- The flight was almost cancelled before the CIA decided to make it the last of 24 flights. It was determined that May 1 would be a good day because the Soviets would be celebrating May Day and the air defenses would thus be lax. Actually, the fact that there were less air flights on that day allowed for easier tracking of the U-2.
- Francis Gary Powers took off from a base in northern Pakistan and was to transit the Soviet Union flying over several bases and nuclear missile sites. He was to land in Norway. This was to be the first flight that did not return to its starting point. The mission was codenamed Operation Grand Slam.
- Soviet jet fighters called MiG’s were scrambled, but as with all the other U-2 flights, they could not reach the 70,000 foot cruising altitude of the U-2.
- The Soviets had developed a new anti-aircraft missile called a SA-2 which could reach 82,000’. One of them exploded at the rear of the plane, knocking off the right stabilizer and putting the aircraft into a spin. The wings came off and Powers had trouble getting out. He had to open the canopy and was sucked out before he could arm the self-destruct system.
- One of the MiG’s chasing the U-2 was shot down by an SA-2 in a friendly fire incident.
- Powers parachuted into a farmer’s field and was captured by a farmer. He chose not to use the cyanide hidden in a coin. Suicide was optional.
- Powers was exchanged in 1962 for a Soviet spy named Rudolf Abel. The exchange occurred at Check Point Charlie in Berlin.
- Powers died in a helicopter accident while working as a reporter for a TV station.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdL4UTFPpxk
Powers at the Senate Armed Services Committee
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