At the outbreak of World War II in the Netherlands, Luteyn was a cadet of the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army (Koninklijk Nederlands Indisch Leger, KNIL) at the Dutch military academy (Koninklijke Militaire Academie, KMA).

After the capitulation of the Dutch armed forces, all officers and cadets were asked to give their word of honour not to harm German interests in any way as long as the Netherlands and Germany were at war.

Luteyn refused, together with about 60 other officers, cadets and one rating of the Dutch navy (stoker Willem de Lange).

The majority of officers who didn't give their word of honour were officers of the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army, arguing that according to their regulations it was forbidden to give their word of honour and because the Dutch East Indies were still free at that time, they saw it as their duty to remain in the fight.

Luteyn and all other Dutch officers and cadets who had refused to give their word of honour were thus led into captivity.

From this camp the first Dutch escape attempt was made by lieutenant Hans Larive, Royal Netherlands Navy.

In 1940, Germany was still in an overconfident mood, and the Gestapo officer told Larive where he went wrong and what he should have done to cross the border successfully.

From this camp the first successful escape was made by captain John Trebels and lieutenant Frans van der Veen, who also used the Gottmadingen–Singen border crossing.

After the successful escape by Trebels and van der Veen, the Dutch officers were moved in July 1941 to the POW camp for "special prisoners", sonderlager Oflag IV-C Colditz.

Luteyn and Airey Neave were teamed together and on January 5, 1942, after evening roll call, they were led to the saalhouse by British escape officer Pat Reid and Canadian Howard Wardle.

The two escapees had to wait a few minutes so Reid and Wardle had time to return to the theatre and camouflage all traces of this escape.

Targeting a cross into Switzerland via Hans Larive's Singen route, they had to wait for twelve hours before they could continue to Regensburg.

Running with bleeding blisters and falling and stumbling through snow-covered holes, they reached the village of Ramsen in Switzerland.