Cuban Missile Crisis

Photoreconnaissance played a vital role in the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. Aerial photos verified both the presence and removal of Soviet missiles in Cuba.

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This U-2 reconnaissance photo showed concrete evidence of missile assembly in Cuba. Shown here are missile transporters and missile-ready tents where fueling and maintenance took place.
Courtesy of CIA

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Low altitude view of missile preparation area. The pilot taking this shot flew at an altitude of about 250 feet, and at the speed of sound.
Courtesy of CIA

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Photographed from an RF-101 Voodoo, this view of a Soviet SA-2 (surface-to-air) missile pattern provided additional evidence of the Russian arming of Cuba.
Courtesy of CIA

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Adlai Stevenson shows aerial photos of Cuban missiles to the United Nations in November 1962.
From the UN Photo Library

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President Kennedy meets in the Oval Office with General Curtis LeMay and reconnaissance pilots who flew the Cuban missions. Third from the left is Major Richard Heyser who took the photos on which the Cuban missiles were first identified.
Courtesy of CIA

Camouflage

The Flyers