Fifty Years Ago: Skunk Works U-2 Aircraft Photos Trigger the Cuban Missile Crisis

FIFTY YEARS AGO: SKUNK WORKS U-2 AIRCRAFT PHOTOS TRIGGER THE CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS

By Sherm Mullin

On October 14, 1962 an Air Force U-2F aircraft, flown by veteran U-2 pilot Major Steve Heyser, performed a photo reconnaissance mission over Cuba and then flew north, landing in Florida. The film cartridges in his special cameras were immediately flown to a highly classified film processing and analysis facility in Washington. The film was developed and analyzed on October 15. This led to a meeting with President John F. Kennedy on the 16th. He was presented with photos showing launch sites for Russian SS-4 intermediate range ballistic missiles (IRBMs), which were being constructed in the town of San Cristobel, Cuba. Thus began the Cuban missile crisis, which historians consider the epic U. S. versus Russia confrontation of the Cold War, initiating the real possibility of nuclear war. For the next two intense weeks John Kennedy confronted Nikita Khrushchev to resolve the crisis.

U-2 missions over Cuba were intensified, flown by Air Force (not CIA) pilots. Kennedy set up and chaired an Executive Committee. The military recommended, with General Curtis Lemay, the most assertive immediate air attack, followed by invasion. Kennedy wanted to force Russia to remove the missiles without escalation. To preclude further Russian buildup Kennedy directed the military to immediately establish an embargo of Cuba but did not authorize any offensive military action.

On October 25th U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Adlai Stevenson made photos produced from the U-2 missions public at the United Nations, showing that Soviet missile sites were being setup in Cuba, making the world very aware of the crisis. On October 27, 1962 Major Rudolph Anderson, flying another U-2 mission over Cuba, was shot down and killed by a Russian SA-2 missile.

The Cuban missile crisis ended on October 28, 1962, when Khrushchev agreed to remove the missiles from Cuba. This was enabled by a super secret private agreement by Kennedy with Khrushchev to remove U.S. Jupiter IRBMs, which had a range of 1,500 miles, from Turkey and Italy. By plan this was not carried out until early 1983, done very quietly and never publicized.

On October 29th Kennedy asked to meet with Major Steve Heyser personally. Before the meeting Heyser was asked by his colonel what he planned to say. He said ―I‘m going to tell him we are not getting enough money for per diem and the food is lousy!‖

Sixty-nine U-2 missions over Cuba were flown in November 1962 to monitor Russian withdrawal. This included 40 missile launchers plus the missiles and their nuclear warheads. On November 20th Kennedy publically announced that they had been withdrawn, departed on Russian ships, and that the ships had been inspected by the U.S. Navy. The Cuban missile crisis was over.

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