Gary Powers facts

While investigating facts about Gary Powers Real Estate and Gary Powers Exchange, I found out little known, but curios details like:

Gary Powers survived being shot down in his U2 spy plane from 21km (70,000 feet) altitude over USSR in 1960, but he died after his news reporting chopper ran out of fuel over LA in California in 1977.

how did gary powers die?

After he was shot down and captured by the USSR in 1960, CIA pilot Gary Powers tried not to share intelligence with the KGB, but he was hampered by western press. A KGB major stated "there's no reason for you to withhold information. We'll find it out anyway. Your press will give it to us."

What happened to francis gary powers?

In my opinion, it is useful to put together a list of the most interesting details from trusted sources that I've come across answering whatever happened to gary powers. Here are 11 of the best facts about Gary Powers U2 Incident and Gary Powers Jr I managed to collect.

what happened to gary powers?

1. When the Soviet Premier confronted President Eisenhower over the Gary Powers U-2 incident, the French President confronted the Soviet leader, revealing that the Soviets had themselves flown at least 18 spy satelites over French territory at nearly the same times as the U-2 flights.

2. When Gary Powers U-2 was shot down over the USSR in 1960, the Soviets accidentally shot down one of their own MiG fighter jets, killing the pilot.

3. Francis Gary Powers, the American spy plane pilot shot down over the USSR in 1960, was criticized in the US for not committing suicide, despite not divulging any information.

4. During the U-2 incident in 1960, only one of the missiles managed to fire during the first attempt, but blew the wings off Gary Powers' U-2. The Soviets fired 13 more missiles afterwards, which hit and killed one of their own fighter aircraft that had been chasing the U-2.

5. The Hollow Nickel Case. A KGB team was discovered when one of them paid for a newspaper using a nickel that had been hollowed out to store microfilm. The spy who was arrested, tried, and convicted was eventually traded back to the USSR for spy plane pilot Gary Powers

6. Yuri Gagarin - the first man in space - had "CCCP" painted on his helmet so that people who saw him parachuting back to Earth would not think he was an American spyplane pilot. His spaceflight was less than a year after Gary Powers' U2 spyplane was shot down over the Soviet Union.

7. Gary Powers, an American pilot who in 1960 flew a U-2 recon plane over the USSR that was shot down just days before USSR and US peace talks. His capture would not only worsen relations, but accelerate the construction of the Berlin Wall

8. A 14 year old paper boy collecting money for work was given a nickel as payment. After he felt the nickel was lighter than usual, he dropped it and the nickel opened, revealing a film with a series of numbers. The FBI linked the coin to a Russian spy who was later traded for Gary Powers.