Step 1 of 14 · Tuesday 16 October 1962

Kennedy sees the U-2 photos

Photos from a U-2 flight on 14 October show Soviet medium-range ballistic missile sites near San Cristóbal. President Kennedy is briefed in the morning and calls the advisers who become the ExComm.

• R-12 (SS-4) sites in western Cuba: about 1,900 km range, enough to reach Washington.
• Soviet freighters keep sailing to Cuba across the Atlantic.
• The ExComm starts meeting in secret at the White House.

On the map

Ship positions are approximate and show the situation of the day, not exact tracks.

All days

1. 16 OctKennedy sees the U-2 photos
2. 17 OctLonger-range sites found
3. 18 OctGromyko meets Kennedy
4. 19 OctThe Joint Chiefs push for an air strike
5. 20 OctKennedy picks the blockade
6. 21 OctThe quarantine force sails
7. 22 OctKennedy tells the world
8. 23 OctThe quarantine is signed
9. 24 OctEyeball to eyeball
10. 25 OctThe first ship is let through
11. 26 OctThe Marucla is boarded
12. 27 OctBlack Saturday
13. 28 OctKhrushchev backs down
14. 20 NovThe quarantine ends