About book Operation Overflight: The U-2 Spy Pilot Tells His Story For The First Time (1970)
On May 1, 1960, Francis Gary Powers took off from an air force base in Pakistan on an overflight of the Soviet Union in a U-2 spy plane. Detected by Soviet radar over Sverdlovsk, Powers' aircraft was targeted by many missiles and interceptor aircraft. Ultimately, Powers' plane was struck by a near miss and he was forced to bail out over the Soviet Union. Standing trial in Moscow, Powers' was sentenced to ten years of captivity and labor.Powers spent 18 months in Soviet prisons after his capture. Upon his release to the United States, he received a luke-warm welcome and was criticized for his failure to destroy the aircraft and his failure to utilize a poisoned pin to kill himself and avoid capture. Powers was ultimately exonerated by the Central Intelligence Agency and commended for his performance. Years after his release, he was awarded the Intelligence Star.Many years after the U-2 incident Powers began to tell his side of the story. In Operation Overflight, Powers provides an inside look at his training, the overflight of the Soviet Union, his capture and interrogation, and his return to the United States. Peppered with portions of transcripts from his trial in the Soviet Union and the hearings held in the United States upon his release, Operation Overflight provides a unique view of the Powers' story and leaves the reader with a remarkable impression of bravery and courage in very intense circumstances.Interestingly, Operation Overflight reveals the limited interrogation training received by U-2 pilots. For example, Powers recalls his counter-interrogation training being limited to an instruction to tell the Soviets everything because "they're going to get it out of you anyway." Despite this ominous instruction, Powell recounts how he embarked on a program of providing disinformation to his Soviet captors. Deciding calculated co-operation was key to his survival, Powers decided to give disinformation sprinkled with truth to his captors. His goal was to provide a "foundation of truthfulness" that would lead the Soviets away from more sensitive information.Powers also provides interesting insight on Soviet curiosity by discussing the questions his captors never asked. Despite knowing he was assigned to Strategic Air Command, Powers' interrogators did not question him on his knowledge of American nuclear weapons or tactics. This surprised the captive as he was quite worried about the possibility of being caught in a web of lies based on earlier answers claiming a simplicity of information.While Operation Overflight provides a ground level view of the plight of captured American agents in the Soviet Union, its limitations must be acknowledged. The book was written in 1970, ten years after Powers' U-2 was shot down. Unfortunately, this raises the specter of memories dulled by the passage of time.Moreover, the book's purpose included correcting the public's misconception of Powers caused by his failure to destroy the aircraft and his failure to commit suicide. While the United States Congress and the Central Intelligence Agency had already lauded his performance in captivity, the American public remained critical. Review of Operation Overflight must be viewed in conjunction with its purpose and possible bias.Nevertheless, Operation Overflight is a wonderful window into the Cold War. It allows the reader to observe a frontline Cold War warrior in unfathomable circumstances. Moreover, the book provides insight on Soviet motivations and actions. Despite its limitations, Operation Overflight is a wonderful addition to any bookshelf.- Phillip Visnansky- June 14, 2013- The Privateers - Clementine's Nest
The downing of Powers' U-2 in 1960 was headline news for a long time. It made us nervous and scared, it triggered the cancellation of an important U.S.-Soviet summit meeting and it made headline news out of a highly classified reconnaissance program. It also made President Eisenhower look foolish for denying the overflight of Soviet territory by U.S. aircraft. Here is the story from Powers showing what didn't make the evening news. He was made a scapegoat and his military career went directly into the dump. I hope that one day soon someone will do the requisite research to publish a comprehensive version of the "U-2 incident." Meanwhile, here's Powers' firsthand story.
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Teton County Library Call No: BIO POWERS FKevin's rating: 5 starsU.S. Concedes Flight Over Soviet, Defends Search For Intelligence; Russians Hold Downed Pilot As SpySo read the headline of the May 8, 1960 edition of the New York Times.Operation Overflight: A Memoir of the U-2 Incident by Francis Gary Powers is an invaluable first-hand account of one of the most controversial episodes of the entire Cold War. It chronicles Powers’ stranger than fiction experiences in the US Air Force, as a CIA contracted U-2 pilot, and in the Soviet prison where he was sent after his conviction by a Soviet court for espionage.On May 1, 1960 Francis Gary Powers’ U-2 spy plane was shot down by a Soviet SA-2 Guideline surface-to-air missile. Powers was overflying the Soviet Union in the CIA operated spy craft at an altitude of nearly 80,000 feet while on a flight that would have taken him from Pakistan to Norway. His mission was planned to have been the last overflight of the Soviet Union made by any American U-2. Powers’ flight, as was customary, was personally approved by President Dwight Eisenhower.Lockheed aviation’s famed “Skunk Works” design group created the U-2, part sub-sonic jet aircraft, part glider, specifically to soar high above existing Soviet air defenses and snap photographs of high value targets such as nuclear test and research facilities, air force installations, and rocket bases. Until the first U-2 flights in 1956, US intelligence estimates of Soviet capabilities, offensive and defensive, had been based largely on educated guesses made from within the US intelligence community. The photographic evidence provided by the U-2’s cameras provided the first hard evidence for analysts, and was invaluable in an era before spy satellites. For about four years, from 1956- mid 1960, the CIA was able to carry out the flights without incident.Soviet radio traffic and defensive posturing confirmed early on in the U-2 program that the Soviets could detect the U-2 flights. They were simply unable to stop them despite their best efforts. Soviet surface-to-air anti-aircraft missiles couldn’t fly high enough to reach the U-2s. Red Air Force MiG interceptors were incapable of reaching the U-2s at altitude before their engines flamed out in the thin air nearly 15 miles above the earth. Communist anti-aircraft artillery lacked the range and the accuracy to bring down a U-2. And, rather than admit to the world that they were incapable of stopping the flights, the Soviet leadership endured them until finally they were able to destroy Power’s U-2 in May of 1960.Powers survived the shoot down and the 80,000 foot trip back to earth in good order. He was captured by Soviet farmers soon after landing. He was turned over to the Soviet Army and in August of 1960 he stood trial for espionage. Powers was convicted by a Soviet court and sent to prison to serve a sentence of 10 years.Powers’ book is a must read for anyone interested in US-Soviet relations, the Cold War, and the geo-political climate of the 1950s and 1960s.
—AdultNonFiction Teton County Library
This could have easily been a James Bond novel, except of course, that it's all real. It's a no nonsense account of how Powers was approached, and eventually accepted, his job as a civilian CIA pilot. And later how he began over flying Russia (illegally) for intelligence gathering. He covers every aspect, from pre-flight, to his shoot down, capture, "trial", and imprisonment in clear, concise detail. What I also enjoyed was that he didn't hold anything back. He was a real man, with real problems, and after you're done with the book, you have a pretty good idea about his character, and the events he endured. Without giving to much more away, I'll say that it's a worth while read for enthusiasts of aviation, spy novels, or the cold war. I enjoyed it.
—Dustin Gaughran
