Documentos de Académico
Documentos de Profesional
Documentos de Cultura
by Curtis A. Utz
No. 1
Series Editor
Edward J. Marolda
Head, Coiltemporary History Branch
W
ith only ninety miles dependence, the United
of water separating States ousted Spain from the years later this group landed
them, Cuba and the Caribbean and took posses- near Santiago, Cuba, hoping
United States shared much sion of Cuba and Puerto Rico. to inspire a rebellion against
history. Cuba, the largest is- The United States sponsored the government. Batista's sol-
land in the Caribbean, was the creation of a new govern- diers killed most of the rebels,
colonized by Spain soon after ment in Havana, the Republic however, and forced Castro
Christopher Columbus of Cuba. and a dozen fellow insurgents
opened the Western Hemi- During the next half-cen- to flee into the Sierra Maestra
sphere to Europe in 1492. By tury, the United States came Mountains.
the late nineteenth century, to dominate Cuban foreign From his mountain redoubt,
Cuba had become the world's and domestic policy. An act of Castro sparked the revolution
largest sugar producer and a Congress, the Platt Amend- that many Cubans then
key economic asset of Spain. ment, until repealed in 1934, longed for. He dispatched
That European kingdom, then provided for U.S. military in- small guerrilla units that am-
in economic and political tervention into Cuba to bushed and harassed
decline, needed the income protect American interests. In Batista's forces. Simultaneous-
from its Cuban possession. At addition, U.S. companies ly, revolutionaries in the cities
the same time, the United largely controlled the Cuban distributed propaganda,
States had developed impor- economy, especially the sugar recruited more rebels, and
tant economic interests in industry. Cubans increasingly blew up government build-
Central America and the resented this strong American ings. On New Year's Day
Caribbean, and staked its presence in their country. 1959, with his domain
claim as the preeminent The government of the reduced to a few pockets of
power in the Western Hemi- Republic of Cuba was a resistance, Batista fled into
sphere. A dynamic United failure. Corrupt politicians exile in the Dominican
States and a decrepit Spain and military strongmen Republic.
headed for a clash. stifled democracy and under- On 8 January, Castro and
In 1895, long-simmering cut repeated attempts at his supporters entered
Cuban opposition to the rule reform. General Fulgencio Havana to the cheers of the
of the Spanish monarchy Batista, who seized power in capital's jubilant populace. Ini-
burst into rebellion. Many 1952, proved to be one of the tially, the new leader did not
Americans were sympathetic most ruthless of Cuban publicly embrace any social or
to the Cuban insurrectionists. leaders. He held onto power political ideology, but stressed
When the battleship Maine, through graft and the suppres- his credentials as a Cuban
on a port visit to Havana in sion of dissent. nationalist. He promised the
1898, exploded and sank, the One of Batista's early op- Cuban people prosperity,
U.S. Congress blamed the ponents was Fidel Castro. On equality, justice, and personal
Spanish authorities and 26 July 1953, the former liberty through the efforts of
declared war. Years later, ex- lawyer and political extremist his revolutionary movement.
amination of the wreck sug- led a small band of supporters Castro and his
gested that the American in an attack on the Moncada revolutionaries improved
warship had suffered an inter- army barracks. It was a fias- some aspects of Cuban life,
nal explosion and was not co. Castro and most of his fol- but at great cost. Castro estab-
sunk by a Spanish torpedo or lowers were captured and lished an increasingly
mine, as first suspected. thrown into prison. Freed in a authoritarian regime,
As a result of the Spanish- general amnesty in 1955, suspended many civil liber-
American War, known in Castro went into exile in ties, refused to hold elections,
Cuba as the Second War of In- Mexico, where he formed the and suppressed not only op-
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A detailed map of Cuba, 1961. Photo Interpreters first discovered mlssile sites west of Havana, near the towns of San Cristobal
and Guanajay. Lnter, U-2 photography also revealed MRBM and IRBM sites on the northern coast of central Cuba, close to the
towns of Sagua La Grande and Remedios.
ponents but even former sup-
porters. Many Cubans were
shot, imprisoned, or driven
into exile. Moreover, Castro
began a n agrarian reform pro-
gram that involved the ex-
propriation of over $1 billion
worth of American holdings.
The trend of events in Cuba
appalled U.S. President
Dwight D. Eisenhower and
the leaders of his administra-
tion. The American govern-
ment first pressed Castro to
moderate his behavior and Cuban leader Fidel Castro meets with
when this brought no genuine Soviet Premier Khrushchev at the United
response strongly criticized throw of Castro's government. Nations in New York in September 1960.
The animosity of these leaders toward
him. Mindful of U.S. support The president directed the the United States prompted increased
for the deposed Batista Central Intelligence Agency Soviet and Cuban cooperation in the po-
regime and America's long (CIA) to plan, support, and litical, economic, and military spheres.
domination of the Cuban oversee an invasion of Cuba
economy, Castro did not take by anti-Castro guerrillas.
kindly to Washington's in- With the endorsement of the desperately needed reinforce-
volvement. He publicly and incoming Kennedy ad- ments and ammunition.
vehemently railed against the ministration, the U.S. nation- Castro's ground forces sealed
United States government for al security establishment off the beachhead and then
interfering in Cuban affairs. bent to the task. On 17 April overwhelmed the defenders.
Washington responded by 1961, with ships of the U.S. The survivors were herded off
placing an embargo on nearly Second Fleet steaming just to prison.
all of Cuba's goods. over the horizon, the 1,300- Not only did the Bay of Pigs
Of greater significance for man Brigade 2506 stormed fiasco strengthen U.S. hos-
US.-Cuban relations, Castro ashore a t Playa Larga and tility toward Castro and his
approached the Soviet Union Playa Giron, the Bay of Pigs. movement but it prompted
for economic, political, and For the next two days, the the Cuban dictator to openly
military support. In Septem- anti-Castro Cubans fought to and wholeheartedly embrace
ber 1959, he signed a treaty break out of the beachhead. the Soviet Union and Marxist-
with Moscow for the Soviet They were hampered by the Leninist ideology. In his May
importation of Cuban sugar, lack of adequate training, Day 1961 address, Castro an-
formerly a valued U.S. im- weapons, and equipment. In nounced to hundreds of
port. The next year, he re- addition, President Kennedy thousands of his compatriots
quested and received Soviet refused to provide them with assembled in Havana that the
military equipment. On 3 air support for fear of making Cuban revolution was a
January 1961, President U.S. involvement in the "socialist" revolution.
Eisenhower finally severed enterprise apparent. Free
U.S. diplomatic relations with from opposition, Castro's tiny
Cuba. air force sank two of the in-
Even before that event, the vading force's ships, and
Eisenhower administration drove the rest out to sea,
began to consider the over- thereby denying the brigade
Rising Tensions in the Caribbean
T he Soviet military build-
up in Cuba soon fol-
lowed. As with other
third world nations like Egypt
provided a stable platform for
specially designed cameras.
The Soviet downing of Fran-
cis Gary Powers' U-2 over the
planes photographed Soviet
and bloc ships as they neared
Cuba. Photographic inter-
preters often could tell the
and Indonesia, Soviet arms Ural Mountains in 1960 with type and amount of military
shipments to Cuba came in SA-2 surface-to-air missiles material being transported by
stages, starting with small (SAM) restricted the planes' noting if the merchantman
arms and ending with aircraft operational flexibility, but the was high or low in the water
and warships. By the end of U-2s continued to fly over and by analyzing the cargo on
1961, the Soviets had Cuba and other areas that deck, whether stowed openly
provided the Cuban military lacked missile defenses. or crated.
with rifles, machine guns, American intelligence American intelligence
tanks, artillery, over thirty learned of Soviet anns ship- agents, friendly foreign na-
early-model MiG jet fighters, ments not only by U-2 flights tionals, and journalists also
and a few helicopters, over Cuba but through Navy, provided information about
transport planes, and small Coast Guard, and Marine Soviet activities in Cuba.
naval vessels. Corps observation of Soviet Throughout the spring and
The CIA obtained much of merchant vessels. Turkey- summer of 1962, these
its information on this build- based Navy detachments and sources reported the arrival in
up from the monthly flights of Sixth Fleet air patrol units Cuba of large numbers of
U-2 aircraft over Cuba. photographed Soviet and East- Soviet "technicians," who
Developed in the mid-1950s to ern Bloc vessels in the traveled under common Rus-
I gather intelligence on the Bosporus Strait and in the sian names to deceive U.S. in-
Soviet Union and the Com- Mediterranean, while Navy telligence. For instance,
f munist countries of eastern patrol squadrons based a t Marshal Sergi Biryuzov ap-
Europe, the U-2 flew a t Naval Station (NS), Bermuda, peared on one passenger list
I 70,000 feet, where Soviet and Naval Air Station (NAS), as "the engineer Petrov."
fighters could not operate ef- Jacksonville, Florida, over- These men were sent to
fectively. The aircraft also had flew ships in the Atlantic. remote parts of the island,
tremendous range and Coast Guard and Marine where they selected and
I NHC 5-446-B(1)
A Navy patrol plane photographed the Soviet freighter Krasnogradas she steamed for Cuba in September 1962, probably carry-
ing S S 4 missiles. U.S. and allied aircraft and ships closely monitored the passage of Soviet merchantmen through the Atlantic
and Caribbean.
p%a~nerB missile sites and year5U,S. intelligence iden-
other military installations tified htsr Soviet r e ~ m e n t z a l
meant $0 accommodate incorn- combat groaps in @&a,
ing Soviet arms and '"tech- The increase in Soviet ac-
nicians." Press sewice photos tivity? including $he possible
revealed t h a t many of t h e lat- arrival of missiles in Cutsa,
t e r were young, fit men with wonpied CIA Director J O ~A.H P
short htiir-learly soldiers &f~Cone; c o n s e ~ e n t l yhe~
out of uniform. Later that doubled t h e number of 0-2
missions to two per month. Naval intelligence also formation, the Pentagon or-
These flights, however, did reported on the sighting of a dered Navy Fighter Squadron
not confirm the presence of Soviet-built Komar-class (VF) 41 to NAS Key West,
any missiles. guided missile boat off the Florida. Manned by some of
While photographic recon- Cuban port of Mariel. Using the best Navy pilots and
naissance discovered nothing the U-2 photography taken 29 equipped with state-of-the-art
untoward, Cuban agents and August, the Americans con- F4H-1 Phantom IIs, VF-41
refugees began reporting that firmed the presence of 13 was one of the best intercep-
Soviet SA-2 antiaircraft mis- Soviet-built patrol vessels tor squadrons in the U.S.
siles might be in Cuba. there, including seven Navy.
Despite the lack of clear proof, Komars. These vessels sub- Developments in other
McCone concluded that SA-2s stantially improved the coas- trouble spots of the world
would soon be deployed on the tal defense capabilities of the heightened Soviet-U.S. ten-
island, and on 22 August so small Cuban Navy, which pre- sions. In late August, a U-2
informed the president. viously put to sea only a few aircraft unintentionally
Kennedy ordered another U-2 old World War I1 frigates and entered Soviet airspace over
mission, which the CIA exe- subchasers. Sakhalin Island on the
cuted on 29 August. When the Even these older vessels, USSR's Pacific coast.
information from this flight however, were not toothless. Khrushchev's government
was evaluated, in the words of On 30 August, two Cuban protested the "gross violation"
one analyst, "the sirens were frigates fired on an S2F Track- of the Soviet frontier and sug-
on and the red lights were er antisubmarine warfare gested that U-2 bases in
flashing." plane manned by a U.S. Great Britain, West Germany,
The photo intelligence con- Naval Reserve crew and Turkey, and Japan might be
firmed the presence of eight flying a training mission over at risk.
sites on the northern coast of international waters, 15 nauti- U.S. domestic politics also
Cuba east and west of cal miles from Cuba. The Ken- added to the growing interna-
Havana that would soon ac- nedy administration lodged a tional anxiety. In the midst of
commodate SAMs. Analysts diplomatic protest with Cuba, a midterm Congressional elec-
decided that these sites were stating that in the future, tion, Senator Kenneth Keating
the beginnings of an overall, U.S. armed forces would (R-NY),although having no of-
integrated air defense net- "employ all means necessary ficial access to intelligence,
work for Cuba, not just for their own protection." publicly stated his belief that
defenses for specific locations. Castro personally denied there were Soviet SAMs and
McCone concluded that the Cuban involvement in the troops in Cuba. Keating
principal target for the SAMs episode but also used the oc- accused the Kennedy admini-
would be his U-2s. The 29 casion to remind the world stration of covering up this
August images also revealed a that Cuba's airspace had been information. Other members
missile site that overlooked violated numerous times by of Congress called for a U.S.
several possible amphibious foreign military aircraft; this blockade of Cuba to compel
landing areas near the city of was an obvious reference to Soviet withdrawal from the
Banes in eastern Cuba. A U-2 the CIA'S U-2s.The 5 Septem- island. Some Democratic lead-
mission flown on 5 September ber mission, flown over east- ers demanded even more
located additional sites near ern and central Cuba, also aggressive action by Kennedy.
likely landing areas. Intel- revealed the presence of first- Faced with challenges in
ligence analysts eventually line, Soviet-made MiG-21 the domestic and internation-
deduced that these installa- fighters. These planes had the al political arenas, and in pos-
tions contained SS-2-C coas- potential to shoot down a U-2. session of the most recent
tal defense missiles. In response to this new in- aerial intelligence, Kennedy
A newspaper map of military and naval lnstallatlonsIn Cuba, October 1962. U.S. intelligence identified Soviet-made Komar-class
missile boats at the port of Marie1 and 11-28 Beagle bombers at airfields near Holguin and San Julian (called Guane on this map).
responded to the Cuban prob- ground missiles. Kennedy Dean Rusk and National
lem. In statements to the reminded Dobrynin that the Security Advisor McGeorge
press on 4 and 13 September, United States monitored Bundy argued that the infor-
the president revealed that Soviet activity in Cuba close- mation obtained from the mis-
the United States knew ly, and that the deployment of sions was not worth the
Soviet-supplied SAMs and offensive missiles on the is- military and political risks.
other defensive weapons had land would cause severe reper- Even though the CIA Deputy
been deployed to Cuba. He im- cussions. In a meeting with Director, Army Major General
plied that the United States Adlai Stevenson, the U.S. Am- Marshall "Pat" Carter and
could tolerate their presence. bassador to the United Na- Robert Kennedy disagreed
He also stated that there was tions (UN), Dobrynin again strongly, the president
no substantive evidence of of- affirmed that no offensive directed that the missions
fensive weapons in Cuba. The weapons would be placed in over Cuba be stopped and
president added sternly, Cuba. that henceforth the U-2s fly
"were it to be otherwise, the Dobrynin's communications out of harm's way over the sea
gravest issues would arise." were part of a program of and parallel to the Cuban
During the first week of deception orchestrated from coastline. These flights along
September, Soviet Ambas- Moscow to reduce U.S. the periphery brought back lit-
sador Anatoly Dobrynin met suspicions. Khrushchev kept tle useful information and
with several members of the Dobrynin in the dark about revealed nothing about opera-
Kennedy administration. Ac- the action long after approv- tions in the interior of the is-
ting on directions from ing deployment of the offen- land.
Khrushchev, Dobrynin told sive missiles to Cuba. Navy reconnaissance of
Attorney General Robert F. Despite Robert Kennedy's Soviet merchantmen, how-
Kennedy, the president's statement regarding the con- ever, continued to pay
younger brother, that the tinued close surveillance of dividends. An aerial
Soviet buildup in Cuba was of Cuba, the presence there of photograph of the Soviet
no significance. He assured SAMs and fighters increased freighter Kasimov showed ten
Kennedy that no offensive the danger to the U-2s. At a long, thin boxes on deck.
weapons would be placed in White House meeting on 10 Photo interpreters, practicing
Cuba, specifically ground-to- September, Secretary of State the mysterious art of "crateol-
ogy," quickly identified the planes would eventually ar- tions for these planes to other
boxes as containers for the rive in Cuba. The 11-28s had countries. Thus, although
fuselages of 11-28 Beagle light an operating radius of 750 President Kennedy was un-
jet bombers, long i n the Soviet miles and the capacity to comfortable with this news,
inventory. The arrival of these
i:
carry 6,500 pounds of nuclear McCone and other advisors
aircraft was not unexpected or conventional bombs. The downplayed the threat.
for the CIA had believed for CIA reported that the Soviets
some months that these never provided nuclear muni-
v ,cca a;?:
T mt
- .-4,d
U.S. ~ i l i t a Preparations
r~
'm
he president was not Cuba but never exam-
The Joint Chiefs of Staff in the fall of
1962, IeR to rlght: Gen. Earle G. Wheeler,
Army Chief of Staff; Gen. Cuds E. Le-
ready to sound the ined his military's various May, Air Force Chief of Staff; Army Gen.
alarm over Soviet ac- planning documents or asked Maxwell D. Taylor, Chairman of the Joint
Chiefs Of -ft; GeorgeW- Ander-
,
tions i n the Caribbean. Cer- probing questions about how Adma
NHC 5-446-B(2)
This aerial photo was one of several captured by an Air Force U-2 plane from an altitude of 14 miles on 14 October 1962. When
Arthur Lundahl of the CIA showed it to President Kennedy two days later, it started the Cuban Missile Crisis. The CIA's skilled
photo interpreters, using special light tables and stereoscopes, verified that the Soviets had this MRBM site under construction.
14 October
out another MRBM site and Sandals and Skeans
another installation whose
weapons could not yet be de- O n 14 October 1962, U.S. photoreconnaissance aircraft
termined. Kennedy listened to discovered that Soviet military personnel were hard at work
the presentation calmly. But, on the island of Cuba constructing a launch site to accommo-
according to Army General date nuclear-armed, medium range ballistic missiles
Maxwell D. Taylor, only re- (MRBM). This information sounded the alarm in Washington
cently appointed Chairman of and touched off .the Cuban Missile Crisis, the most serious
the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Soviet-American confrontation of the Cold War.
president displayed a "rather The USSR had already set up intercontinental ballistic mis-
deep but controlled anger at siles on its own soil by 1962, but these weapons and their nu-
the duplicity of the Soviet offi- clear warheads could only reach certain areas of the
cials who had tried to deceive continental United States. MRBMs positioned in Cuba, a t one
him." The Cuban Missile point only 90 miles from Florida, were a different matter. Dur-
Crisis had begun in earnest. ing the summer of 1962, the Soviets carried out Khrushchev's
To gather more information plan to secretly transport SS-4 Sandal missiles to Cuba.
on Soviet activities in Cuba, Forty-two arrived by October, and intelligence officers esti-
Secretary of Defense Robert mated that each Sandal carried a two or three-megaton nu-
S. McNamara ordered the exe- clear warhead, devices sixty times more powerful than the
cution not only of additional bombs dropped on Japan in 1945. The SS-4s could strike
high-level U-2 flights but low- within two miles of a target from 1,020 nautical miles away.
level reconnaissance. Chief of This put a t risk the entire southeastern United States, includ-
Naval Operations (CNO),Ad- ing the cities of Dallas, Texas; St. Louis, Missouri; and Wash-
miral George W. Anderson, ington, D.C.-the nation's capital. In addition, the Sandal
concurred with Art Lundahl's could hit the Panama Canal, all of Central America, and part
obsel-vation that the Navy's of northern South America.
Light Photographic Squadron Even more threatening to the United States and her neigh-
(VFP) 62 was best suited for bors in the Western Hemisphere were the Soviet SS-5 Skean
the latter mission. VFP-62, intermediate range ballistic missiles for which four launching
based at NAS Cecil Field out- sites (four launchers and eight missiles per site) were being
side Jacksonville, Florida, built in Cuba when the crisis unfolded. The Central Intelli-
was then perhaps the finest gence Agency estimated that these weapons each carried a
low-level photoreconnaissance three to five-megaton warhead that was several hundred
organization in the U.S. mili- times more powerful than the Hiroshima bomb. The Skean
tary. The men of the Navy could reach out to 2,200 nautical miles and impact within two
squadron were especially miles of its intended target. Hence, from Cuba, the Soviets
skilled in navigation, instru- could devastate any city or military site as far north as
ment flying, and intelligence- Hudson Bay, Canada, and as far south as Lima, Peru. Fortu-
collection techniques, and nately, none of these weapons reached Cuba. However, even
their aircraft, F8U-1P Crusad- as Kennedy announced establishment of the quarantine, the
ers, were equipped with spe- Soviet freighter Poltava, with launch rings for the SS-5
cial cameras. Admiral stowed on her deck, and perhaps missiles in her holds, was en
Anderson alerted the squad- route to the island. Khrushchev might have been less willing
ron to ready a detachment for to compromise if his deception was discovered after these le-
operations over Cuba. By the thal weapons had become operational.
l % h , the squadron had de-
ployed six F8U-1P Crusaders
along with ground support
personnel to NAS Key West.
Several days later, a detach-
ment from Marine Composite
Reconnaissance Squadron 2
joined VF'P-62 at Jackson-
ville.
Meanwhile, the president
assembled in Washington a
group of defense, intelligence,
and diplomatic officials, and
other trusted advisors to as-
sist him in handling the cri-
sis. The Executive Committee
of the National Security Coun-
cil, or EXCOM, included
Rusk, McNamara, McCone,
Bundy, General Taylor, Robert
Kennedy, former Secretary of
State Dean Acheson, and Vice
President Lyndon B. Johnson,
as well as other specialists.
This high-powered group dis-
cussed the various options
and recommended certain
courses of action, but Presi-
dent Kennedy made the key
Based in Cuba, Soviet SS-4 Sandal MRBMs could hit targets in the southern and east-
decisions. ern regions of the U.S., while the even more fearsome SS-5 Skean IRBMs could strike
The president weighed sites in most of North America and northern South America.
three options regarding the
U.S. response to Krush- change for U.S. concessions. sole military officer present.
cheds opening gambit. The After some debate, all mem- This former Army Chief of
first option was military: bers of the EXCOM agreed on Staff and Special Military
launch air actions against one point: the Soviet Union Representative of the Presi-
Cuba, as embodied in OPLAN must withdraw its offensive dent was highly regarded by
3 12. There was a great likeli- missiles from Cuba. Kennedy. Taylor did not press
hood that these operations Feeling Khrushchev had for the military option, as
would be followed by the am- willfully deceived them over some of the chiefs of staff
phibious and airborne land- the missiles, the president might have had they been pre-
ings laid out in OPLAN 3 16. and most of his advisors im- sent. In any case, the major-
The second option suggested mediately rejected the third ity of the EXCOM members
the combined use of military option. The military action were cautious about launch-
pressure and diplomatic nego- had several adherents, par- ing combat operations. No one
tiation, compelling the Sovi- ticularly McCone, Acheson, could predict how the Soviets
ets to remove their offensive and Taylor. But, Rusk, Bundy, or the Cubans would react. At
missiles from the island. The and several others feared that this stage, however, the group
third choice was a different the air strikes would cause a did not rule out a military re-
combination of force and nego- large number of civilian and sponse. There was consensus
tiation, with more emphasis Soviet casualties. As Chair- that the second option held
on inducing the Soviets to man of the Joint Chiefs of the most promise - that the
withdraw their weapons in ex- Staff, General Taylor was the United States use military
pressure, short of outright
hostilities, to force Khrush-
chev to back down.
As the EXCOM analyzed
the pros and cons of various
actions, new intelligence
reached them that raised the
anxiety level. The U-2mis-
sions flown on 17 October re-
vealed construction activity in
a n area, just west of Havana,
that ~ h o t intemreters
o soon
ideniified as a launching site LC LC-U9-8639 On 18 October, the president met with
for Soviet SS-5 Skean IRBMs. Soviet Ambassador Anatoli Dobrynin
and Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei
These weapons were more ac- Gromyko (center) at the White House.
curate and powerfd than the In the diplomatic arena, on Kennedy was in possession of photos
SS-4 and had twice the range. 18 October, the president met revealing the construction of Soviet bal-
The following day, NPIC con- with Ambassador Dobrynin listic missile sites in Cuba, but he was
not yet ready to confront Gromyko with
firmed that the Soviets had and Soviet Foreign Minister this evidence. Gromyko, however, as-
two IRBM and six MRBM Andrei Gromyko. Kennedy re- sured Kennedy that no offensive weap-
sites under construction. peated the warnings he made ons had been or would be placed in
Cuba, prompting the president to later
refer to the Soviet minister as "that lying
NAH. Cuba Ow.1962
bastard."
A map of the Caribbean Basin in the early 1960s. The quarantine lines were both located east of the Bahamas and north of Puerto
Rico, in the upper center of the map. The carrier task force (Task Force 135) operated in the waters around Jamaica.
nerable few acres of land near
the southeastern tip of Cuba.
The U.S. Navy had operated
from "GITMO" since acquir-
ing the former coaling station
from Spain in 1898. The gar-
rison consisted of a relatively
small force of three Marine
rifle companies, backed by
limited artillery and air sup-
port. Navy bluejackets
ashore, organized into addi-
tional rifle companies after
the Bay of Pigs, supported the
main line of resistance.
LC PRP LC-U9-8762 # l o
Seabees from Naval Mobile
Construction Battalions 4 and Top: Marine infantry from one of the two
battalion landing teams airlifted by Air
7 manned perimeter positions Force C-135 transports to Leeward Point
and served 8 1 mm mortars, air facility prepare to reinforce other Ma-
and a t least forty Cubans rines and sailors manning the perimeter
from the base work force at Guantanamo. Middle: Navy nurses, on
the staff of Guantanamo Naval Hospital,
volunteered to serve as shared the dangers of service at this
"second man" on police American outpost on the southern end
patrols of the facility. Still, of Cuba. Bottom: On 22 October, U.S. na-
val patrol planes operating over the
the defenders of Guantanamo, broad Atlantic from their air facility in
commanded by Rear Admiral the Azores discovered the rendezvous
Edward J. O'Donnell, would of a Soviet Zulu-class submarine and
the tanker Terek.
be hard pressed to hold the
base if Castro sent strong
ground forces against it.
Brigadier General William
R. Collins, USMC, had ar-
rived on 20 October to take USN 1068403
A Navy bluejacket helps Guantanamo de-
pendents disembark from USNS Upshur
at Norfolk, Virginia. In one day, 22 Octo-
ber, four Navy ships evacuated the 2,400
dependents from the threatened base in
Cuba.
A boat bearing a boarding party makes its way from the destroyer Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. (DD 850), named for the president's
older brother killed in World War II, to the Lebanese freighter Marucla. The Kennedy administration chose to board and search
this merchantman on 26 October as a demonstration to Moscow that any ship en route to Cuba was subject to inspection by the
quarantine force.
Navy Photoreconnaissance Mission
S o o n after U-2 high-flying aircraft brought officer, Commander Bob Koch, also known as
back the startling information that Khrushchev "Daddy Photo," supervised the development and
intended to install offensive missiles in Cuba, initial interpretation of the pictures and later
the president's chief advisors called for more dispatched them to Washington.
detailed intelligence of Soviet and Cuban forces Still in his plane, Ecker was ordered to
and activities on the island. At Washington's proceed immediately to the nation's capital.
direction, Admiral Robert L. Dennison, Com- Flying at Mach .8, the F8U-1P soon arrived at
mander in Chief, U.S. Atlantic Command, or- Andrews Air Force Base outside Washington. A
dered the deployment to Naval Air Station, Key helicopter then whisked him to the Pentagon
West, Florida, of six planes from the Navy's where, still in his flight suit but relieved of his
Light Photographic Squadron W P ) 62, nick- side arm, he was taken in secret to a high
named "Fightin' Photo." Commander William B. security area. To the surprise of the Navy com-
Ecker, a combat veteran of World War 11, led the mander, General Maxwell D. Taylor, Chairman
unit, which consisted of over 500 officers and of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), and Admiral
men and 26 F8U-1P Crusader photoreconnais- George W. Anderson, Chief of Naval Operations,
sance planes. Two-plane sections of the appeared and ushered him into the JCS meeting
squadron normally served on each of the Atlan- room, the "tank."
tic Command's five attack aircraft carriers. Ecker apologized for being sweaty and smelly,
Shortly after the squadron's 19 October ar- which prompted General Curtis LeMay, the
rival at Key West, situated less than 100 miles gruff Air Force Chief of Staff, to interject, "God
from Cuba, Ecker received orders to initiate low- damn it, you've been flying an airplane now
level photoreconnaissance missions over the is- haven't you? You ought to sweat and smell. Sit
land. Crusaders piloted by Ecker and five other down."
naval aviators took off from the naval facililty on Thereafter, Ecker described to the assembled
the 23rd for the first mission. Flying in three, chiefs his firsthand impressions of the site he
two-plane "loose deuce" sections, the detachment and Wilhemy had overflown. He observed that
traversed the treacherous Florida Strait in ten the Cubans apparently had not fired at his
minutes and entered Cuban airspace. Ecker and planes and that there was a mass of equipment,
his wingman, Lieutenant Bruce Wilhemy, quick- much of it camouflaged, at the site. Ecker recom-
ly checked to make sure their navigation was ac- mended that they wait for the film to get more
curate and headed for the targets assigned them. information.
Approaching the site at 350 knots and 400 feet The intelligence return from this and sub-
off the ground, the pilots switched on their sequent VFP-62 missions over Cuba proved vital
cameras. In less than 30 seconds, the jets to U.S. decision makers. The president and his
streaked over the target area, their onboard advisors received timely information on the loca-
equipment recorded the scene below, and they tion, installation status, and later the removal of
banked for home. missiles and bombers from the island. In recogni-
The aerial photographic mission, however, tion of the squadron's stellar performance during
was far from over. Instead of landing at Key the crisis, President John F. Kennedy personally
West, the six aircraft set down further north at presented Ecker with the Navy Unit Commenda-
the squadron's permanent base, Naval Air Sta- tion. I n addition, Ecker, along with 11other
tion, Cecil Field, Florida, near Jacksonville. The VFP-62 pilots and four attached Marine Corps
pilots surrendered their film to waiting aviators, received the Distinguished Flying
photographer's mates who rushed it to nearby Cross for their flights over Cuba.
facilities for processing. The squadron executive
NAH, Cuba Ops. 1962
This photo of an MRBM site at San Cristobal taken on 27 October by a Navy Crusader, from an altitude of about 500 feet, clearly
shows that the missile battery is operational. The Cuban Missile Crisis reached a climax that day.
T he crisis had passed The situation remained naval intelligence still was
and the world soon tense at sea. On 29 October, able to identify the unit as
breathed easier, but the Charles E! Cecil (DDR 835) lo- F 945. Because the submarine
international confrontation cated and stayed on top of a did not submerge again once
would not end until both sides submerged Soviet submarine free of the quarantine area,
carried out their ends of the (contact C-20), despite the the normal practice, the
agreement. And, until the end best efforts of the boat to Americans concluded that the
of October, Washington was evade her pursuer. Finally, vessel had suffered a serious
not certain that the Soviets after enduring thirty-five mechanical failure. Thus, as
would do so. Low-level recon- hours of constant surveillance the boat shaped a north-
naissance revealed that while with active sonar, the Foxtrot- easterly course on the surface,
some missile erectors were class boat surfaced and U.S. naval vessels and
taken from the launch pads, proceeded due east. Patrol aircraft had ample oppor-
the construction and aircraft shadowed and tunity to photograph and ob-
camouflaging of support photographed the vessel, iden- serve their maritime
facilities and equipment tified as Soviet submarine opponent.
proceeded. In addition, Soviet F 911. Another problem that
technicians continued to un- Another boat (contact C-18), developed was Castro's dis-
crate and assemble more of trailed by Keppler, surfaced pleasure over the Soviet
the 11-28bombers, which on 30 October. The sub- retrenchment and opposition
Washington considered offen- marine's crew had painted out to the terms of the U.S.-Soviet
sive weapons. the numbers on her sail, but understanding. Castro stated
that agreements between the Aerial photographs resulting Washington considered it es-
U.S. and the Soviet Union did from that day's low-level sential, given Khrushchev's
not apply to Cuba. He reconnaissance missions over earlier duplicity, to verlfy the
threatened to shoot down any the island revealed an removal of Soviet offensive
U.S. reconnaissance aircraft astonishing number of chan- weapons from Cuba. In fact, it
spotted over the island. ges. Overnight, the Soviets was vital that the United
Moreover, in contrast to the had removed many of the mis- States be confident that all
Soviets, the Cubans would not siles and erectors, crated their missiles, Beagle bombers,
allow on-site inspection of the launching stands, and even and other systems were
missile sites in their country begun the destruction of the withdrawn. Moreover, poten-
by a neutral party. The most launch pads. Clearly, the tially dangerous Soviet sub-
Castro would agree to was a Soviets were complying with marines still prowled the
30 October visit to Havana by the Kennedy-Khrushchev waters near the quarantine
U Thant, Secretary General of agreement. Furthermore, line and in the Atlantic and
the United Nations. despite Castro's hostile had to be closely watched. In
As Washington analyzed rhetoric, his forces did not fire this effort, which lasted
the Soviet and Cuban reac- on the Navy, Marine, and Air through the end of November,
tions to the Kennedy-Khrush- Force photoreconnaissance the U.S. Navy was a prominent
chev understanding, naval planes. player.
forces maintained their vigil While these developments Khrushchev's repre-
in the Atlantic and the Carib- were encouraging, sentatives at the United
bean. U.S. and Canadian
units continued to monitor
the broad expanse of the At-
lantic. On 31 October, the
destroyer escort Calcaterra
(DER 390) took over from
Mills (DER 383) the shadowing
of Soviet tanker Terek. In addi-
tion, to lower the number of
ships needed at sea, Admhal
Dennison ordered the fleet to
move the quarantine line
closer to Cuba. During 30-31
October, Task Force 136 took
up positions on the new line,
codenamed "Chestnut," that
ran northwest from Puerto
Rico along the Atlantic side of
the Bahamas. An antisub-
marine HUK group operated
about 150 miles northeast of
the center of this new line.
Finally, on 1 November,
Navy, Marine, and Air Force avlators discuss their low-level reconnaissancemi*
American intelligence gained sions over Cuba, reflecting the multiservice nature of operations during the missile
indications that the Soviets crisis. Pictured left to right: Lt. Col. Joseph O'Grady, commander of the Air Force's
and the Cubans would adhere 29th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron; Cdr. William B. Ecker, who led the Navy's
VFP-62; and Capt. John I. Hudson of Marine Reconnaissance Composite Squadron 2.
to the terms of the Kennedy- Behind them is the nose of an Air Force RF-101 Voodoo and the forward section of a
Khrushchev understanding. Navy FBU-1P Crusader.
Nations reported that the ber, Navy, Marine, and Air through the quarantine area
Soviets had deployed 42 Force low-level reconnais- but in the Mediterranean and
MRBMs to the island but that sance planes flew numerous even the Black Sea. Admiral
establishment of the U.S. missions over the Cuban Anderson wanted to make
quarantine had stopped the launch sites, roads to the sure he could tell the
delivery of any IRBMs. With coast, and major ports. These president that all the missiles
regard to verifying the dis- flights clearly recorded the were "back in Russia."
mantling of the weapon sys- movement of the MRBMs and Most Soviet merchant ship
tems and their withdrawal by related equipment to the captains cooperated with the
sea, the diplomats stated that ports and the loading of surveillance and inspection
Soviet authorities would as- Soviet merchantmen. regime, but some tested the
sist the U.S. surveillance ef- On 5 November, the first system. For example, the
fort. In short order, the Soviet ships sailed from master of freighter Bratsk
Soviets supplied a list of ships Mariel, and during the tried unsuccessfully to avoid
carrying the missiles from remainder of the week, the alongside inspection area.
Cuba and their departure another seven Soviet ships In another instance, the
dates. Furthermore, the carrying missiles did the master of the freighter Vol-
Soviets promised to carry the same. While several vessels goles refused several requests
missiles as deck cargo and did not depart when U.S. offi- to remove tarpaulins covering
allow U.S. Navy ships and cials were told they would, missiles stowed on his deck
aircraft to move in close for ac- there was no way for the when U.S. destroyer Vesole
curate observation. The U.S. Soviets to evade the (DDR 878) came alongside.
State Department then in- "alongside" inspection force. Vesole's commanding officer,
formed the Soviets of selected U.S. naval surface and air
"alongside" points where U.S. units observed each of the Soviet freighter Bratsk, photographed
Navy ships would inspect the missile-carrying ships closely. near the Bahamas by Lt. Kelsey Good-
man from his HSS-2 helicopter of
outgoing Soviet freighters. The Navy monitored the ships Wasp's Helicopter Anti-Submarine
Beginning in early Novem- not only on their passage Squadron 3, carries military vehicles
and covered missiles aft of the lifeboats.
NAH. Cuba Om. 1962
An Air Force RF-101 Voodoo, whose
shadow can be seen at the bottom of
this aerial photo, overflies a Soviet
freighter, probably Fin'k Kurchatovk, in
Casilda Port, Cuba, on 6 November
1962. Seen on her deck are six tarpaulin-
covered missiles. By such means, U.S.
intelligence verified the removal of So-
viet offensive weapons from the island.
USN 711204
As a Navy P2V Neptune armed with general purpose bombs overflies the scene, U.S.
destroyer Vesole steams alongside the Soviet freighter Volgolesto get a close look at
her deck cargo. Only after U.S. authorities contacted Soviet representatives at the
UN did the master of this freighter have his crewmen remove the tarpaulins to reveal
dismantled mi?-iln-
44 USN 1063366
Alapayevsk. Although listed
by the Soviets as a missile car-
rier, Alapayevsk carried only
support vehicles on deck. Non-
sailors, probably missile tech-
nicians, were on the deck
sunning themselves. Crew-
men of the American aircraft
exchanged pleasantries with
the Soviets and one officer
even lowered a line to which if"- #
was fastened his Navy tie
clasp. In return, the Soviets
sent up a bottle of vodka.
The arrival of additional
naval forces in the quarantine
area made it even less likely
that hostile action on their Adm. Robert L. Dennison awards Lt. (jg) William L. Taylor, a VFP-62 pilot, the Distin-
part would have been guished Flying Cross for his execution of low-level reconnaissance flights over
suicidal. Cuba. Taylor and his comrades in the Navy's aviation squadrons demonstrated great
bravery and professional skill in their missions, which were critical to the successful
In addition, the U.S. forces resolution of the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962.
Freedom of the sea also al- assure Kennedy that the patrol squadrons and surface
lowed Canadian and British United States had a decided ships enabled Washington to
naval units to take part in the edge over the Soviet Union in verify Soviet compliance with
surveillance effort without terms of nuclear weapons. the terms of the Kennedy-
negotiating a political agree- CIA and Air Force U-2s un- Khrushchev understanding
ment. Moreover, the fleet was masked Khrushchev's ploy to that resolved this most terrify-
able to remain on station-ln- establish Cuba as a launching ing crisis of the Cold War.
dependence operated for 54 pad for medium and inter- The president and the na-
days at sea-because of con- mediate-range missiles and tion were grateful for the
tinuous replenishment by bombers. Low-level reconnais- Navy's contribution to the
naval logistic ships. This sance planes, especially the peaceful resolution of the
capability made it possible for Navy's first-rate mits, sup- Cuban Missile Crisis. The
the president to mount and plied the EXCOM with sailors and aircrewmen of
maintain the de facto block- critical intelligence on Soviet over 250 warships, aviation
ade of Cuba. and Cuban combat forces and squadrons, and support units
Intelligence collection, in- defenses on the island. They earned the Armed Forces Ex-
cluding that done by the also monitored the disman- peditionary Medal. As Ad-
Navy, proved to be another tling, transportation to ports, miral Anderson promised, the
vital resource for the president and loading onto merchant- Navy did not let the president
in his management of the men of the worrisome down.
Cuban Missile Crisis. Satel- MRBMs and Il-28 bombers.
lites and U-2 aircraft helped Finally, Navy long-range
Acknowledgements
The author would like to acknowledge the as- ties, including Sandra K. Russell, editor,
sistance of several groups and individuals who Charles C. Cooney, art director, and Joan A.
aided in the preparation of this work. The Frasher, typesetter, Naval Aviation News
staffs of the Prints and Photographs Division Branch; Chuck Haberlein and Ed Finney,
and the Map and Geography Division, both of Photo Section; Gina Akers, John L. Hodges,
the Library of Congress, and the National Ar- Kathleen M. Lloyd and Mike Walker, Opera-
chives Still Picture Branch provided critical tional Archives; John C. Reilly, Jr., and Doreen
materials for the project. I am especially grate- T. German, Ships' History Branch; Ella Nar-
ful to Dr. Dean C. Allard, Director of Naval gele, Information Security Specialist; Glenn E.
History; Captain Clete Wise, USN, Deputy Di- Helm, Navy Department Library; John
rector; and Dr. William S. Dudley, Senior His- Barnett, Navy Art Collection Branch; and
torian, for their continued support of this Steven D. Hill, Naval Aviation History
project. The series editor, Dr. Edward J. Branch.
Marolda, provided immeasurable assistance The advice, information, and comments of-
and support in preparing this first volume of a fered by my colleagues in the Contemporary
new series. My thanks also go t o Professor History Branch-Jeffrey G. Barlow, Robert J.
Betty Miller Unterberger of the Secretary of Cressman, Richard A. Russell, Robert J.
the Navy's Advisory Committee; Commander Schneller, and Gary E. Weir-were of inestima-
Joseph F. Bouchard, USN; Captain William B. ble value. Most importantly, I want to thank
Ecker, USN (Ret.); Sean Maloney; Dino A. my wife, Ruth, herself a historian. Despite the
Brugioni; and Beatriz Betancourt Hardy for proximity of our wedding date, she generously
their comments and advice. My coworkers in reviewed and commented on the early drafts,
the Naval Historical Center also provided tre- substantially improving and clarifying the
mendous assistance in their various special- author's sometimes arcane account.
About the Author
Curtis A. Utz is currently a historian in the
Naval Historical Center's Contemporary His-
tory Branch. He graduated from the Univer-
sity of Maryland where he earned a Bachelor
of Arts degree in history in 1984. He served as
a historical interpretation technician with the
National Park Service and a n intern at the
Srnithsonian's National Air and Space
Museum. In 1989, he completed a Master of
Arts degree in history at the University of
Maryland. Mr. Utz has worked as a free-lance
military historian and researcher. The
Maryland Historian has published his works.
Behind Mr. Utz is the destroyer Barry (DD
933), a ship on permanent display a t the
Washington Navy Yard and a veteran of
Cuban Missile Crisis operations.
Suggested Readings
Abel, Elie. The Missile Crisis. Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1966.
Brugioni, Dino A. Eyeball to Eyeball: The Inside Story of the Cuban Missile Crisis. New York: Random House,
1991.
Garthoff, Raymond L. Reflections on the Cuban Missile Crisis. Washington: Brookings Institute, 1987.
'The Cuban Missile Crisis: Oral History." Naval History, Winter 1992.
Young, Maj. John M. When the Russians Blinked: The U.S.Maritime Response to the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Washington: History and Museum Division, U.S. Marine Corps, 1991.