Cold War News U-2 Spy Plane With the USSR denial to the U.S. "Open Skies" proposal, the U.S. decided to send flights over USSR territory to spy because of a "mistrust" environment. The U-2 was the chosen plane to be used during the missions. This was just a CIA plan, they left out the military in case anything happened, try to avoid big conflicts.
Francis Gary Powers was the pilot in charged of the spying mission during May 1, 1960. The plane was shot down near Svedlovsk, Soviet Union.
Drastic consequences were taken. U.S - U.S.S.R. relations received a negative impact. The Paris Summit collapsed in great part when Nikita Khrushchev demanded an apology to Eisenhower, thing that he refused to do.
F. Gary Powers was accused of espionage and received a sentence of three years of imprisonment and seven years of hard labor. He only served one year; nine months and nine days before being traded with the Soviet spy Colonel Rudolph Ivanovich.
English: John F. Kennedy meeting with Nikita Khrus...
Nikita Khrushchev, leader of the Union of Soviet S...
U.S. reconnaissance photograph of soviet missile s...This event, increase the feeling of mistrust from both countries, thing that culminated in the Cuban Missile Crisis, a point where the relationship was at its lowest point.
A bad decision can make the relationship between two countries change dramatically and cause very drastic consequences.