Sunday, May 1, 1960: U-2 incident

Francis Gary Powers, piloting a U-2 spy plane for the CIA, is shot down over Soviet airspace while taking pictures of missile sites. Powers survives after bailing out and is captured. Tensions quickly escalate between the United States and the Soviet Union as details of the mission come to light.

* More about the U-2 program (from Federation of American Scientists): @

* "The CIA and the U-2 Program, 1954-1974" (from www.cia.gov): @

* "May-July 1960: The U-2 Airplane Incident" (from U.S. State Department): @

* "The U-2 Program: A Russian Officer Remembers": @

* Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev's son writes about the downing (from American Heritage): @

* Initial cover story devised by U.S., May 2 (from Eisenhower Presidential Library & Museum): @

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