World War II ended, and the world entered the atomic age.
The Iron Curtain fell across Germany, and The Cold War was constantly in danger of becoming hot. Nuclear apocalypse was at the forefront of the world’s mind daily.
This fear feeds the need to keep tabs on the enemy. So much so that America would create a ground-breaking new means of traversing the skies…the U-2 spy plane.
U-2 Spy Plane
The design for this aircraft was revolutionary.
Able to fly at 70,000 feet and outfitted with state-of-the-art cameras, not only could this plane fly well above the ceiling of Soviet aircraft and missiles, but the photographs it captured were so detailed that you could count the number of cars on the street with it.
In the 1960s, this technology turned the world of espionage on its head.
Regular reconnaissance flights were flown over the Soviet Union to monitor troop movements, missile programs, and the like. Still, it wasn’t until the 24th “deep penetration overflight” that the program would finally meet disaster.
International Incident
Francis Gary Powers was a 30-year-old veteran of the Korean War.
In Turkey, his flight plan was to fly over Russia, photograph the missile test range at Chelyabinsk, and then land in Norway.
It should be just another flight like any other.
Powers didn’t know that he was about to touch off an international incident.
The Soviets knew about the U-2 craft for quite some time but never raised public outrage over their regular flights, and this was in large part due to embarrassment. So, they remained silent as they researched better methods of building rockets…in specific, a workable missile that could reach 70,000 feet.
As he flew over Sverdlovsk, an SA-2 missile blasted the wing on Powers’ plane.
As he spiraled towards the earth, he realized he couldn’t eject from the tiny cockpit without amputating his legs.
Instead, Powers opened the canopy, causing himself to be sucked out of the plane…where he dangled by his oxygen line a bit before he was finally able to fully disconnect himself and engage his parachute.
He landed safely but could never hit the self-destruct button on his plane. Powers was picked up by the KGB as soon as he hit the earth.
When placed on trial in Russian Court for espionage, he said, “I’ve committed a grave crime, and I realize I must be punished for it.”
He added, “I didn’t know what I was doing. I know now I was risking world peace. My superiors were responsible.”
Considering Russian methods of torture, some have argued these statements are understandable.
He was sentenced to seven years of hard labor and 10 years in prison at Vladimir Central Prison.
Powers was released in the famed prisoner swap for Soviet spy Vilyam Fisher in 1962, but the U-2 spy plane program would never be utilized over Russia again.
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