Peshawar: U-2 spy plane shot down over USSR
A US U-2 spy plane piloted by Francis Gary Powers took off from Peshawar, Pakistan, on May 1, 1960, for reconnaissance over Soviet sites but was hit by a missile near Sverdlovsk and crashed. Powers parachuted and was captured, marking the first US overflight detection in five years.
Background
Event
On May 1, 1960 at 6:26, a US U-2 reconnaissance aircraft took off from the airport at Peshawar, Pakistan. CIA pilot Francis Gary Powers flew photographic reconnaissance over Baikonur in Kazakhstan and Chelyabinsk in Russia. The mission was aimed at the new Plesetsk cosmodrome in Siberia.
Shootdown
At 8:53 local time, a Soviet S-75 Dvina (SA-2 Guideline) surface-to-air missile hit the aircraft near Kyshtym, Russia. It came down near Sverdlovsk (today Yekaterinburg). Soviet air defences had expected the flight and given the order to engage. Powers parachuted out and was captured.
Background and Significance
It was the first time in five years that US overflights had been detected. The incident wrecked the Paris summit conference, caused international embarrassment for the USA, and sharpened the Cold War. Powers was sentenced to ten years' imprisonment and exchanged in 1962 for the spy Rudolf Abel.