The Cuban Missile Crisis

October 15 1962-

October 27 1962

A Time of Despair, a Time of Worry, a Time of Panic.

The cold war-a time when two super powers, the Soviet Union and the USA fought each other for the right to be called the most powerful nation in the world. Whether it be the Space race or the Cuban Missile Crisis these two super powers always had a lot to fight about.

So enjoy learning all about the Cuban Missile crisis and Malmstrom Air Force Base’s role in our slide show titled 13 Days of Despair.

13 Days of Despair

A Slide Show on the Cuban

Missile Crisis.

The Crisis Begins

October 15, 1962

Monday

The Crisis Begins

A U-2 reconnaissance pilot, Richard Heyser,

takes photos which reveal the presence of SS-4

Nuclear missiles in Cuba.

Meanwhile back in Montana~

Malmstrom Air Force Base had the first and only solid fueled rocket, however they lacked ability to launch it.

October 16, 1962

Tuesday

October 16, 1962

President John F. Kennedy was informed of the missiles while eating breakfast.

President Kennedy convened EX-COMM, his twelve most important advisors.

What the president didn’t know was that Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev had given the Soviet field commanders in Cuba permission to launch nuclear missiles if the United States invaded.

October 17, 1962

Wednesday

October 17, 1962

The first of three SS-5 Intermediate

Range Ballistic Missiles (IRBM) were

detected in Cuba.

October 18, 1962

Thursday

October 18, 1962

President John F. Kennedy meets with and

advises Soviet Foreign Minister Andrie

Gromyko that the United States will not

tolerate the presence of Soviet missiles in

Cuba. Gromyko denies having weapons of

any sort in Cuba.

Friday

October 19,1962

October 19, 1962

President Kennedy

meets with secretary

of defense Robert

McNamara to discuss

military options. JFK

left later to Chicago,

he was told not to tell

anybody about the

crisis.

Meanwhile back in Montana~

Airmen at Malmstrom Air Force Base started laying wire to launch solid fuel rockets. Construction sites were in the middle of fields, and even on farms.

Saturday

October 20, 1962

October 20, 1962

Robert Kennedy tells

President Kennedy to

return to Washington

D.C. to discuss the

discovery of new Soviet

Missiles. At the time

President Kennedy was

in Chicago.

After much debate the

President finally agreed

to return to Washington

D.C. He told the media

that he had a “upper

respiratory infection.”

Sunday

October 21,1962

October 21,1962

Kennedy asks the Air

Force if they could

take out all of the

Cuban missiles. “Only

the ones we know

about” replied the Air

Force. President

Kennedy decided to

navel block Cuba.

Another U-2 plane

discovered missiles

being built on the

North Shore of Cuba.

President Kennedy

told the media that he

would tell the

American Public

tomorrow.

TOP SECRET

SOME PICTUES

TAKEN BY U-2 Spy

PLANES

October 22 1962

Monday

October 22, 1962

The public was informed of

the crisis on this day.

Senate leaders were

informed of the crisis and

called for air strikes.

Kennedy reinforced his

decision for a quarantine.

Marines reinforced the base

at Guantanamo Bay.

President Kennedy’s Speech

Addressed the nation about what was going on in Cuba

Announced plans to implement a naval blockade of Cuba.

Sets military alert to DEFCON 3.

Instructions were given to be ready to launch missiles within minutes of the President's speech.

In response to this speech, Castro mobilized of Cuba’s military forces.

Meanwhile back in Montana~

Kennedy ordered Malmstrom

officials to be prepared to

launch the missiles at any

time.

October 23, 1962

Tuesday

October 23, 1962

A low level reconnaissance mission brought back

stunning pictures of missiles prepared for launch.

The OAS (Organization of American States) supports the

decision to quarantine Cuba.

McNamara and Kennedy review and discuss options for

confrontation.

By the end of the day, U.S. ships at the quarantine line

were prepared to destroy any ship that failed to stop at

that line.

October 24, 1962

Wednesday

Wednesday

Soviet ships approached the quarantine.

EX-COMM was worried that Khrushchev had not got hold of the ships to tell them to turn back.

They got information later telling them Soviet ships had stopped.

Wednesday

Secretary of State Dean Rusk quoted, “We

were eyeball to eyeball and the other guy just

blinked.”

The crisis was not at its end.

October 25,1962

Thursday

October 25, 1962

U.S. Ambassador Adlai Stevenson confronts the Soviets at

the U.N. but they refuse to answer.

American military forces are instructed to set DEFCON 2 the

highest ever in U.S. history.

The military could, at a moment's notice, launch an attack on

Cuba or the Soviet Union.

Kennedy sends letter to Khrushchev blaming the soviets for

the start of this crisis.

EX-COMM discusses a proposal to withdraw missiles from

Turkey if the Soviets withdraw their missiles from Cuba.

October 26,1962

Friday

Friday

The U.S. Navy

searched the Soviet

ships and only found

paper products.

EX-COMM receives

letter from Khrushchev

in reply to Kennedy’s

speech.

Khrushchev's Letter

Friday

Khrushchev said he would remove their missiles if President Kennedy said he would not attack Cuba.

Later a U-2 flight revealed that Soviets were camouflaging their missiles.

October 27, 1962

Saturday

Saturday

Khrushchev sends a letter

saying if the U.S. removes

its missiles from Turkey

they will remove there’s in

Cuba.

Pilot, Major Rudolf

Anderson an American U-

2 flier was shot down over

Cuba.

Saturday

U-2 pilot strays into Soviet airspace accidentally while

flying in Alaska. Soviet fighters nearly took the plane

down.

President Kennedy will make a statement saying he

will not invade Cuba.

Meanwhile back in Montana~

People in Great Falls and on Malmstrom Air Force Base were relieved to know that they didn’t have to be involved in nuclear warfare.

The Aftermath

November1962-Present

The end of the Cuban Missile

Crisis did not lead to permanent

peace between the USSR and the

U.S. The countries still needed to

get a formal agreement. At the end

of the negotiations Castro tried to

stop removal of the missiles.

Even after the crisis, both sides would still

engage in conflict, continuing the Cold War

until the 80’s when the Berlin wall fell. The

United States still did not like communism,

as you would see seven years later in the

Vietnam War.

Even today, the United States is afraid of

nuclear war. This is what led to the

invasion of Iraq which we are no longer

engaged in. The fall of the great Soviet

Union did not end until the fall of the

Berlin Wall in the 80’s. Thirteen days of

despair only was a small chapter in the

large book of the story of our fight

against communism.

Late show fun facts..

For Seventeen years, the launch code

remained the same eight digit number :

00000000.

The launch code was even displayed on

the launch check list!

This would have made it very easy for a

group of airmen to perform an unauthorized

launch.