Blue Moon over Cuba: Aerial Reconnaissance during the Cuban Missile Crisis (General Aviation). Este artículo no está disponible.Blue Moon over Cuba: Aerial Reconnaissance during the Cuban Missile Crisis (General Aviation)

The Central Intelligence Agency's (CIA) high-altitude Lockheed U-2 spy plane discovered the presence of medium-range nuclear missile sites being constructed in Cuba on October 14, 1962. This hard intelligence initiated the 13-day crisis that brought the world to the brink of nuclear war. As the crisis progressed, the need for more detailed high-resolution aerial photography became apparent to the intelligence community. VFP-62 and its RF-8A photo-Crusader, with its unique forward-firing capability, produced 168,000 photographs of the missile sites, while being shot at by Cuban anti-aircraft weapons. Flying at near supersonic speeds and treetop level, VFP-62 led the aerial surveillance to determine the operational status of the missile sites. For their performance, 12 VFP-62 and four VMCJ-2 pilots received the prestigious Distinguished Flying Cross, and the squadron received the Navy Unit Commendation, presented personally by President John F Kennedy. In a statement, President Kennedy wrote: "The reconnaissance flights, which enabled us to determine with precision the offensive build-up in Cuba, contributed directly to the security of the United States in the most important and significant way." For the first time this book details the daring missions of the men of this photo-reconnaissance unit.

The late Captain William B Ecker USN was the commanding officer of US Navy Light Photographic Squadron during the Cuban Missile Crisis. His memoir of the squadron's photographic missions over Cuba was written in 1986. However, it was never published. It is the only known personally written account of the squadron's reconnaissance missions.

Kenneth V. Jack was a photographer's mate second class during the Cuban Crisis. He led the first carrier testing of the camera and its night-photography capabilities aboard the supercarrier USS Forrestal a few months before the crisis began. In retirement, he developed a website dedicated to VFP-62 (www.vfp62.com). He wrote an article, Supersonic Hooligans Over Cuba, for the National Naval Aviation Museum's October 2011 issue of Foundation.

Michael Dobbs is a former Washington Post Foreign Correspondent and author of the critically acclaimed One Minute to Midnight, recognised as one of the best ever books on the Cuban Missile Crisis.