Most Americans of a certain age know well the famous flight
of U2 pilot Gary Powers whose plane was downed over the USSR on May 1, 1960.
Unfortunately, most of them do not know that he was not shot down by the
Soviets.
Fletcher Prouty gave extensive interviews to Len Osanic
about his experiences in the Pentagon as an Air Force Colonel working as the
CIA operations liaison. One of his particular responsibilities at the time of
the U2 mission was to supply the special fuel required for the U2 plane. His
office was across from the U2 mission control team, giving him access to rare
and valuable information about this episode.
President Eisenhower and Nikita Khrushchev were scheduled to
meet during May at a Summit to discuss peaceful coexistence in the first
incarnation of détente. Certain hawks in the administration and CIA were
adamantly opposed to conciliation of any kind, and so ordered the flight over
the USSR in disobedience to Eisenhower’s direct and explicit orders
forbidding any flights over the Soviet Union.
The popular mythology reported by the deceitful press was
that Gary Powers was shot down by the USSR, relying largely on the word of
Khrushchev and his spokesmen claiming such a victory. The Soviet Premier also
used the opportunity at the aborted summit to lecture the Americans on their
hostile and provocative actions. The
Cold War would proceed for a dozen more years until President Nixon’s overtures to the
USSR paved the way for more civil relations.
The truth of the flight is much more cloak and dagger than
reported. The U2 flew at nearly 90,000 feet, putting it too far out of the
reach of Soviet missiles and radars. It was thus impossible for them to shoot
down the plane at this altitude. However, unbeknownst to Powers, his flight was
sabotaged by the flight crew which only loaded a half tank of hydrogen fuel.
When Powers’ plane started to sputter, he descended to
around 30,000 feet to attempt to reignite his engines since he needed much more
oxygen to do so. By the time he reached that altitude the U2 was encircled by
MIGs whose pilots compelled Powers to land. In fact one of them got so close to
the plane that it damaged one of the U2 wings forcing Powers to skillfully
spiral to a relatively soft landing.
Contrary to press reports, the plane was not a wreck pile
nor did it crash, nor did Powers parachute to safety. Soviet officials apprehended
him, eventually putting him through an elaborate show trial meant to embarrass
him and the United States.
Many folks will recall the personal effects found on Powers.
Prouty firmly states that those items were planted on his plane by his American
saboteurs as U2 pilot uniforms had no pockets to hold them, and the pilots
never knew which plane they would fly until they were on the runway.
Prouty also notes that the camera found in the U2 was a low
tech model rather than the highly classified Lundahl camera. The saboteurs took
care to swap cameras, knowing full well that they would sabotage the flight.
Even Allen Dulles admitted before the Senate that the plane
was not shot down, but failed to provide any additional information about the
operation. Prouty was notified by a colleague that 4 men conducted the
sabotage, but the Colonel did not reveal the names. However, he was clear that
it was an attempt to undermine détente in order to keep the wheels of the
military industrial complex greased.
Copyright 2013 Tony Bonn. All rights reserved.
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