U-2 incident of 1960

E4495

Cold War incident diplomatic incident international crisis

The U-2 incident of 1960 was a Cold War crisis in which an American U-2 spy plane was shot down over the Soviet Union, severely damaging U.S.–Soviet relations and derailing a planned summit between their leaders.

Aliases (7)

1960 U-2 incident ×3
U-2 incident ×3
Sputnik crisis ×1
U-2 reconnaissance missions over the Soviet Union ×1
U-2 reconnaissance program ×1
U-2 spy plane incident ×1
US U-2 reconnaissance flights ×1

Statements (49)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	Cold War incident → diplomatic incident → international crisis →
aircraftOperator	Central Intelligence Agency → United States Air Force →
aircraftRole	high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft →
aircraftType	Lockheed U-2 →
alsoKnownAs	1960 U-2 incident → Powers incident → U-2 spy plane incident →
category	1960 in international relations → Aerial reconnaissance incidents → United States–Soviet Union relations →
cause	U.S. reconnaissance flight over Soviet territory →
conflictContext	Cold War →
countryInvolved	Soviet Union → United States →
date	1960-05-01 →
exchangeDate	1962-02-10 →
exchangeLocation	Glienicke Bridge, Berlin →
followedBy	greater reliance on reconnaissance satellites →
historicalSignificance	key turning point in late Eisenhower-era Cold War diplomacy →
initialUSResponse	claimed aircraft was a weather research plane →
intelligenceContext	U.S. aerial reconnaissance over Soviet strategic sites →
legalOutcomeForPilot	trial in Soviet Union →
location	near Sverdlovsk, Soviet Union →
mediaCoverage	extensive international press coverage →
pilot	Francis Gary Powers →
pilotExchange	Francis Gary Powers exchanged for Rudolf Abel →
pilotNationality	American →
pilotSentence	10 years imprisonment →
plannedMeetingParticipants	Charles de Gaulle → Dwight D. Eisenhower → Harold Macmillan → Nikita Khrushchev →
precededBy	series of U-2 overflights of Soviet territory →
propagandaImpact	embarrassment for United States →
result	U-2 spy plane shot down → capture of pilot Francis Gary Powers → collapse of Paris Summit of 1960 → severe deterioration of U.S.–Soviet relations →
shotDownBy	Soviet surface-to-air missile →
SovietLeaderAtTime	Nikita Khrushchev →
SovietResponse	publicly revealed captured pilot and wreckage →
strategicImpact	increased mistrust between superpowers → setback for Eisenhower’s policy of détente →
summitAffected	Paris Summit of 1960 →
USPresidentAtTime	Dwight D. Eisenhower →
weaponType	S-75 Dvina (SA-2 Guideline) missile →

Referenced by (15)

Subject (surface form when different)	Predicate
Powers incident ("U-2 incident") → Powers incident ("1960 U-2 incident") → U-2 incident of 1960 ("1960 U-2 incident") → U-2 incident of 1960 ("U-2 spy plane incident") →	alsoKnownAs
Allen Dulles → Dwight D. Eisenhower → Lockheed U-2 ("1960 U-2 incident") →	notableEvent
Bridge of Spies ("U-2 incident") →	basedOn
Cuban Missile Crisis ("US U-2 reconnaissance flights") →	discoveredBy
Soviet Air Defense Forces →	engagedIn
Paris Summit of 1960 →	hasPrecedingEvent
Eisenhower administration ("U-2 incident") →	inOfficeDuring
Francis Gary Powers ("U-2 reconnaissance missions over the Soviet Union") →	notableWork
Francis Gary Powers ("U-2 reconnaissance program") →	participantIn
Vanguard program ("Sputnik crisis") →	relatedEvent