Francis Gary Powers (August 17, 1929 – August 1, 1977) was an American pilot whose CIA U-2 spy plane was shot down while violating Soviet Union airspace, causing the 1960 U-2 incident.
He joined the CIA's U-2 program which carried out espionage missions using a spy plane that could reach altitudes above 70,000 feet, essentially making it invulnerable to Soviet anti-aircraft weapons of the time. The U-2 was equipped with a state-of-the-art camera designed to snap high-resolution photos from the edge of the atmosphere over hostile countries that included the Soviet Union.
Powers was shot down by an S-75 Dvina (SA-2 Surface to Air) missile on May 1, 1960, over Sverdlovsk. Powers was unable to activate the plane's self-destruct mechanism, as instructed, before he parachuted to the ground and into the hands of the KGB.
Powers was tried where he pleaded guilty and was convicted of espionage on August 19 and sentenced to 3 years’ imprisonment and 7 years of hard labor. He served one year and nine months of the sentence before being exchanged for Rudolf Abel on February 10, 1962. The exchange occurred on the Glienicke Bridge connecting Potsdam, East Germany, to West Berlin.
Congratulations to Don Jawan for getting this right.
Francis Gary Powers
ReplyDeleteThe first photo is with his U-2 Spy plane.
The second photo is of his trial in the USSR.
Yes, the answer is indeed Francis Gary Powers.
ReplyDeleteFrancis Gary Powers (August 17, 1929 – August 1, 1977) was an American pilot whose CIA U-2 spy plane was shot down while violating Soviet Union airspace, causing the 1960 U-2 incident.
He joined the CIA's U-2 program which carried out espionage missions using a spy plane that could reach altitudes above 70,000 feet, essentially making it invulnerable to Soviet anti-aircraft weapons of the time. The U-2 was equipped with a state-of-the-art camera designed to snap high-resolution photos from the edge of the atmosphere over hostile countries that included the Soviet Union.
Powers was shot down by an S-75 Dvina (SA-2 Surface to Air) missile on May 1, 1960, over Sverdlovsk. Powers was unable to activate the plane's self-destruct mechanism, as instructed, before he parachuted to the ground and into the hands of the KGB.
Powers was tried where he pleaded guilty and was convicted of espionage on August 19 and sentenced to 3 years’ imprisonment and 7 years of hard labor. He served one year and nine months of the sentence before being exchanged for Rudolf Abel on February 10, 1962. The exchange occurred on the Glienicke Bridge connecting Potsdam, East Germany, to West Berlin.
Congratulations to Don Jawan for getting this right.
Keep the Quizzer alive...:-)