging or the chipping of cement. The holes in the back of the cells led to an unguarded utility corridor full of pipes that were going up and down.
Climbing the Jungle Gym
The utility corridor was unguarded and full of bars like a jungle gym. If the prisoners opened the holes in their cells wide enough to get through, they could easily use the bars to climb the three stories to the roof. After that, they would just have to hope for the best.
At the top of the building, they needed to use one of the large shafts for roof access. They were shocked to discover that many shafts were sealed off with cement. After a panicked search, they found an unsealed shaft and used their homemade wrench to pry it open.