{"id":25257537,"date":"2026-09-28T11:09:18","date_gmt":"2026-09-28T09:09:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/francis-gary-powers-u-2-shot-down-1960-sverdlovsk-glienicke-bridge\/"},"modified":"2026-09-28T11:18:24","modified_gmt":"2026-09-28T09:18:24","slug":"francis-gary-powers-u-2-shot-down-1960-sverdlovsk-glienicke-bridge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/francis-gary-powers-u-2-shot-down-1960-sverdlovsk-glienicke-bridge\/","title":{"rendered":"Francis Gary Powers: The U-2 Shot Down Over the Soviet Union"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>.et_pb_title_container h1.entry-title { padding-top: 40px !important; }<\/style>\r\n<p>It was May Day 1960, and the Soviet Union was celebrating. Somewhere above 70,000 feet over the Ural Mountains, a lone American pilot in a glider-winged jet was photographing its secrets. Francis Gary Powers had taken off from Peshawar in Pakistan on the most ambitious <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/u-2-dragon-lady\/\">U-2<\/a> mission yet: a flight right across the Soviet Union, to land in Norway.<\/p>\r\n<p>He never made it. Near Sverdlovsk, a Soviet S-75 surface-to-air missile, known to NATO as the SA-2 Guideline, exploded close enough to wreck his aircraft. Powers bailed out, was captured, and became the central figure in one of the most embarrassing episodes of the Cold War, and later in one of its most famous spy swaps.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<div style=\"background:#f4f6fa;border:1px solid #e2e7ee;padding:18px 22px;margin:22px 0 28px\"><p style=\"margin:0 0 10px;font-weight:700;color:#0d1117;font-size:17px\">Quick Facts<\/p><ul style=\"margin:0;padding-left:20px;line-height:1.75\"><li><strong>Date:<\/strong> 1 May 1960<\/li><li><strong>Pilot:<\/strong> Francis Gary Powers, CIA pilot and former USAF officer<\/li><li><strong>Aircraft:<\/strong> Lockheed U-2, serial 56-6693<\/li><li><strong>Route:<\/strong> Peshawar, Pakistan, across the Soviet Union, planned landing at Bod\u00f8, Norway<\/li><li><strong>Shot down by:<\/strong> S-75 Dvina (SA-2) surface-to-air missile near Sverdlovsk<\/li><li><strong>Sentence:<\/strong> Three years\u2019 imprisonment plus seven years\u2019 hard labour for espionage<\/li><li><strong>Released:<\/strong> 10 February 1962, exchanged for Soviet intelligence officer Rudolf Abel on the Glienicke Bridge<\/li><li><strong>Wreckage today:<\/strong> Central Armed Forces Museum, Moscow<\/li><\/ul><\/div>\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">The Flight Nobody Had Tried<\/h2>\r\n<p>By 1960 U-2s had been flying over the Soviet Union since 1956. It cruised above 70,000 feet, beyond the reach of Soviet fighters and, the Americans believed, of Soviet missiles too. The mission on 1 May was meant to be the boldest yet, covering targets including ICBM launch sites at Baikonur and Plesetsk and the plutonium plant at Chelyabinsk-65.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<div style=\"background:#f8f9fa;border-left:4px solid #1565c0;padding:20px 22px;margin:18px 0 24px;font-size:16px;line-height:1.7;display:flex;gap:20px;align-items:flex-start\"><div><em>&ldquo;The planned route would take us deeper into Russia than we had ever gone, while traversing important targets never before photographed.&rdquo;<\/em><div style=\"margin-top:10px;font-size:14px;color:#555\"><strong>Francis Gary Powers<\/strong> &mdash; in his memoir Operation Overflight (as quoted by Wikipedia)<\/div><\/div><\/div>\r\n<p>The Soviets were waiting. Air defence forces tracked the U-2 and threw everything they had at it. An unarmed, brand-new <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/su-9-su-11-fishpot\/\">Su-9<\/a> was even directed to ram it, but the speed difference was too great. Then the missile batteries around Sverdlovsk opened fire.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;margin:24px 0\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/i6GZYcLSSMQ\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Missiles Over Sverdlovsk<\/h2>\r\n<p>Near Kosulino, in the Urals, the first of the missiles fired at the U-2 struck the aircraft. Accounts differ on exactly how many were launched in total. In the confusion, another missile destroyed a Soviet <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/mig-19-farmer\/\">MiG-19<\/a> sent up to intercept the intruder. Its pilot, Sergei Safronov, ejected but died of his injuries.<\/p>\r\n<p>In the cockpit of the stricken U-2, Powers found himself in a violent spin. He had a self-destruct charge to destroy the camera and film, but according to his own account he delayed arming it until he was sure he could get out. Before he could reach it, g-forces threw him from the aircraft, and he came down by parachute to be captured.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<div style=\"background:#f8f9fa;border-left:4px solid #d32f2f;padding:20px 22px;margin:18px 0 24px;font-size:16px;line-height:1.7;display:flex;gap:20px;align-items:flex-start\"><div><em>&ldquo;What was left of the plane began spinning, only upside down, the nose pointing upward toward the sky, the tail down toward the ground.&rdquo;<\/em><div style=\"margin-top:10px;font-size:14px;color:#555\"><strong>Francis Gary Powers<\/strong> &mdash; Operation Overflight (as quoted by Wikipedia)<\/div><\/div><\/div>\r\n<p>He also carried a CIA-issued poison needle, hidden in a hollowed-out silver dollar. He chose not to use it.<\/p>\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">A Cover Story Collapses<\/h2>\r\n<p>Washington assumed Powers was dead and the aircraft destroyed. It announced that a NASA weather research aircraft had gone missing. Then Moscow produced the pilot, pieces of the U-2 and photographs from its camera. The cover story fell apart in days.<\/p>\r\n<p>The timing could not have been worse. President Eisenhower and Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev were due at a summit in Paris about two weeks later. The \"Spirit of Camp David\" that had followed their 1959 meeting evaporated, and the summit collapsed. Pakistan formally apologised to Moscow for its role.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;margin:24px 0\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/NDt-qSRgmss\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n<p>In August 1960 Powers was tried in Moscow and convicted of espionage. The sentence was three years in prison followed by seven years of hard labour.<\/p>\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">The Bridge of Spies<\/h2>\r\n<p>He served less than two years. On 10 February 1962, Powers was exchanged for the Soviet KGB colonel Rudolf Abel on the Glienicke Bridge between Potsdam and West Berlin, while American student Frederic Pryor was released at Checkpoint Charlie. The story later became the Steven Spielberg film Bridge of Spies.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px;width:100%\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/09\/glienicke-bridge-bridge-of-spies-potsdam-berlin.jpg\" alt=\"The Glienicke Bridge between Potsdam and Berlin\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;max-width:100%;display:block\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">The Glienicke Bridge between Potsdam and Berlin, where Powers was exchanged for Rudolf Abel on 10 February 1962. Photo: Loewenflausch \/ CC BY-SA 4.0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n<p>Home was not a hero's welcome at first. Powers was criticised for failing to destroy the aircraft and for not using the poison pin. He was debriefed at length by the CIA, Lockheed and the Air Force. He went on to work for Lockheed as a U-2 test pilot, and later as a helicopter pilot for the Los Angeles TV station KNBC.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px;width:100%\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/09\/kelly-johnson-francis-gary-powers-u-2-1966.jpg\" alt=\"Francis Gary Powers with U-2 designer Kelly Johnson in 1966\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;max-width:100%;display:block\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">Francis Gary Powers (right) with U-2 designer Kelly Johnson in 1966, after his return to flying U-2s for Lockheed. Photo: U.S. Air Force, public domain<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Recognition, Decades Late<\/h2>\r\n<p>Powers died on 1 August 1977 when the KNBC news helicopter he was flying crashed. Recognition came slowly and mostly after his death: the CIA's Intelligence Star in 1965, then in 2000 the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Prisoner of War Medal and the CIA Director's Award. In 2012 the Air Force presented his grandchildren with the Silver Star, recognising his loyalty through nearly two years of interrogation and imprisonment.<\/p>\r\n<p>The wreckage of his U-2 is still on display in Moscow's Central Armed Forces Museum: twisted metal from the day the Cold War's most confident spy plane met a missile it was not supposed to meet.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;margin:24px 0\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/P-lorZUvtR4\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n<p><em>Sources: Wikipedia (1960 U-2 incident; Francis Gary Powers), including quotations from Powers\u2019s memoir Operation Overflight; British Path\u00e9 newsreels; Commons image records.<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n<style>.mfq{margin:34px 0 8px}.mfq h2{font:26px\/1.3 \"Gilroy semiBold\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#0d1117;padding-top:22px;margin:0 0 6px}.mfq .qa details{border-top:1px solid #5C91FF;margin:0;padding:0}.mfq .qa details:last-of-type{border-bottom:1px solid #e2e7ee}.mfq .qa summary{cursor:pointer;list-style:none;display:flex;justify-content:space-between;align-items:center;gap:16px;padding:22px 26px;font:18px\/1.7 \"Gilroy semiBold\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#0d1117}.mfq .qa summary::-webkit-details-marker{display:none}.mfq .qa summary::after{content:\"+\";font:24px Helvetica,sans-serif;color:#3568e0;flex:0 0 auto}.mfq .qa details[open] summary::after{content:\"\\2013\"}.mfq .qa details:hover summary{color:#3568e0}.mfq .qa .a{font:16px\/1.7 \"Gilroy regular\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#454e5e;padding:0 26px 24px}.mfq .qa .a a{color:#3568e0}@media(max-width:680px){.mfq .qa summary{padding:18px 14px;font-size:17px}.mfq .qa .a{padding:0 14px 20px}}<\/style>\r\n\r\n\r\n<section class=\"mfq\"><h2>Frequently Asked Questions<\/h2><div class=\"qa\"><details open><summary>What happened to Francis Gary Powers on 1 May 1960?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Francis Gary Powers, a CIA U-2 pilot, was shot down by a Soviet S-75 (SA-2) surface-to-air missile near Sverdlovsk while photographing targets across the Soviet Union. He bailed out, was captured and was later tried in Moscow for espionage.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>Why was the U-2 incident so important?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">The US first claimed a NASA weather aircraft had gone missing, but the Soviets produced Powers and parts of the U-2. The embarrassment wrecked the planned Paris summit between Eisenhower and Khrushchev two weeks later and ended the thaw known as the Spirit of Camp David.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>How was Gary Powers released?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">On 10 February 1962, Powers was exchanged for Soviet KGB colonel Rudolf Abel on the Glienicke Bridge between Potsdam and West Berlin. American student Frederic Pryor was released at the same time at Checkpoint Charlie.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>What sentence did Gary Powers receive in the Soviet Union?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Powers was convicted of espionage in 1960 and sentenced to three years of imprisonment plus seven years of hard labour. He served less than two years before being freed in the 1962 prisoner exchange.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>How did Francis Gary Powers die?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Francis Gary Powers died on 1 August 1977 when the KNBC television news helicopter he was flying crashed. In 2012 he was posthumously awarded the Silver Star.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>Where is Gary Powers\u2019 U-2 today?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">The wreckage of Powers\u2019 U-2, serial 56-6693, is on display at the Central Armed Forces Museum in Moscow.<\/div><\/details><\/div><\/section>\r\n\r\n\r\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@type\":\"FAQPage\",\"mainEntity\":[{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"What happened to Francis Gary Powers on 1 May 1960?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"Francis Gary Powers, a CIA U-2 pilot, was shot down by a Soviet S-75 (SA-2) surface-to-air missile near Sverdlovsk while photographing targets across the Soviet Union. 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In 2012 he was posthumously awarded the Silver Star.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"Where is Gary Powers\u2019 U-2 today?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"The wreckage of Powers\u2019 U-2, serial 56-6693, is on display at the Central Armed Forces Museum in Moscow.\"}}]}<\/script><div style=\"background:#f0f4ff;border-left:4px solid #5C91FF;padding:16px 20px;margin:32px 0 8px\"><p style=\"margin:0 0 8px;font-weight:600;color:#333\">Related Posts<\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/black-cat-squadron-taiwan-u-2-overflights-china\/\">Black Cat Squadron: Taiwan\u2019s U-2 Pilots Over Mao\u2019s China<\/a><\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/kelly-johnson-lockheed-skunk-works-designer-sr-71-u-2\/\">Kelly Johnson: The Man Who Could See Air<\/a><\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/rb-47-shootdown-barents-sea-1960-lubyanka\/\">Shot Down Over the Barents, Held in Lubyanka<\/a><\/p><\/div>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On May Day 1960 a Soviet SA-2 missile brought down Gary Powers\u2019 U-2 near Sverdlovsk. The cover story, the Moscow trial and the swap on the Bridge of Spies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":25256951,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"editor_notices":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[666,664],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25257537","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-history-and-legends","category-military-aviation"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Francis Gary Powers: The U-2 Shot Down in 1960 | MiGFlug<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Gary Powers and the 1960 U-2 incident: shot down by an SA-2 near Sverdlovsk, tried in Moscow, and swapped for Rudolf Abel on the Bridge of Spies.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link 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