Wolfgang Engels (born 1943) is a former civilian employee of the East German National People's Army, employed as a car mechanic and driver, who in 1963 used a stolen BTR-152 armoured personnel carrier to escape to West Germany by breaking through the Berlin Wall.

[1] On 17 April 1963, on the eve of the communist May Day celebrations, Engels stole an East German National People's Army BTR-152 armoured personnel carrier from his military-base while its crew were at lunch and drove it through the streets of East Berlin.

Along his route he saw a group of young people and stopped to offer them a ride "I'm going to the West, does anyone want to go?"

The APC did not fully penetrate the Wall, having been stuck halfway on the fortified border, so Engels hurriedly exited the vehicle and was shot twice by East German border-guards while struggling to free himself from the rolls of razor-sharp barbed wire until he was finally pulled to safety by West Berliners.

As he recovered consciousness, he saw the labels on the liquor bottles and then knew that he had made a successful escape.