Undertegnede, Helge Sandnes og Terje B. Johansen var innom Laughlin AFB Texas, et par dager i 1966 for å besøke Arve Heggem og Øystein Midthus. Vi tre gikk da på språkskolen ved Lackland AFB ved San Antonio. Plaketten nederst var neppe på plass på det tidspunkt. (Red.)
Forgotten
U-2 pilots helped end the Cuban Missile Crisis 60 years ago
By
DAVE KINDY
SPECIAL TO THE WASHINGTON POST • October
23, 2022
Gerald McIlmoyle had an incredible view of the
world and no time to enjoy it. Some 13 miles below him, the green island of
Cuba stood out against the blue waters of the Caribbean Sea, but he was focused
on his perilous mission.
It was Oct. 25, 1962, and the U.S. Air Force
captain was piloting a U-2 spy plane on the edge of Earth’s atmosphere, taking
high-resolution images of nuclear missile sites on the island nation about 100
miles from Florida. The world teetered toward total destruction as tensions
escalated between the United States and Soviet Union during the Cuban missile
crisis 60 years ago this week.
As McIlmoyle snapped photos, a flash of light
caught his eye. The Soviet and Cuban militaries had launched a pair of
surface-to-air missiles. Thankfully, a course correction he’d made moments
earlier caused the missiles to miss his plane.
The Cold War had suddenly heated up, and America’s
U-2 pilots were on the front lines of a dangerous game of brinkmanship between
two heavily armed superpowers. Their bravery gave U.S. President John F.
Kennedy the proof he needed to confront Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev and
find a way to avoid a nuclear nightmare.
“These men risked their lives in an effort to save
mankind, and I’m not being hyperbolic when I say that,” said Casey Sherman,
co-author of the 2018 book “Above & Beyond: John F. Kennedy and America’s
Most Dangerous Cold War Spy Mission.” “During those 13 days in October 1962, we
came the closest in history to thermonuclear war.”
The Cuban missile crisis began Oct. 14, when Maj.
Steve Heyser snapped the first shots of the missile sites, triggering a series
of missions by 11 U-2 pilots to learn exactly what was happening on the ground
in Cuba. Largely forgotten today, their actions probably prevented nuclear war.
One of those spy-plane pilots would make the ultimate sacrifice for his
country, while another barely escaped being shot down by Soviet jets.
“These pilots were completely unarmed,” Sherman
said. “They were flying in defenseless aircraft. Even though they were 13 miles
high, they were still susceptible to airstrikes from the ground, which
ultimately led to the death of one of the pilots. Nobody remembers there was a
KIA [killed in action] during the Cuban missile crisis.”
Major Rudolf Anderson Jr. was shot down and killed
over Cuba during the October 1962 crisis. Anderson had earned two Distinguished
Flying Crosses for reconnaissance flights over North Korea in 1953. He joined
the 4080th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing in 1957 and soon became the top U-2
pilot, with more than 1,000 hours of flying time. (U.S. Air Force)
The lone casualty by enemy fire during that
tumultuous two-week period was Maj. Rudolf Anderson. The Air Force pilot, who
jumped at every chance to fly U-2 missions over Cuba, was not scheduled to be
in the air on Oct. 27, 1962. In fact, no one was. However, military planners
changed their minds at the last minute, and Anderson volunteered.
The veteran pilot was used to dangerous missions.
Anderson had earned two Distinguished Flying Crosses for reconnaissance flights
over North Korea in 1953. He joined the 4080th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing in
1957 and soon became the top U-2 pilot, with more than 1,000 hours of flying
time.
On that fateful day, Anderson climbed into his spy
plane and took off for Cuba. The Lockheed U-2, still in use today, first
entered service in 1955. Though equipped with sophisticated technology, the
plane itself is simply constructed — mostly an airframe and engine. Its main
purpose is taking photographs of objects on Earth from the edge of space. It
features no armor or weapons.
“You can’t even fight back in a U-2,” said Mike
Tougias, who co-wrote “Above & Beyond” with Sherman. “You’re basically a
sitting duck.”
Flying the U-2 at such high altitudes required a
pressurized suit and helmet similar to those donned by astronauts in the
Mercury space program. They protected pilots from the thin air and cold
temperatures 72,000 feet above the earth — but not from weapons fired at them.
As Anderson soared through the stratosphere, Soviet
and Cuban troops launched two surface-to-air missiles. Both exploded too far
away to cause serious damage to the aircraft. However, a tiny piece of shrapnel
pierced the jet’s fuselage and penetrated Anderson’s suit, causing it to
depressurize. He probably lost consciousness almost immediately and died in
seconds. His pilotless plane then spun out of control and fell 13 miles to
Earth, crashing near the Cuban village of Veguitas.
“It didn’t take much to bring a U-2 down,” Tougias
said. “There are photos of the fuselage on the ground with cockpit intact. I
remember McIlmoyle telling me, ‘All it takes is one little piece of shrapnel
and the U-2 will come spiraling down like a leaf from a tree.’ “
This view of a USAF U-2A shows off the aircraft’s
graceful shape and its shiny early appearance. U-2s were painted black overall
beginning in late 1965 in an effort to protect against the growing threat of
air interception. (U.S. Air Force)
Tensions between the United States and the Soviet
Union further escalated during another U-2 mission that occurred about the time
Anderson was shot down. Thousands of miles away, Capt. Chuck Maultsby was
flying a spy plane over Alaska toward the North Pole to take radiation readings
of Soviet nuclear tests on an island off Siberia.
Unknowingly, the Air Force pilot had drifted of course,
his compass rendered useless by the magnetic north pole and interference from
an active aurora borealis display. By the time he discovered his error, he was
being chased by six Soviet MiG interceptor jets.
He flew as high he could — higher than the Soviet
jets could reach — but he was low on fuel, so he attempted to glide back to
safety. Meanwhile, the U.S. Strategic Air Command launched F-102 fighter jets
armed with tactical nuclear missiles. If those American pilots fired on the
enemy planes, it could trigger the war both superpowers were trying to avoid in
the Caribbean.
Fortunately, Maultsby was able to avoid the
Soviets and land safely on a remote airstrip in Alaska.
Soon after these events, the world stepped back
from the precipice of nuclear war.
Anderson was posthumously presented with the Air
Force Cross — the first airman to receive this award for heroism in military
operations against an armed enemy.
Today, Anderson is remembered with a small plaque at Laughlin Air Force Base in Texas. There are no other memorials or statues honoring the men who flew U-2 missions with the future of humanity on their wings.
“The heroism of the U-2 pilots has been lost to
history,” Sherman said. “They should be recognized and honored for what they
did. These men were heroes. Rudy Anderson’s name should be on the tip of
everyone’s tongue, but people don’t remember him.”
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