U2 Plane Crisis and Paris Peace Summit

• When did US plane start flying over Soviet air space and why

  For some years, US had been illegally flying spying missions over USSR, meaning Eisenhower knew about the USSR's nuclear capability

  Flights began in 1950 when US Strategic Air Command began spy planes over USSR to spy on them for nuclear weapon development - this was done without Truman's permission and when he found out, he banned them as they violated Soviet air space
• When did they restart and why was it special

  Planes began again in 1956 with the agreement of Eisenhower - this time they used a new spy lane called the U2

  It flew so high it couldn't be shot by Soviet fighters or by anti aircraft missiles, but it carried sophisticated listening devices and powerful cameras that could read words from 20,000m in the air

  U2 spy planes kept the Americans fully informed about Soviet weapons technology during the late 1950s
• What was the Soviet's reactions

  Khrushchev was furious about the flights - he said each one spat in the face of the Soviet people

  His problem was that he couldn't complain about the flights as he had no proof and he didn't want to admit that the Soviets didn't have the technology to shoot down at U-2s
• What were the Soviets preparing for in May 1960

  Khrushchev was preparing for the Four Power Peace Summit in Paris with France, Britain and USA
• 1st May 1960 and what did the Soviets do


  On 1st May, Khrushchev received news that USSR's new S-75 anti aircraft missiles had shot down a U-2

  The pilot Gary Powers parachuted to safety but was arrested by the Soviet soldiers

  The USSR paraded Powers on national television and accused the USA of spying
• How did Eisenhower respond to Powers and what did Khrushchev do next

  US firstly denied Powers was on a spying mission but then later admitted he was - however Eisenhower refused to apologise or promise that there would be no more flights

  Without an apology, Khrushchev refused to attend the summit and pulled out - in the short term, this worsened relations
• What happened to Gary Powers

  Sentenced to 10 years in a Soviet prison, but was exchanged for a captured Soviet spy in Feb 1962
• How did the crisis affect domestic US politics

  Eisenhower and his Republican Party were criticised abroad for the U-2s

  In US, they were criticised for being too soft with the Soviets

  The Democratic Party had a young and seemingly brilliant new leader JFK who exploited this feeling effectively

  In 1960 elections, JFK talked up the threat of the missile gap between US and USSR even though he knew there was none

  Kennedy won and became President in January 1961