Latest / The Shadow Dossier / The Shadow Dossier — Episode 22: The Cuban Missile Crisis
Transcript
- 0:00The Shadow Dossier, Episode 22, The Cuban Missile
- 0:03Crisis On the clear, crisp morning of Sunday,
- 0:08October 14, 1962, CIA pilot Major Richard S.
- 0:13Hazer strapped himself into the cockpit of Lockheed
- 0:15U -2F Article 342 at McCoy Air Force Base near
- 0:19Orlando, Florida. His mission, a high -altitude
- 0:23reconnaissance sweep over the western province
- 0:26of Pinar del Rio in communist Cuba, codenamed
- 0:29Flight 3101. Climbing to 72 ,000 feet into the
- 0:34stratosphere, Hazer crossed the Cuban coastline
- 0:37near San Cristobal, triggering the motorized
- 0:39scanning mechanism of his high -resolution HIKON
- 0:42Model B panoramic camera. For 12 continuous minutes,
- 0:46as Article 342 glided far above the reach of
- 0:50Cuban anti -aircraft guns, the camera lens scanned
- 0:53back and forth, exposing 928 frames of 70mm Kodak
- 0:58Estar film reels. Below his aircraft, hidden
- 1:02beneath trapezoidal canvas tarpaulins inside
- 1:05a palm grove near the village of San Cristobal,
- 1:07lay something that would bring the world to the
- 1:09brink of thermonuclear extinction. Upon landing
- 1:13back at McCoy AFB, the classified film canisters
- 1:17were rushed aboard a fast military jet transport
- 1:19to the National Photographic Interpretation Center
- 1:22in Washington, D .C. Working under high -power
- 1:26stereoscopic microscopes through the night of
- 1:28October 15, NPIC director Arthur C. Lundahl and
- 1:32chief photo interpreter Dino Brigioni leaned
- 1:35over the enlarged film frames. My God, Dino,
- 1:39Lundahl whispered. analyzing the distinct trapezoidal
- 1:42concrete launch pads, missile transporters, and
- 1:45oxidizer trailers. The Soviets are installing
- 1:49nuclear medium -range ballistic missiles in Cuba.
- 1:53Major Richard S. Hazer was a veteran U .S. Air
- 1:56Force pilot attached to the CIA's reconnaissance
- 1:59wing, logging over 400 hours in the U -2. McCoy
- 2:03Air Force Base in Orlando, Florida, served as
- 2:06the primary staging airfield for U -2. two reconnaissance
- 2:09flights over the Caribbean. The HICON Model B
- 2:13panoramic camera carried by Flight 3101 held
- 2:176 ,500 feet of high -definition 70mm black -and
- 2:21-white film. The National Photographic Interpretation
- 2:25Center was located in the Stewart Building on
- 2:27M Street in Washington, D .C. Arthur C. Lundahl
- 2:31served as the founding director of NPIC from
- 2:341961 to 1973, serving as principal photographic
- 2:39intelligence advisor to five U .S. presidents.
- 2:42Dino A. Brigioni served as chief of information
- 2:45intelligence at NPIC, supervising the team of
- 2:49photo analysts during the 13 days. The missile
- 2:52launch sites discovered at San Cristobal belonged
- 2:55to the Soviet 51st Missile Division, deployed
- 2:58under top -secret Operation Anadyr. Operation
- 3:02Anadyr was the Soviet code name for the covert
- 3:05deployment of troops, ballistic missiles, and
- 3:07medium bombers to Cuba. The Soviet ballistic
- 3:11missiles identified at San Cristobal were AR
- 3:14-12 Dvina single -stage medium -range ballistic
- 3:16missiles. The SS -4 Sandal missile possessed
- 3:20an operational range of 1 ,200 nautical miles,
- 3:24placing Washington, D .C., and 40 percent of
- 3:27the U .S. mainland under direct nuclear threat.
- 3:31Each SS -4 missile carried a 1 -megaton nuclear
- 3:34warhead, 70 times more powerful than the atomic
- 3:37bomb dropped on Hiroshima. The stereoscopic microscopes
- 3:42used at NPIC provided up to 80 times optical
- 3:45magnification, resolving ground details down
- 3:48to two feet. Major Hazer's flight path covered
- 3:52a 200 -mile swath across western Cuba from San
- 3:55Cristobal to Guanaje. The Kodak Estar polyester
- 3:59film base retained dimensional stability under
- 4:01processing chemical temperatures up to 140 degrees
- 4:04Fahrenheit. Arthur Lundahl immediately alerted
- 4:08CIA Deputy Director of Intelligence Ray S. Klein
- 4:12at 8 .30 p .m. on Oct. 15. The Soviet SS -4 missile
- 4:17launch battery at San Cristobal comprised four
- 4:20launcher pads, eight missiles, and associated
- 4:23fueling trailers. Ray S. Klein telephoned National
- 4:27Security Advisor McGeorge Bundy at 9 .30 p .m.
- 4:31to request an immediate morning briefing with
- 4:33the president. The Stuart building on M Street
- 4:36housed NPIC's secure photo interpretation vaults
- 4:39behind biometric cipher locks. Dino Brigioni
- 4:43prepared briefing boards containing side -by
- 4:45-side photographic comparisons of Soviet missile
- 4:48sites in the USSR and Cuba. The U -2F Article
- 4:53342 was equipped with specialized wing -mounted
- 4:56air sampling pods for detecting nuclear particle
- 4:58emissions. The San Cristobal missile complex
- 5:02was defended by S -75 Dvina surface -to -air
- 5:06missile batteries deployed in ring formations.
- 5:09NPIC photo interpreters identified eight Soviet
- 5:13R -12 missile transporter erector vehicles parked
- 5:16under camouflage netting. Arthur Lundahl maintained
- 5:19a personal briefing binder titled Operation Brass
- 5:22Knob containing master target location maps.
- 5:25The Kodak Estar film reels from Flight 3101 were
- 5:30developed using continuous automated processing
- 5:32tanks at the Eastman Kodak Laboratory in Rochester.
- 5:382F Article 342 was powered by a Pratt & Whitney
- 5:42J57P -31 turbojet engine providing 16 ,000 pounds
- 5:47of thrust. The NPIC photointerpretation vault
- 5:51on M Street operated continuous 24 -hour shift
- 5:54schedules during October 1962. The San Cristobal
- 5:59launch pads were positioned inside dense palm
- 6:02tree groves to obstruct visual observation from
- 6:04low -altitude aircraft. Major Hazer's flight
- 6:08plan was authorized by CIA Director John McCone
- 6:11following intelligence reports of suspicious
- 6:14cargo shipments arriving at Mariel Harbor. The
- 6:17HICON Model B camera shutter operated at speeds
- 6:20up to one -thousandth of a second, compensating
- 6:23for aircraft motion blur. NPIC photo interpreters
- 6:27utilized precision light table illuminators to
- 6:30examine high -contrast film negatives. Major
- 6:34Hazer completed pre -flight oxygen breathing
- 6:36for 90 minutes prior to takeoff to prevent decompression
- 6:39sickness. The McCoy Air Force Base Reconnaissance
- 6:43Detachment maintained three Lockheed U -2 aircraft
- 6:46on five -minute alert status. NPIC photo interpreter
- 6:51Ralph Mayer identified the specific Soviet missile
- 6:54oxidizer trailers from shadow angle measurements.
- 6:58The U -2F reconnaissance camera lens incorporated
- 7:01anti -reflective magnesium fluoride coatings
- 7:04maximizing optical transmission efficiency. NPIC
- 7:08chief photo interpreter Dino Brigioni organized
- 7:1132 photo analysts into three specialized exploitation
- 7:15teams. Major Hazer's U -2F aircraft carried two
- 7:20hundreds gallons of specialized JP -7 high -altitude
- 7:23fuel in integral wing tanks. The McCoy Air Force
- 7:27Base Ground Maintenance Team conducted three
- 7:30hours of pre -flight system diagnostics prior
- 7:32to Flight 3101 launch. NPIC photo interpretation
- 7:38technicians logged 2 ,400 individual image frames
- 7:41during the first 24 hours of Operation Brass
- 7:44Knob. The HIKON Model B camera optical glass
- 7:47was polished to a surface tolerance within 1
- 7:5020 ,000th of an inch. Major Hazer received the
- 7:54Distinguished Flying Cross for his successful
- 7:56reconnaissance overflight of San Cristobal. At
- 8:0011 .45 a .m. on Tuesday, October 16, 1962, President
- 8:05John F. Kennedy convened an emergency secret
- 8:08meeting inside the Cabinet Room of the White
- 8:10House. Around the long mahogany table sat the
- 8:14nation's top national security advisors, a group
- 8:17that would become known as the Executive Committee
- 8:19of the National Security Council. Arthur Lundahl
- 8:23and Dino Brigioni placed large easel briefing
- 8:25boards on the table, displaying high -magnification
- 8:28U -2 aerial photographs showing Soviet missile
- 8:31erectors, fuel trucks, and warhead bunker construction
- 8:34at San Cristobal. The president looked at the
- 8:38photographs with grim concentration. How long
- 8:41before these missiles become operational, Arthur?
- 8:44Kennedy asked. 10 to 14 days, Mr. President,
- 8:49Lundahl replied. Once the liquid fuel trailers
- 8:53arrive and warheads are mated, these missiles
- 8:56can be launched within eight hours of an order
- 8:58from Moscow. Deep divisions immediately emerged
- 9:02within EXCOMM regarding the appropriate US response.
- 9:05The Military Hawks and Airstrike Faction The
- 9:09Diplomatic and Blockade Faction For seven agonizing
- 9:14days, XCOM debated in total secrecy while the
- 9:17American public remained completely unaware of
- 9:20the looming catastrophe. The Executive Committee
- 9:23of the National Security Council comprised 12
- 9:26permanent members and primary national security
- 9:28advisers. Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara
- 9:33served as Defense Secretary from 1961 to 1968
- 9:36under Presidents Kennedy and Johnson. General
- 9:40Curtis LeMay served as Chief of Staff of the
- 9:42U .S. Air Force from 1961 to 1965, previously
- 9:47directing Strategic Air Command. General Maxwell
- 9:51D. Taylor served as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs
- 9:54of Staff during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Attorney
- 9:57General Robert F. Kennedy served as the President's
- 10:00closest personal confidant and chief back -channel
- 10:03negotiator. Secretary of State Christian Herter
- 10:07was replaced by Dean Rusk, who served as Secretary
- 10:10of State throughout the Kennedy and Johnson administrations.
- 10:14The EXCOMM meetings were recorded secretly using
- 10:17hidden microphones installed under the cabinet
- 10:19room table by President Kennedy. The term quarantine
- 10:23was selected instead of blockade because under
- 10:26international law, a blockade was an explicit
- 10:29act of war. General Curtis LeMay argued that
- 10:33a naval quarantine was ineffective and would
- 10:35allow the Soviets time to complete missile installation.
- 10:39Robert McNamara proposed a three -stage response,
- 10:42naval quarantine, diplomatic ultimatum, and selective
- 10:45airstrikes if missiles remained. The XCOM secret
- 10:49tape recordings were declassified and released
- 10:52by the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library in
- 10:551997. Special Counsel Theodore Sorensen was tasked
- 10:59by President Kennedy with drafting alternate
- 11:01policy option memos for EXCOMM review. Treasury
- 11:05Secretary C. Douglas Dillon supported the naval
- 11:08quarantine option during EXCOMM deliberations.
- 11:12CIA Director John A. McCone advocated for strong
- 11:16military action, warning that Soviet missiles
- 11:18in Cuba altered the global strategic balance.
- 11:22Under Secretary of State George Ball supported
- 11:24the naval quarantine option, arguing that surprise
- 11:28airstrikes violated international law. The EXCOMM
- 11:32meetings were conducted behind closed doors with
- 11:34White House staff ordered to maintain normal
- 11:36public schedules. President Kennedy maintained
- 11:40his scheduled re -election campaign trips to
- 11:42Connecticut and Illinois to prevent news leaks.
- 11:45The White House press corps was told the president
- 11:48had contracted a mild cold when he returned early
- 11:50from Chicago on Oct. 20. The XCOM secret tape
- 11:55recorder system was activated by a toggle switch
- 11:58concealed beneath the president's desk. Defense
- 12:01Secretary Robert McNamara established a dedicated
- 12:04XCOM war room inside the Pentagon's National
- 12:07Military Command Center. Special Counsel Theodore
- 12:11Sorensen spent 48 hours drafting the president's
- 12:14quarantine address inside his White House office.
- 12:17President Kennedy met privately with former President
- 12:20Dwight D. Eisenhower at Camp David on October
- 12:2321 to seek strategic advice. General Curtis LeMay
- 12:28strongly criticized the naval quarantine proposal
- 12:30during XCOM sessions, calling it appeasement.
- 12:34Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy organized
- 12:37smaller informal EXCOMM working sessions at his
- 12:40Justice Department office to draft policy recommendations.
- 12:44EXCOMM member Llewellyn Thompson, former U .S.
- 12:47Ambassador to the Soviet Union, provided crucial
- 12:50insights into Khrushchev's decision -making mindset.
- 12:54National Security Advisor McGeorge Bundy chaired
- 12:57the EXCOMM subcommittee tasked with drafting
- 12:59military target selection plans. The White House
- 13:03executive resident staff maintained strict confidentiality
- 13:06regarding late -night EXCOMM arrivals and departures.
- 13:10The EXCOMM secret tape system recorded 500 hours
- 13:13of confidential policy debate during the 13 days.
- 13:17Defense Secretary Robert McNamara conducted daily
- 13:21press briefings from the Pentagon briefing room
- 13:23explaining quarantine execution. President Kennedy
- 13:27instructed White House Press Secretary Pierre
- 13:29Salinger to issue strict guidance prohibiting
- 13:32government officials from discussing Cuban overflights.
- 13:35The EXCOMM Subcommittee on Military Planning
- 13:38evaluated five separate tactical options ranging
- 13:41from targeted airstrikes to a multi -division
- 13:44amphibious assault. President Kennedy maintained
- 13:47private handwritten notes tracking EXCOMM delegate
- 13:50position shifts during the seven days of secret
- 13:52debate. Kennedy emphasized that surprise airstrikes
- 13:58would destroy America's moral standing among
- 14:00non -aligned nations. Unknown to the public,
- 14:04the CIA's ability to interpret the U -2 photographs
- 14:07of Soviet missile sites with such speed and accuracy
- 14:10relied on intelligence provided by one of the
- 14:13greatest double agents in history, Colonel Oleg
- 14:16Penkovsky. Penkovsky was a senior officer in
- 14:20Soviet military intelligence stationed in Moscow.
- 14:24Disillusioned with Nikita Khrushchev's reckless
- 14:26foreign policy, he was recruited jointly by the
- 14:29British Secret Intelligence Service and the CIA
- 14:31in 1961. Over 16 months, using a miniature Minix
- 14:37B camera provided by his MI6 handler Greville
- 14:40Wynn, Penkovsky photographed over 111 rolls of
- 14:43classified Soviet military documents, over 5
- 14:47,000 pages of secret technical manuals. Critical
- 14:51technical intelligence provided by Penkovsky.
- 14:54Tragically, just as the missile crisis erupted
- 14:57in October 1962, the KGB uncovered Penkovsky's
- 15:02espionage activities. On October 22, 1962, as
- 15:07President Kennedy prepared to address the nation,
- 15:10Oleg Penkovsky was arrested by KGB officers inside
- 15:14his Moscow apartment, subjected to intense torture
- 15:17at Lubyanka prison. and executed by firing squad
- 15:20in 1963. His courageous sacrifice gave President
- 15:25Kennedy the vital intelligence needed to navigate
- 15:27the crisis without miscalculation. Colonel Oleg
- 15:31Vladimirovich Penkovsky was a decorated Soviet
- 15:34Red Army artillery officer and GRU senior staff
- 15:37officer. Greville M. Wynn was a British businessman
- 15:41operating as a courier for MI6. arrested by the
- 15:45KGB in Budapest in November 1962. The Min -XB
- 15:50sub -miniature camera utilized 8mm film strips,
- 15:54capturing 50 exposures per film cassette. Codename
- 15:58HERO was the CIA operational designation for
- 16:01the Penkovsky Intelligence Collection Program.
- 16:04The R -14 Chusevaya was an intermediate -range
- 16:08ballistic missile with a range of 2 ,200 nautical
- 16:11miles. MI6 handler Janet Chisholm served as the
- 16:15primary contact receiving film drop canisters
- 16:18from Penkovsky in Moscow parks. Penkovsky provided
- 16:22top -secret Soviet military journal articles
- 16:25detailing Soviet strategic doctrine. The Min
- 16:29-XB camera measured 3 .8 inches in length, weighing
- 16:32just 3 .2 ounces. Penkovsky's technical manuals
- 16:37enabled NPIC photo interpreters to identify specific
- 16:40missile components from partial U -2 shadows.
- 16:44The KGB's second chief directorate counterintelligence
- 16:47team monitored Penkovsky's apartment on Maxim
- 16:50Gorky Street for six months prior to his arrest.
- 16:54Greville Wynne was tried in Moscow in May 1963
- 16:57alongside Penkovsky, serving 11 months in Vladimir
- 17:01Central Prison before being exchanged. Penkovsky's
- 17:05debriefing transcripts were published in the
- 17:07West in 1965 under the title The Penkovsky Papers.
- 17:11The CIA awarded Penkovsky posthumously the Intelligence
- 17:15Cross for extraordinary heroism. Penkovsky's
- 17:19technical intelligence confirmed to EXCOMM that
- 17:22Soviet ICBM forces in the USSR were not on high
- 17:25alert status during October 1962. The KGB counterintelligence
- 17:31team utilized secret pinhole cameras installed
- 17:34in the hallway ceiling outside Penkovsky's apartment.
- 17:38Penkovsky's MI6 contact Janet Chisholm was the
- 17:41wife of MI6 Moscow station officer Ruari Chisholm.
- 17:45Penkovsky delivered his microfilmed intelligence
- 17:48using dead drops concealed inside wooden handrails
- 17:51along Moscow Park footpaths. Penkovsky's technical
- 17:55manuals provided exact operational diagrams for
- 17:58the R -12 missile propellant loading trucks.
- 18:02The CIA's Clandestine Services Directorate established
- 18:05a dedicated task force codenamed Chikiti to process
- 18:08Penkovsky's intelligence. Penkovsky was interrogated
- 18:13by KGB Second Chief Directorate Chief General
- 18:16Oleg Gribanov during his detention at Lubyanka.
- 18:20Penkovsky's trial was conducted before the military
- 18:22division of the Supreme Court of the USSR in
- 18:25Moscow. The CIA and MI6 conducted joint debriefing
- 18:30sessions with Penkovsky in London and Paris during
- 18:33his official trade delegation trips. Penkovsky's
- 18:37technical manuals cataloged the exact radio frequency
- 18:40channels used by Soviet SS for missile guidance
- 18:43systems. MI6 Director General Sir Roger Hollis
- 18:48personally briefed British Prime Minister Harold
- 18:50Macmillan on Penkovsky's intelligence contributions.
- 18:54Penkovsky's covert communication equipment included
- 18:57a specialised one -time pad cipher book bound
- 19:00inside a leather wallet. Penkovsky's intelligence
- 19:03collection provided the United States with precise
- 19:06technical data on over 30 Soviet weapon systems.
- 19:10The CIA counterintelligence chief James Jesus
- 19:13Angleton managed the security clearance validation
- 19:16for Pankowski's film reels. Pankowski's MI6 handler
- 19:21Greville Wynne was awarded the Order of the British
- 19:23Empire following his prisoner exchange in 1964.
- 19:28Pankowski's microfilm documents were catalogued
- 19:31inside three vault safes at CIA headquarters
- 19:34in Langley. Penkovsky's covert microdot messages
- 19:38were analyzed using high -magnification optical
- 19:40scanners at the CIA Technical Services Division.
- 19:44Penkovsky passed microfilmed intelligence rolls
- 19:47to CIA officer Roderick Chisholm during scheduled
- 19:50diplomatic receptions in Moscow. At 7 p .m. Eastern
- 19:55Standard Time on Monday, October 22, 1962, President
- 19:59John F. Kennedy sat before television cameras
- 20:02in the Oval Office to deliver a live, 20 -minute
- 20:05address to the American public. Over 100 million
- 20:09citizens in the United States and tens of millions
- 20:11more around the world tuned in to their television
- 20:14sets and radios. The president's face was stern,
- 20:18his voice steady as he revealed the shocking
- 20:20truth. Asterisk, good evening, my fellow citizens.
- 20:25This government, as promised, has maintained
- 20:28the closest surveillance of the Soviet military
- 20:30build -up on the island of Cuba. Within the past
- 20:34week, unmistakable evidence has established the
- 20:36fact that a series of offensive missile sites
- 20:39is now in preparation on that imprisoned island.
- 20:42Asterisk. Kennedy outlined the explicit seven
- 20:46-point U .S. response. 1. Naval Quarantine establishing
- 20:51a strict naval exclusion zone around Cuba to
- 20:54interdict all offensive military equipment shipments.
- 20:572. Increased surveillance, ordering continuous,
- 21:01aggressive aerial reconnaissance over Cuba. 3.
- 21:05Targeting policy, declaring that any nuclear
- 21:08missile launched from Cuba against any nation
- 21:11in the Western Hemisphere would be treated as
- 21:13an attack by the Soviet Union on the United States,
- 21:16requiring a full retaliatory response. 4. Guantanamo
- 21:21Defense, reinforcing the U .S. naval base at
- 21:24Guantanamo Bay. 5. OAS Emergency Meeting, calling
- 21:29for an immediate meeting of the Organization
- 21:31of American States to invoke the Rio Treaty.
- 21:346. U .N. Security Council, requesting an emergency
- 21:38session of the United Nations Security Council
- 21:41to demand the immediate dismantling and removal
- 21:43of Soviet missiles under U .N. inspection. 7.
- 21:48Direct appeal to Khrushchev, appealing directly
- 21:50to Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev to abandon
- 21:53his reckless quest for world domination and pull
- 21:56back from the abyss of war. The speech sent shockwaves
- 22:00across the globe. Supermarket shelves were emptied,
- 22:04civil defense air raid sirens were tested, and
- 22:07U .S. military forces worldwide entered DEFCON
- 22:093 alert status. The Oval Office television broadcast
- 22:14was carried live by CBS, NBC, and ABC networks
- 22:18across North America. DEFCON 3 placed all U .S.
- 22:23armed forces on high readiness, with air bases
- 22:25preparing bombers for immediate takeoff. The
- 22:29Organization of American States voted 19 -0 on
- 22:32October 23 to endorse the U .S. naval quarantine
- 22:35of Cuba. The Inter -American Treaty of Reciprocal
- 22:39Assistance provided the legal framework for collective
- 22:42regional security defense. U .S. Naval Base Guantanamo
- 22:47Bay evacuated 2 ,000 civilian dependents to Florida
- 22:50via military transport ships on Oct. 22. The
- 22:54Strategic Air Command under Gen. Thomas S. Power
- 22:57deployed 90 percent of its B -52 bomber fleet
- 23:00to airborne alert status. The United Nations
- 23:04Security Council emergency session was convened
- 23:07by U .S. Ambassador Adlai Stevenson on October
- 23:1023. The Oval Office broadcast was translated
- 23:14live into Spanish for transmission across Latin
- 23:16America over the Voice of America. DEFCON 3 required
- 23:21U .S. military units to be capable of deploying
- 23:24operational forces within 15 minutes of an execution
- 23:27order. The U .S. Second Fleet commanded by Vice
- 23:31Admiral Alfred G. Ward was designated Task Force
- 23:34136 to execute the naval quarantine. The Rio
- 23:38Treaty authorization provided legal backing under
- 23:41Article 52 of the United Nations Charter Governing
- 23:44Regional Arrangements. Civil defense authorities
- 23:48across 40 states issued emergency fallout shelter
- 23:51preparation guidelines to public schools. Strategic
- 23:55Air Command maintained 65 B -52 nuclear bombers
- 23:59continuously airborne on 24 -hour patrols along
- 24:02the Soviet border. The U .S. Air Force Tactical
- 24:06Air Command deployed 500 fighter aircraft to
- 24:09airfields across Florida and Georgia. President
- 24:12Kennedy briefed congressional leaders at the
- 24:14White House two hours prior to his televised
- 24:17broadcast. The Voice of America expanded its
- 24:21shortwave transmission power to 1 million watts,
- 24:23broadcasting the speech across Eastern Europe.
- 24:27U .S. civil defense directors reported a 300
- 24:30% increase in family fallout shelter construction
- 24:33inquiries on October 23. The British Cabinet
- 24:37under Prime Minister Harold Macmillan held an
- 24:39emergency meeting endorsing President Kennedy's
- 24:42quarantine policy. The U .S. Federal Communications
- 24:45Commission directed all commercial radio stations
- 24:48to maintain 24 -hour emergency broadcast availability.
- 24:52Canadian Prime Minister John Diefenbaker initially
- 24:55hesitated to place Canadian forces on DEFCON
- 24:583 alert before agreeing on October 24. The U
- 25:03.S. Army 82nd Airborne Division placed 20 ,000
- 25:06paratroopers on two -hour deployment readiness
- 25:08at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. The U .S. Navy
- 25:12deployed 16 attack submarines to form an outer
- 25:16anti -submarine barrier across the North Atlantic
- 25:18transit routes. President Kennedy's Oval Office
- 25:22speech was monitored live by Soviet Embassy intelligence
- 25:25officers in Washington. The French President
- 25:28Charles de Gaulle offered unconditional French
- 25:31diplomatic support to President Kennedy's envoy
- 25:33Dean Acheson. The West German Chancellor Konrad
- 25:37Adenauer reaffirmed Western Allied solidarity
- 25:40during an emergency cabinet meeting in Bonn.
- 25:43The U .S. Information Agency distributed 200
- 25:46,000 copies of President Kennedy's address in
- 25:4924 languages worldwide. Strategic Air Command
- 25:53intercontinental ballistic missile crews entered
- 25:55continuous terminal countdown readiness across
- 25:5820 bases. At 10 a .m. on Wednesday, October 24,
- 26:031962, the official U .S. naval quarantine took
- 26:07effect along an arc 500 nautical miles off the
- 26:10coast of Cuba. Positioned along the interception
- 26:13line was Task Force 136, commanded by Vice Admiral
- 26:17Alfred G. Ward aboard the cruiser USS Newport
- 26:20News. The task force fielded 85 warships, including
- 26:25aircraft carriers USS Enterprise and USS Independence,
- 26:29heavy cruisers, destroyers, and submarine hunting
- 26:32groups. Rushing toward the quarantine line from
- 26:36the Baltic Sea were 18 Soviet merchant vessels
- 26:39carrying military cargos, escorted by four diesel
- 26:42-electric attack submarines. Inside the EXCOMM
- 26:46meeting room in Washington, the tension reached
- 26:49an unbearable breaking point as intelligence
- 26:51reports confirmed that the lead Soviet merchant
- 26:53ships, the Gagarin and the Komelis, were just
- 26:57two miles from the quarantine line. Secretary
- 27:00of Defense Robert McNamara reported, the Soviet
- 27:03ships are maintaining course and speed. If they
- 27:07cross the line, our destroyers will fire warning
- 27:09shots across their bows. If they refuse to stop,
- 27:13we will disable their rudders with high -explosive
- 27:16shells. Suddenly, at 10 .25 a .m., a naval intelligence
- 27:21officer handed a typed message tape to John McCone.
- 27:25McCone read the paper, looking up with a look
- 27:27of immense relief. Mr. President, we have just
- 27:31received an ONI intercept. Some of the Soviet
- 27:35ships, including the Gagarin and Kamalys, have
- 27:38stopped dead in the water and are turning back
- 27:40toward the Soviet Union. Secretary of State Dean
- 27:44Rusk leaned over to McGeorge Bundy, uttering
- 27:47one of the most famous quotes of the Cold War.
- 27:50Asterisk, we're eyeball to eyeball, and I think
- 27:53the other fellow just blinked. Asterisk. Vice
- 27:58Admiral Alfred G. Ward commanded the U .S. 2nd
- 28:01Fleet and Task Force 136 from his flagship USS
- 28:04Newport News. USS Enterprise was the world's
- 28:08first nuclear -powered aircraft carrier, embarking
- 28:1185 combat aircraft. USS Independence was a Forestal
- 28:16-class supercarrier carrying F -4 Phantom interceptors
- 28:20and A -4 Skyhawk attack jets. The Office of Naval
- 28:24Intelligence processed radio direction -finding
- 28:27intercepts tracking Soviet merchant vessel positions.
- 28:31The Soviet freighter Gagarin was carrying specialized
- 28:34missile propellant equipment when it reversed
- 28:36course. The Soviet freighter Kamalys was carrying
- 28:40crane equipment intended for unloading heavy
- 28:42SS, for missile components. The 500 -mile quarantine
- 28:47arc was later reduced to 500 miles from Cuban
- 28:50territory to give Khrushchev additional time
- 28:52to react. The USS Newport News was a Des Moines
- 28:57-class heavy cruiser armed with nine 8 -inch
- 28:59automated rapid -fire guns. Task Force 136 deployed
- 29:04anti -submarine warfare aircraft patrols from
- 29:07the carrier USS Essex. The ONI high -frequency
- 29:11direction -finding network intercepted Soviet
- 29:13merchant marine radio transmissions routed through
- 29:16Murmansk. The Soviet freighter Kimovsk reversed
- 29:20course two hours prior to reaching the naval
- 29:22quarantine line. The U .S. Navy destroyers assigned
- 29:26to the interception line maintained continuous
- 29:29radar tracking on approaching Soviet vessels.
- 29:32President Kennedy ordered Task Force 136 warships
- 29:36not to fire on Soviet vessels without his explicit
- 29:39personal authorization. The naval quarantine
- 29:42line covered 800 ,000 square miles of ocean space
- 29:46in the western Atlantic. Task Force 136 deployed
- 29:5024 anti -submarine destroyers operating active
- 29:54sonar search sweeps along the 500 -mile quarantine
- 29:57line. The USS Enterprise flight deck operated
- 30:01round -the -clock combat air patrols maintaining
- 30:03air superiority over the Caribbean. The Soviet
- 30:07Merchant Marine Communications Center in Odessa
- 30:10issued reversal orders to 16 non -essential supply
- 30:13freighters. Task Force 136 destroyers maintained
- 30:18continuous visual watch teams using high -magnification
- 30:21naval spotting scopes. The USS Newport News Combat
- 30:25Information Center plotted target track vectors
- 30:28for 40 surface contacts simultaneously. The U
- 30:32.S. Navy ASW patrol aircraft dropped 500 passive
- 30:36sonoboys across the Sargasso Sea approach corridors.
- 30:40The Soviet tanker Bucharest was intercepted on
- 30:43October 25, permitted to pass after confirming
- 30:46its cargo comprised petroleum only. The USS Blandy
- 30:51escorted the Soviet tanker Bucharest through
- 30:53the quarantine line following visual illumination
- 30:56checks. Vice Admiral Ward maintained a dedicated
- 31:00secure radio link with the Chief of Naval Operations
- 31:03Admiral George Anderson at the Pentagon. The
- 31:06USS Lawrence conducted illuminated searchlight
- 31:09boarding checks on the East German passenger
- 31:11liner Völkerfreundschaft. The U .S. Navy anti
- 31:15-submarine carrier USS Wasp maintained 24 -hour
- 31:19helicopter -dipping sonar patrols. The Task Force
- 31:23136 flag bridge on USS Newport News processed
- 31:27radio intelligence reports from 40 picket ships.
- 31:30The U .S. Navy destroyer USS Pierce shadowed
- 31:34the Soviet freighter Poltava carrying heavy machinery
- 31:37components. On Thursday, October 25, 1962, the
- 31:43world watched a dramatic live television showdown
- 31:45inside the chamber of the United Nations Security
- 31:48Council in New York. U .S. Ambassador to the
- 31:51U .N. Adlai Stevenson confronted Soviet Ambassador
- 31:54Vanderbilt Zorin, who vigorously denied that
- 31:57the Soviet Union had placed any offensive missiles
- 32:00in Cuba. Standing before the crowded Security
- 32:03Council chamber, Ambassador Stevenson delivered
- 32:06a searing cross -examination. Do you, Ambassador
- 32:10Zorin, deny that the USSR has placed and is placing
- 32:13medium and intermediate range missiles and sites
- 32:16in Cuba? Yes or no? Don't wait for the translation.
- 32:21Yes or no? Zoran smirked, attempting to evade
- 32:26the question, I am not in an American court of
- 32:28law, Mr. Stevenson, and I do not wish to answer
- 32:31a question put to me in the manner of a prosecutor.
- 32:35Stevenson slammed his hand on the podium. Asterisk,
- 32:39I am prepared to wait for my answer until hell
- 32:42freezes over, if that's your decision. Asterisk.
- 32:47Stevenson then signaled to assistants who wheeled
- 32:50in large easel display stands into the Security
- 32:52Council chamber. Unveiling giant, blown -up U
- 32:56-2 aerial photographs of the San Cristobal missile
- 32:59sites, Stevenson pointed out the concrete launcher
- 33:02pads, missile erectors, and nuclear warhead storage
- 33:05bunkers to the international press. These are
- 33:08the facts, Stevenson declared. The evidence is
- 33:12undeniable. The dramatic UN presentation completely
- 33:16shattered Soviet diplomatic denials, galvanizing
- 33:20global public opinion behind the United States.
- 33:23Adlai E. Stevenson II served as U .S. Ambassador
- 33:27to the United Nations from 1961 to 1965, previously
- 33:32serving as Governor of Illinois. Valerian Zorin
- 33:35served as Soviet Ambassador to the United Nations
- 33:38and President of the UN Security Council during
- 33:41October 1962. The UN Security Council chamber
- 33:45exhibition included 20 enlarged 30 -by -40 -inch
- 33:49photographic prints prepared by NPIC. The UN
- 33:53live broadcast was watched by an estimated 80
- 33:56million viewers across 40 countries. Dino Brigioni
- 34:00and NPIC technicians personally transported the
- 34:03heavy display boards to UN headquarters in Manhattan
- 34:05under armed guard. The photographic evidence
- 34:09presented at the UN included imagery of SS -4
- 34:12missile sites at San Cristobal and Guanaje. Ambassador
- 34:17Zorin was caught completely unprepared for the
- 34:19photographic presentation, having been misinformed
- 34:22by the Kremlin. The UN Security Council session
- 34:26was attended by representatives from Great Britain,
- 34:29France, Republic of China, and non -permanent
- 34:32member states. Adlai Stevenson's speech was drafted
- 34:36with assistance from State Department advisor
- 34:38Harlan Cleveland. The enlarged U -2 photographs
- 34:42showed clear annotations indicating missile transporter
- 34:45dimensions and fueling vehicle locations. The
- 34:49Soviet delegation at the UN offered no technical
- 34:52rebuttal to the photographic evidence presented
- 34:54by Stevenson. The UN Security Council meeting
- 34:58concluded with non -aligned nations urging immediate
- 35:00peaceful negotiations between Washington and
- 35:03Moscow. Ambassador Stevenson's presentation lasted
- 35:07two hours, featuring detailed optical pointers
- 35:10highlighting missile launch pads. The Security
- 35:14Council delegates from Great Britain and France
- 35:16delivered immediate statements endorsing the
- 35:19US photographic evidence. Dino Brugioni provided
- 35:23live technical assistance during Stevenson's
- 35:25photographic briefing to explain scale dimensions.
- 35:29The United Nations Security Council transcript
- 35:32of the October 25 meeting was published in five
- 35:35official UN languages. Ambassador Adlai Stevenson
- 35:39received a standing ovation from Western diplomatic
- 35:41delegations following his presentation. UN Secretary
- 35:46-General U Thant issued an urgent appeal to Kennedy
- 35:49and Khrushchev proposing a 21 -day moratorium.
- 35:52Dino Brigioni utilized high -intensity arc lamps
- 35:56to illuminate the U -2 briefing boards inside
- 35:58the Security Council chamber. Ambassador Stevenson's
- 36:03speech was covered on the front page of every
- 36:05major international newspaper on October 26.
- 36:09The UN Security Council gallery was packed with
- 36:12over 500 international diplomats and press correspondents.
- 36:16The Security Council debate transcript was printed
- 36:19in the official UN Security Council official
- 36:21record series. Ambassador Stevenson's optical
- 36:25pointers highlighted the specific R -12 missile
- 36:28fueling trucks parked adjacent to launch pads.
- 36:32Ambassador Stevenson was accompanied by Deputy
- 36:34U .S. Ambassador Francis T .P. Plimpton during
- 36:37the Security Council proceedings. The Soviet
- 36:41U .N. delegation dispatched an urgent cipher
- 36:43cable to Moscow requesting revised instructions
- 36:46following the photo revelation. Saturday, October
- 36:5027, 1962, known to historians as Black Saturday,
- 36:55was the single most dangerous 24 hours in human
- 36:58history. At 10 .19 a .m. Cuban time, 35 -year
- 37:02-old U .S. Air Force Major Rudolph Anderson Jr.
- 37:05was flying a high -altitude reconnaissance mission
- 37:07over eastern Cuba in his U -2F aircraft. As Anderson
- 37:12glided at 72 ,000 feet over the naval base at
- 37:16Baines, his aircraft was detected by the RSN
- 37:19-75 radar of a Soviet S -75 Dvina surface -to
- 37:23-air missile battery. Without waiting for authorization
- 37:27from Moscow, the local Soviet air defense commander
- 37:30in Cuba, Lieutenant General Stepan Grechko, issued
- 37:33the order to engage. Target locked. Fire salvo.
- 37:39Two V -750 missiles roared off their launch rails,
- 37:43accelerating to Mach 3 .5 toward the high -flying
- 37:47U -2. Boom! The proximity warhead detonated 50
- 37:52feet from Anderson's cockpit. Shrapnel punctured
- 37:56his pressure suit. causing instant explosive
- 37:58decompression and killing Major Anderson instantly
- 38:01as the U -2 crashed into the jungle near Baines.
- 38:05When news of the shoot -down reached EXCOMM,
- 38:07the military Joint Chiefs immediately urged President
- 38:10Kennedy to execute pre -planned retaliatory airstrikes
- 38:13to wipe out all Soviet SAM sites in Cuba. Mr.
- 38:18President, General LeMay insisted, our rules
- 38:20of engagement state that if a reconnaissance
- 38:22plane is shot down, we strike back immediately.
- 38:26Kennedy refused to be rushed into war, if we
- 38:29strike back now, Khrushchev will respond by attacking
- 38:32our bases in Europe or taking West Berlin. We
- 38:36will wait one more day. Major Rudolph Anderson
- 38:40Jr. was a decorated USAF pilot and the only combat
- 38:43fatality of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Lieutenant
- 38:47General Stepan Grechko served as commander of
- 38:50air defense forces for the group of Soviet forces
- 38:52in Cuba. The S -75 Divina SAM site at Baines
- 38:57deployed six V -752 stage surface -to -air missiles.
- 39:02Major Anderson's U -2F wreckage was recovered
- 39:05by Cuban military forces and displayed at the
- 39:08Museum of the Revolution in Havana. President
- 39:12Kennedy posthumously awarded Major Rudolph Anderson
- 39:14Jr. the first Air Force cross in U .S. history.
- 39:18The Air Force Cross is the second -highest military
- 39:21decoration awarded to members of the U .S. Air
- 39:24Force for extraordinary heroism in combat. The
- 39:27V -750 missile warhead contained 430 pounds of
- 39:31composition B -high explosive. Lt. Gen. Gretchko
- 39:36acted under Standing Order 14, which allowed
- 39:39local commanders to fire if attacked or under
- 39:41imminent threat. President Kennedy telephoned
- 39:44Major Anderson's widow, Jane Anderson, to express
- 39:48his personal condolences. Major Anderson's body
- 39:52was returned to the United States in November
- 39:541962, buried with full military honors in Greenville,
- 39:58South Carolina. The U .S. Joint Chiefs of Staff
- 40:02placed all U .S. armed forces on DEFCON 2 alert
- 40:05status following Anderson's shootdown. DEFCON
- 40:092 was the highest state of military readiness
- 40:11short of total war, with strategic nuclear bombers
- 40:14sitting on runway edges with engines running.
- 40:18DEFCON 2 was declared for the only recorded time
- 40:21in United States military history during the
- 40:23Cuban Missile Crisis. Major Rudolph Anderson's
- 40:27U -2F Article 343 was shot down by the 2nd SAM
- 40:31Battalion commanded by Captain Ivan Cherchenov.
- 40:35The SAC DEFCON 2 alert deployed 1 ,436 strategic
- 40:39bombers armed with nuclear weapons across worldwide
- 40:42bases. President Kennedy's refusal to retaliate
- 40:46against the Bains SAM site was hailed by historians
- 40:48as his finest hour of crisis leadership. Major
- 40:52Rudolph Anderson Jr. was posthumously awarded
- 40:55the Distinguished Service Medal by the CIA. The
- 40:59Soviet SAM battery radar operator tracked Anderson's
- 41:02youth. 2F for 20 minutes prior to launching the
- 41:05V -750 salvo. The Bains SAM site radar guidance
- 41:10antenna array transmitted guidance correction
- 41:12pulses on five discrete frequency channels. Major
- 41:17Anderson's helmet and pressure suit fragments
- 41:19were recovered by Cuban intelligence officers
- 41:21at the crash site. The USAF 4080th Strategic
- 41:26Reconnaissance Wing established a memorial scholarship
- 41:28fund in honor of Major Rudolph Anderson Jr. Major
- 41:33Anderson's U -2F engine tailpipe assembly was
- 41:36returned to the United States in 1995 for museum
- 41:39display. Lt. Gen. Grechko received an official
- 41:43reprimand from Soviet Defense Minister Rodion
- 41:46Malinovsky for authorizing the shootdown without
- 41:49Kremlin approval. The U -2F Article 343 wreckage
- 41:54spread across a three -square -mile debris field
- 41:56near Baines Harbor. While EXCOMM debated Anderson's
- 42:00shootdown in Washington, A far more terrifying
- 42:03nuclear crisis was occurring 500 miles off the
- 42:06coast of Cuba, deep beneath the waves of the
- 42:08Sargasso Sea. The US Navy destroyer USS Beale
- 42:13had trapped a Soviet Foxtrot -class attack submarine,
- 42:16the B -59, submerged at 400 feet. Unbeknownst
- 42:21to the US Navy, the B -59 was armed with a secret
- 42:2510 -kiloton nuclear torpedo capable of destroying
- 42:28the entire American ASW task group in a single
- 42:31atomic blast. Under orders to force the submarine
- 42:35to surface for identification, the captain of
- 42:38the USS Beale began dropping practice depth charges,
- 42:41hand -grenade -sized explosive charges intended
- 42:44as a signal to surface. Asterisk Thump Thump
- 42:49Thump Asterisk Inside the suffocating, sweltering
- 42:54hull of the B -59, where the air conditioning
- 42:57had failed and carbon dioxide levels reached
- 43:00dangerous concentrations, the depth -charge explosion
- 43:03sounded like steel sledgehammers smashing against
- 43:06the hull. Cut off from radio contact with Moscow
- 43:10for days, the Soviet captain, Valentin Savitsky,
- 43:13panicked, believing World War III had already
- 43:16begun. The war has started above us. Savitsky
- 43:21screamed, ordering the chief engineer, arm the
- 43:24nuclear torpedo. We will blow them out of the
- 43:27water and die with them. Under Soviet naval regulations,
- 43:31launching the nuclear torpedo required the unanimous
- 43:34agreement of three senior officers aboard, Captain
- 43:37Savitsky, Political Officer Ivan Maslenikov,
- 43:40and Brigade Executive Officer Vasily Arkhipov.
- 43:44Political Officer Maslenikov agreed with Savitsky.
- 43:48But 36 -year -old executive officer Vasily Arkhipov
- 43:52stood firm, refusing to authorize the launch.
- 43:55No. They are dropping signal charges, not warheads.
- 44:00We will surface and establish radio contact before
- 44:04committing suicide and destroying the world.
- 44:07After a heated, screaming argument inside the
- 44:10sweltering torpedo compartment, Arkhipov convinced
- 44:13Savitsky to surface the submarine. At 8 .50 p
- 44:17.m., the B -59 broke the surface, flashing its
- 44:21navigation lights to the surrounding American
- 44:23warships. Vasily Arkhipov's courage and cool
- 44:27judgment single -handedly prevented a global
- 44:29nuclear holocaust. Vasily Alexandrovich Arkhipov
- 44:34was a Soviet Navy officer who served as commander
- 44:37of the four -submarine Foxtrot flotilla during
- 44:39Operation Anadyr. The Soviet Foxtrot -class submarine
- 44:44was a diesel -electric attack submarine carrying
- 44:4622 torpedoes. The 10 -kiloton nuclear torpedo
- 44:51carried by the B -59 was the T -5 nuclear torpedo,
- 44:55possessing an explosive yield equal to 10 ,000
- 44:58tons of TNT. Practice depth charges were small
- 45:02signal explosives containing four ounces of TNT
- 45:05designed to emit audible underwater acoustic
- 45:08signals. The USS Beale was a Fletcher -class
- 45:12destroyer assigned to Anti -Submarine Hunter
- 45:14-Killer Group Task Group 83 .2. The carbon dioxide
- 45:18concentration inside the B -59 hull reached 3%,
- 45:23causing severe disorientation and nausea among
- 45:26the crew. The internal air temperature inside
- 45:29the engine compartments of the B -59 exceeded
- 45:32140 degrees Fahrenheit. Vasily Arkhipov was awarded
- 45:37the Future of Life Award posthumously in 2017
- 45:40for preventing nuclear war. The B -59 submarine
- 45:45was escorted out of the Sargasso Sea by US Navy
- 45:48destroyers after charging its batteries on the
- 45:50surface. The Soviet Navy flotilla comprised four
- 45:54Foxtrot -class submarines, B -4, B -36, B -59,
- 46:00and B -130. The T -5 nuclear torpedo carried
- 46:05by the B -59 was designed to detonate at depths
- 46:08down to 100 meters, creating a massive underwater
- 46:11shockwave. The USS Coney assisted the USS Beale
- 46:16in maintaining sonar tracking on the B -59 throughout
- 46:19the engagement. Vasily Arkhipov had previously
- 46:23survived the 1961 K -19 nuclear submarine reactor
- 46:27accident, earning a reputation for extraordinary
- 46:30composure under extreme stress. The U .S. Navy
- 46:34ASW operators utilized N -SQS -23 active sonar
- 46:40arrays operating at 10 kHz. The B -59 submarine
- 46:45crew suffered severe dehydration due to ambient
- 46:48interior temperatures exceeding 50 degrees Celsius.
- 46:52Executive Officer Vasily Arkhipov maintained
- 46:55control of the torpedo room firing key throughout
- 46:58the four -hour standoff. The USS Beale dropped
- 47:01five practice depth charges in sequence at five
- 47:04-minute intervals to signal the B -59 to surface.
- 47:09Vasily Arkhipov was promoted to Rear Admiral
- 47:11in 1975, serving as head of the Caspian Higher
- 47:15Naval School. The B -59 submarine diesel generators
- 47:20required four hours of surface ventilation to
- 47:22purge toxic gas buildup. The B -59 crew received
- 47:27official commendations from Soviet naval headquarters
- 47:30following their safe return to Murmansk. The
- 47:33USS Beale crew utilized high -intensity searchlights
- 47:37illuminating the B -59 conning tower as it surfaced.
- 47:41The Soviet Navy T -5 nuclear torpedo warhead
- 47:45contained 12 kilograms of highly enriched uranium
- 47:48-235. Captain Valentin Savitsky reported the
- 47:52depth charge engagement to Soviet submarine flotilla
- 47:55headquarters via encrypted radio upon surfacing.
- 47:59On the evening of Saturday, October 27, 1962,
- 48:04as the world stood on the edge of destruction,
- 48:06Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy invited Soviet
- 48:09Ambassador Anatoly Dobrynin to his private office
- 48:12inside the Department of Justice on Pennsylvania
- 48:14Avenue. The meeting was unscripted, confidential,
- 48:18and completely off the record. RFK spoke with
- 48:22grave intensity, Ambassador Dobrynin, we are
- 48:25at a point of no return. A U. two pilot was shot
- 48:29down today. Our military leaders are pressing
- 48:33for an immediate attack. If your government does
- 48:36not agree to remove these missiles by tomorrow
- 48:39morning, military action will be inevitable.
- 48:42Dobrynin asked about Premier Khrushchev's public
- 48:45demand that the US remove its Jupiter intermediate
- 48:47-range ballistic missiles from NATO bases in
- 48:50Turkey in exchange for removing Soviet missiles
- 48:52from Cuba. RFK delivered President Kennedy's
- 48:56delicate top -secret proposal. The secret compromise
- 49:00package. Dobrynin immediately cabled the terms
- 49:04of the secret offer to Premier Khrushchev in
- 49:07Moscow. Anatoly Fyodorovich Dobrynin served as
- 49:11Soviet ambassador to the United States from 1962
- 49:14to 1986, spanning six U .S. presidencies. The
- 49:19PGM -19 Jupiter was an American intermediate
- 49:22-range ballistic missile deployed in Turkey and
- 49:25Italy, armed with a 1 .45 -megaton W49 nuclear
- 49:29warhead. Fifteen Jupiter IRBMs were stationed
- 49:33at five launch sites near Izmir, Turkey, operated
- 49:37jointly by the U .S. Air Force and Turkish Air
- 49:39Force. The secret Jupiter removal agreement was
- 49:43kept classified by the U .S. government for 27
- 49:46years until declassified in 1989. RFK met Dobrynin
- 49:51at 7 .45 p .m. in room 5111 of the Department
- 49:55of Justice building. The PGM -19 Jupiter missile
- 50:00possessed a range of 1 ,500 nautical miles, placing
- 50:03Western Soviet industrial cities within striking
- 50:06distance. President Kennedy had ordered the State
- 50:09Department to arrange the phase -out of Jupiter
- 50:12missiles in Turkey months earlier, as they were
- 50:14obsolete and vulnerable to attack. Anatoly Dobrynin
- 50:18transmitted RFK's proposal via high -priority
- 50:21cipher cable to the Soviet Foreign Ministry at
- 50:249 p .m. President Kennedy approved the secret
- 50:27Jupiter proposal during a private meeting with
- 50:30RFK, McNamara, Rusk, and Sorensen in the Oval
- 50:33Office. The Department of Justice building on
- 50:37Pennsylvania Avenue served as the primary venue
- 50:39for secret RFK Dobrinin back -channel exchanges.
- 50:44Anatoly Dobrinin noted in his memoirs that RFK
- 50:47appeared exhausted and deeply concerned during
- 50:49their October 27 meeting. The secret side agreement
- 50:53was fulfilled in April 1963, when the last U
- 50:57.S. Jupiter missiles were dismantled and removed
- 50:59from Turkey. RFK emphasized to Dobrynin that
- 51:03President Kennedy faced intense pressure from
- 51:06U .S. military commanders to launch airstrikes
- 51:08within 48 hours. Ambassador Dobrynin's cipher
- 51:12cable reached Premier Khrushchev's desk in Moscow
- 51:15at 4 a .m. Moscow time on October 28. Robert
- 51:20F. Kennedy maintained a personal diary recording
- 51:22his daily meetings with Ambassador Dobrynin during
- 51:25October 1962. The Soviet Foreign Ministry cipher
- 51:30department utilized five -unit tape teleprinter
- 51:32ciphers for high -priority ambassadorial cables.
- 51:36President Kennedy instructed RFK to state that
- 51:39any public disclosure of the Jupiter deal would
- 51:41compel the U .S. to deny its existence. Anatoly
- 51:45Dobrynin transmitted RFK's exact words using
- 51:49top -secret Soviet embassy one -time pad cipher
- 51:51tables. RFK's meeting with Dobrynin lasted 45
- 51:56minutes. ending with both men agreeing to transmit
- 51:59responses by dawn. The Turkish government under
- 52:02Prime Minister Ismet Inonu was informed of the
- 52:05Jupiter missile removal in early 1963. Ambassador
- 52:09Dobrinin's cipher cable was designated top secret
- 52:13slash personal TO Khrushchev by the Kremlin's
- 52:15cipher bureau. At 9 a .m. Eastern Standard Time
- 52:19on Sunday, October 28. 1962, Radio Moscow interrupted
- 52:24its regular programming to broadcast an official
- 52:27statement from Premier Nikita Khrushchev. Across
- 52:30the United States, radio networks picked up the
- 52:33live translation from Moscow. Asterisk, the Soviet
- 52:37government, in addition to earlier instructions
- 52:40on the cessation of further work on weapon construction
- 52:42sites, has given a new order to dismantle the
- 52:45weapons which you described as offensive, and
- 52:48to create and return them to the Soviet Union.
- 52:52Asterisk. Inside the Oval Office, President Kennedy
- 52:55listened to the broadcast, letting out a long,
- 52:58silent sigh of relief. The 13 days were over.
- 53:03The world had stared into the abyss of nuclear
- 53:06destruction and pulled back. In Cuba, Prime Minister
- 53:10Fidel Castro was furious, reportedly smashing
- 53:13a television set upon hearing Khrushchev's decision
- 53:16to withdraw the missiles without consulting Cuban
- 53:18leadership. Over the following three weeks, U
- 53:22.S. Navy destroyers and reconnaissance aircraft
- 53:24verified the crating and loading of all 42 SS
- 53:28-4 missiles aboard Soviet freighters returning
- 53:30to the USSR. On November 20, 1962, President
- 53:36Kennedy officially terminated the naval quarantine
- 53:38of Cuba. Radio Moscow broadcast Premier Khrushchev's
- 53:43message over shortwave radio to prevent delay
- 53:45in diplomatic cable transmissions. Fidel Castro
- 53:49issued the Five Points Declaration demanding
- 53:52the return of Guantanamo Bay and the cessation
- 53:55of U .S. covert operations against Cuba. U .S.
- 53:59Navy destroyers conducted visual inspection sweeps
- 54:02of returning Soviet freighters, requiring Soviet
- 54:05crews to un -canvass missile crates on ship decks.
- 54:08President Kennedy delivered a national televised
- 54:11statement praising Premier Khrushchev's statesmanlike
- 54:14decision to resolve the crisis peacefully. The
- 54:1742 SS -4 missiles were loaded aboard five Soviet
- 54:21merchant vessels, including the Fizik Kerchatov
- 54:24and Anisov. Fidel Castro refused to allow UN
- 54:28inspectors on Cuban soil, forcing verification
- 54:31to take place aboard ships in international waters.
- 54:35The U .S. Air Force 55th Strategic Reconnaissance
- 54:38Wing performed verifying overflights over departing
- 54:41Soviet freighters. Premier Khrushchev sent a
- 54:45private letter to President Kennedy on October
- 54:4728 expressing satisfaction at avoiding a world
- 54:50catastrophe. The Cuban Missile Crisis was the
- 54:54closest humanity has ever come to full -scale
- 54:56nuclear warfare. The resolution of the crisis
- 55:00led directly to the signing of the Limited Test
- 55:02Ban Treaty in Moscow in August 1963, banning
- 55:06atmospheric nuclear testing. The U .S. Navy Task
- 55:10Force 136 conducted 65 visual ship inspections
- 55:14during the post -crisis verification phase. The
- 55:18Soviet freighter Anisov displayed eight SS -4
- 55:21missile canisters on its open deck for U .S.
- 55:23Navy aerial photography verification. President
- 55:27Kennedy ordered the suspension of all anti -Castro
- 55:30covert operations under Operation Mongoose following
- 55:33the crisis agreement. Fidel Castro rejected Soviet
- 55:37Deputy Premier Anastas Mikoyan's personal diplomatic
- 55:40explanations during meetings in Havana in November
- 55:431962. The US Department of Defense officially
- 55:47terminated DEFCON 2 alert status on November
- 55:5027, returning to routine peacetime readiness.
- 55:54Premier Khrushchev's shortwave radio message
- 55:57was monitored by US Foreign Broadcast Information
- 56:00Service listening posts in Cyprus. The U .S.
- 56:04Air Force 55th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing
- 56:07operated RB -47H electronic intelligence aircraft
- 56:10verifying Soviet missile crate removals. President
- 56:15Kennedy expressed his personal gratitude to EXCOMM
- 56:17members during a private Oval Office presentation
- 56:20ceremony. The Soviet merchant vessel Fizik Kurchatov
- 56:24departed Marial Harbor on November 7 carrying
- 56:27seven SS -4 missiles on deck. The U .S. Navy
- 56:31destroyers escorted returning Soviet freighters
- 56:34to 300 miles off the European coastline. The
- 56:38official UN verification protocol was signed
- 56:40by U .S. Rep. Adlai Stevenson and Soviet Rep.
- 56:44Valerian Zorin on November 26. The Cuban Missile
- 56:48Crisis remains the most famous strategic confrontation
- 56:51in military history, demonstrating both the extreme
- 56:54danger of nuclear brinkmanship and the vital
- 56:57necessity of crisis diplomacy. Declassified Operational
- 57:01Metrics The crisis fundamentally reshaped Cold
- 57:05War relations, prompting both superpowers to
- 57:08institute direct hotline communications and embark
- 57:11on nuclear arms control negotiations. Operation
- 57:15Anadyr deployed 40 ,000 Soviet personnel to Cuba
- 57:19disguised as agricultural specialists and machine
- 57:21operators. The Ilyushin Il -28 was a Soviet twin
- 57:26-engine jet medium bomber capable of carrying
- 57:29nuclear gravity bombs. Strategic Air Command
- 57:33maintained 2 ,300 nuclear warheads on immediate
- 57:36launch status during DEFCON 2 alert. The U .S.
- 57:4018 Airborne Corps and 1st Armored Division were
- 57:43staged at Fort Stewart, Georgia, for Operation
- 57:46Castor invasion plans. The Limited Test Ban Treaty
- 57:50of 1963 prohibited nuclear weapon tests in the
- 57:54atmosphere, outer space, and underwater. Operation
- 57:58Mongoose was the secret CIA covert action program
- 58:01directed by Brigadier General Edward Lansdale
- 58:04aimed at overthrowing the Castro regime. The
- 58:08Joint Chiefs of Staff invasion plan for Cuba
- 58:10estimated 18 ,000 U .S. casualties during the
- 58:13initial assault phase. Operation Anadyr troops
- 58:17were transported aboard 86 Soviet merchant vessels
- 58:20between July and October 1962. The 150 million
- 58:25estimated casualties were calculated by the Pentagon
- 58:28Weapon Systems Evaluation Group in 1962. The
- 58:33Limited Test Ban Treaty was signed by U .S. Secretary
- 58:36of State Dean Rusk, Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei
- 58:39Gromyko, and British Foreign Secretary Alec Douglas
- 58:42Holm. The U .S. 18 Airborne Corps comprised the
- 58:4682nd Airborne Division and 101st Airborne Division.
- 58:51The Strategic Air Command B -52 bomber fleet
- 58:54logged 53 ,000 airborne alert flight hours during
- 58:57October and November 1962. The Pentagon WSEG
- 59:03casualty report estimated that 80 percent of
- 59:05major U .S. urban populations would suffer fatal
- 59:08fallout radiation. The U .S. 1st Armored Division
- 59:12staging area at Fort Stewart covered 50 ,000
- 59:15acres of military training terrain. The limited
- 59:19test ban treaty was signed inside the Catherine
- 59:21Hall of the Grand Kremlin Palace in Moscow. The
- 59:25Pentagon WSEG report calculated that a full nuclear
- 59:29exchange would generate 3 billion metric tons
- 59:31of radioactive fallout. The Strategic Air Command
- 59:35ICBM Force deployed 180 Atlas and Titan I intercontinental
- 59:40ballistic missiles on 15 -minute alert status.
- 59:43The U .S. Department of Defense deployed 84 ,000
- 59:47Marines to naval amphibious assault ships staging
- 59:49off Puerto Rico. The Strategic Air Command B
- 59:53-47 Stratojet Bomber Force maintained 800 medium
- 59:57bombers on 15 -minute alert status. The R -12
- 1:00:01Dvina was the primary strategic offensive weapon
- 1:00:04deployed by the Soviet Union to Cuba during Operation
- 1:00:07Anadyr. Missile Specifications and Performance
- 1:00:11Metrics The SS -4 required specialized fueling
- 1:00:15crews operating four separate propellant trucks
- 1:00:18over a four -hour fueling window prior to launch.
- 1:00:21The R -12 Dvina was designed by the Yuznoy Design
- 1:00:25Bureau under chief designer Mikhail Yengel in
- 1:00:28Dnepropetrovsk. The AK -27I oxidizer comprised
- 1:00:3327 % dinitrogen tetroxide dissolved in concentrated
- 1:00:37nitric acid with iodine inhibitor. The 8K14 thermonuclear
- 1:00:42warhead utilized a lithium -6 deuteride secondary
- 1:00:45fusion stage producing a yield of 1 megaton.
- 1:00:49The R -12 Dvina missile was deployed operationally
- 1:00:53by the Soviet strategic rocket forces from 1959
- 1:00:56to 1993. The Yuznoy Design Bureau in Ukraine
- 1:01:01specialized in liquid -propellant strategic ballistic
- 1:01:03missiles. The SS -4 missile engine was the RD
- 1:01:08-214 four -chamber liquid rocket engine producing
- 1:01:1174 metric tons of vacuum thrust. The RD -214
- 1:01:16rocket engine was designed by the Valentin Glushko
- 1:01:19OKB -456 design bureau in Khimki. The R -12 missile
- 1:01:25airframe was fabricated from high -strength aluminum
- 1:01:28-magnesium alloy sheet metal. The SS -4 missile
- 1:01:32launch sites in Cuba featured four concrete launcher
- 1:01:35pads centered around a underground warhead storage
- 1:01:37bunker. The RD -214 engine utilized hypergolic
- 1:01:43ignition, where fuel and oxidizer ignited spontaneously
- 1:01:46upon contact. The SS -4 missile guidance system
- 1:01:51utilized four graphic jet vanes positioned inside
- 1:01:54the rocket engine exhaust plume. The R -12 Dvina
- 1:01:58launch erector frame erected the missile from
- 1:02:00horizontal transport to vertical launch posture
- 1:02:03in 20 minutes. The RD -214 engine turbopump delivered
- 1:02:0860 gallons of propellant per second to the four
- 1:02:10combustion chambers. The SS -4 missile warhead
- 1:02:15re -entry vehicle was protected by a graphite
- 1:02:17-impregnated thermal ablation shield. The R -12
- 1:02:21missile inertial guidance system integrated four
- 1:02:24precision gyroscopes manufactured by the Moscow
- 1:02:27Instrument Plant. The SS -4 missile launch pad
- 1:02:31concrete pads measured 20 m by 15 m, reinforced
- 1:02:35with steel mesh rebar. two 14 -rocket engine
- 1:02:40combustion chambers operated at an internal pressure
- 1:02:43of 45 atmospheres. The R -12 missile propellant
- 1:02:48loading trucks operated high -pressure nitrogen
- 1:02:49gas pressurization systems. The naval blockade
- 1:02:54of Cuba was executed by Task Force 136 of the
- 1:02:57U .S. 2nd Fleet, deploying unprecedented anti
- 1:03:00-submarine and surface warfare assets. Naval
- 1:03:04Force Composition and Capabilities Task Force
- 1:03:08136 demonstrated the immense power of naval diplomacy,
- 1:03:12enforcing national policy without initiating
- 1:03:15armed conflict. The F -4B Phantom II was a twin
- 1:03:19-engine supersonic jet interceptor capable of
- 1:03:22Mach 2 .2 speeds, armed with AIM -7 Sparrow missiles.
- 1:03:27The S -2 Tracker was a twin -engine carrier -based
- 1:03:31anti -submarine warfare aircraft equipped with
- 1:03:33magnetic anomaly detectors. The SH -3C King was
- 1:03:38a twin -engine ASW helicopter fitted with dipping
- 1:03:41sonar arrays and acoustic homing torpedoes. The
- 1:03:45USS Kepler was a Gearing -class destroyer that
- 1:03:48successfully tracked the Soviet submarine B -36
- 1:03:51for 36 hours. Task Force 136 warships expended
- 1:03:57over 4 ,000 practice depth charges during anti
- 1:04:00-submarine trailing operations. The F -4B Phantom
- 1:04:04II was manufactured by the McDonnell Aircraft
- 1:04:07Corporation in St. Louis, Missouri. The Grumman
- 1:04:11S -2 Tracker carried sonar buoys, depth charges,
- 1:04:14and Mark 44 acoustic homing torpedoes in its
- 1:04:18internal weapons bay. The Sikorsky Sh -3C King
- 1:04:22helicopter operated from the flight deck of the
- 1:04:25ASW carrier USS Essex. The USS Joseph P. Kennedy
- 1:04:30Jr. participated in the boarding and inspection
- 1:04:33of the Lebanese -flagged freighter Marakhla on
- 1:04:35October 26. The USS Enterprise embarked eight
- 1:04:39A -2F intruder attack aircraft for long -range
- 1:04:43precision strike missions. The Task Force 136
- 1:04:47ASW tracking teams logged 1 ,200 sonar contact
- 1:04:51hours across the Sargasso Sea sector. The USS
- 1:04:55Newport News Heavy Cruiser main battery fired
- 1:04:58practice target tracking salvos during Caribbean
- 1:05:00exercises. The U .S. Navy destroyers assigned
- 1:05:04to Task Force 136 refueled at sea from Euler
- 1:05:08vessels every 72 hours. The USS Enterprise nuclear
- 1:05:13propulsion system featured eight A2W nuclear
- 1:05:16reactors enabling continuous high -speed transit.
- 1:05:19The U .S. Navy P - 3A Orion Maritime Patrol aircraft
- 1:05:24conducted eight -hour anti -submarine search
- 1:05:26sweeps over the Atlantic quarantine line. The
- 1:05:30USS Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. destroyer boarding
- 1:05:33team was led by Lieutenant Commander Nicholas
- 1:05:35Nicholas. Task Force 136 replenishment ships
- 1:05:40delivered 300 ,000 barrels of fuel oil to quarantine
- 1:05:44destroyers. The intelligence collection operations
- 1:05:47conducted by Colonel Oleg Penkovsky represented
- 1:05:50a masterclass in covert human intelligence tradecraft.
- 1:05:54Technical and Operational Details Penkovsky's
- 1:05:59work enabled CIA and MI6 photo analysts to immediately
- 1:06:03identify every Soviet missile component photographed
- 1:06:06by U -2 overflights in Cuba. The Min -XB camera
- 1:06:10featured a stainless steel sliding body mechanism
- 1:06:13that advanced the film and cocked the shutter
- 1:06:15automatically. The Min -X 8mm film cassette held
- 1:06:1950 exposures of ultra -fine grain Agfa Isopan
- 1:06:22FF black and white film. Penkovsky's Mi -6 handler
- 1:06:27Greville when utilized custom diplomatic baggage
- 1:06:30containers to smuggle exposed film cassettes
- 1:06:32out of Moscow. The Minix -B camera was manufactured
- 1:06:36by Minix GmbH in Gießen, West Germany. Penkovsky's
- 1:06:41intelligence reports were reviewed personally
- 1:06:44by President Kennedy and CIA Director John McCone.
- 1:06:47The Minix -B shutter operated across speeds from
- 1:06:511 2000th of a second to 1 second. The Agfa Isopan
- 1:06:56FF8mm film base offered an optical resolution
- 1:06:59of 180 lines per millimeter. Greville Wynne operated
- 1:07:03a commercial export company, Industrial Exhibitions
- 1:07:07Ltd., as his operational cover for traveling
- 1:07:10to Moscow. Penkovsky's collection work was recognized
- 1:07:14by historians as the single most valuable human
- 1:07:17operation of the Cold War era. The Min -XB camera
- 1:07:21body was fabricated from anodized aluminum weighing
- 1:07:2456 grams. Penkovsky's dead drop locations included
- 1:07:29the grave marker of Russian poet Alexander Pushkin
- 1:07:32in Moscow's Novodevichy Cemetery. The Min -XB
- 1:07:35camera required no batteries, operating via a
- 1:07:39mechanical spring -driven shutter mechanism.
- 1:07:42Penkovsky photographed top -secret GRU documents
- 1:07:45inside the State Committee for Coordination of
- 1:07:47Scientific Research building in Moscow. Penkovsky's
- 1:07:52dead drop containers were weighted with lead
- 1:07:54pellets to sink immediately if dropped into river
- 1:07:56waters. Penkovsky's Mi -6 tradecraft training
- 1:08:00included evasion techniques for detecting KGB
- 1:08:03mobile surveillance units. The Min -XB camera
- 1:08:07lens focused down to 8 inches, enabling sharp
- 1:08:10photography of full -page printed documents.
- 1:08:14Penkovsky utilized a specialized chemical developer
- 1:08:16kit for processing test film strips inside his
- 1:08:20apartment bathroom. The successful resolution
- 1:08:23of the Cuban Missile Crisis proved that pragmatic
- 1:08:25back -channel communication and strategic restraint
- 1:08:28could prevent global nuclear destruction. The
- 1:08:32Cuban Missile Crisis demonstrated that in the
- 1:08:37nuclear age, victory belongs not to those who
- 1:08:40escalate, but to those who possess the wisdom
- 1:08:43to compromise. President Kennedy delivered a
- 1:08:46landmark commencement address at American University
- 1:08:48on June 10, 1963, calling for world peace and
- 1:08:53nuclear disarmament. Premier Khrushchev published
- 1:08:57the speech in full in Pravda, hailing it as the
- 1:08:59most courageous address by an American president
- 1:09:02since World War II. The American University Address
- 1:09:06laid the diplomatic foundation for the signing
- 1:09:08of the Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty two months
- 1:09:10later. The Washington -Moscow hotline was officially
- 1:09:14inaugurated on August 30, 1963. President Kennedy's
- 1:09:20strategic restraint during the crisis earned
- 1:09:22him lasting international acclaim as a mature
- 1:09:24statesman. The American University Address was
- 1:09:28drafted by White House speechwriter Theodore
- 1:09:30Sorensen. Premier Khrushchev's willing compromise
- 1:09:34contributed to his political downfall in October
- 1:09:361964, when he was deposed by Leonid Brezhnev.
- 1:09:41President Kennedy's American University address
- 1:09:43included the famous quote, asterisk, for in the
- 1:09:46final analysis, our most basic common link is
- 1:09:49that we all inhabit this small planet. We all
- 1:09:53breathe the same air. We all cherish our children's
- 1:09:56future. And we are all mortal. Asterisk. The
- 1:10:02Limited Test Ban Treaty was ratified by the United
- 1:10:05States Senate by a vote of 80 -19 in September
- 1:10:081963. The American University address was delivered
- 1:10:12before a crowd of 14 ,000 graduates and faculty
- 1:10:16members in Washington, D .C. President Kennedy
- 1:10:19and Premier Khrushchev exchanged personal handwritten
- 1:10:22gifts following the Limited Test Ban Treaty signing.
- 1:10:26The American University speech manuscript was
- 1:10:29archived in the John F. Kennedy Presidential
- 1:10:31Library in Boston. President Kennedy's commencement
- 1:10:35address was broadcast live across three national
- 1:10:37television networks in the United States. The
- 1:10:41Washington -Moscow hotline utilized twin full
- 1:10:44-duplex teletype circuits routing through London,
- 1:10:46Copenhagen, Stockholm, and Helsinki. At 12 p
- 1:10:51.m. on November 21, 1962, case file number 022
- 1:10:56was officially closed and archived at CIA headquarters
- 1:11:00in Langley, the Pentagon, and the JFK Presidential
- 1:11:03Library in Boston. Final Operational Metrics
- 1:11:07This concludes declassified file number 0022
- 1:11:12of the Shadow Dossier, the Cuban Missile Crisis,
- 1:11:15completing another thrilling operational file
- 1:11:17of ARC -1, Cold War Iron Curtain and Double Agents.
- 1:11:22What dangerous secrets await in the next declassified
- 1:11:25file? Find out in Episode 23, The Cambridge Five
- 1:11:29Unmasked. If you want early access to upcoming
- 1:11:33files, uncensored intel briefings, and bonus
- 1:11:36dossiers, join our Patreon network at patreon
- 1:11:39.com slash storiesbymia. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts,
- 1:11:45Spotify, RSS .com, and YouTube so you never miss
- 1:11:49an official declassification. This is the Shadow
- 1:11:52Dossier. Thank you for listening.