U2 spy incident (1960) (may 2, 1960 – jun 2, 1960)

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Trevor Quinn
Jonathan Gerkin


The U2 Spy Plane Incident occurred on May 1, 1960 in the Soviet Union. CIA pilot Francis Gary Powers was gunned down by the soviet soldiers whilst flying a U-2 reconnaissance plane over enemy territory. The plane was struck by a surface to air missile and crashed near the city Sverdlovsk which is now called Yekaterinburg located in Russia just north of Kazakhstan. Powers was fortunate enough to have the proper equipment to deploy his parachute and land safely but was captured by the Soviets shortly after his arrival. He was convicted of espionage and sentenced to ten years in Soviet Prison. However, Powers was released in 1962 in exchange for a Soviet intelligence agent.

This event caused great embarrassment for the United States due to the fact they had been trying to conceal their surveillance efforts on the USSR. Ultimately, the Paris Summit, a meeting to discuss tensions between the US and the Soviet Union, was cancelled due to complications as a result of this incident. This hiccup also prompted the US to design new aircraft technology that was capable of outrunning soviet intercepts





Avalon Project - Foreign Relations of the United States : May - July 1960 : The U-2 Airplane Incident - Editorial Note. (n.d.). Avalon.law.yale.edu. https://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/vx147.asp

The Powers Incident. (n.d.). National Museum of the United States Air ForceTM. https://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/Visit/Museum-Exhibits/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/197572/the-powers-incident/

The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica. (2019). U-2 Incident | Facts, Significance, & Timeline. In Encyclopædia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/event/U-2-Incident

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