This day in history – The Cuban missile crisis

Some of us remember having drills at school where we ducked under our desks due to a potential threat of Russian nuclear bombs.

Much of that stemmed from what is known as the Cuban Missile Crisis which began on October 14, 1962. Photographs were taken by a high-altitude U-2 spy plane which offered incontrovertible evidence that Soviet-made medium-range missiles were in Cuba. These missiles were capable of carrying nuclear warheads and were stationed 90 miles off the American coastline.

This brought Florida and beyond into the realm of capability of these missiles and it was quite concerning to the United States. The Cuban missile crisis was very intense but ended without a war. However relationships between the United States and Russia would be very strained for years to come.