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Exhibit | Aug. 4, 2021

Cold War: U-2 Incident

The National Cryptologic Museum has the only piece of Gary Francis Powers' aircraft on display in the United States. It was given to the Museum by the Armed Forces Museum in Moscow where the plane's wreckage is exhibited. On May 1, 1960, while flying a CIA reconnaissance mission in a U-2 reconnaissance aircraft, Powers was shot down over the Soviet Union. Although he parachuted to safety, Powers and his plane wreckage were captured. Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev accused the United States of spying. The international turmoil resulted in the cancellation of a summit meeting scheduled between President Eisenhower and the premier.