Cuban Missile Crisis

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.

17 October 1962

Longer-range sites found

New U-2 photos show sites near Guanajay built for R-14 (SS-5) intermediate-range missiles. Their reach of about 4,000 km would cover most of the continental United States.

18 October 1962

Gromyko meets Kennedy

Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko tells Kennedy that Soviet aid to Cuba is purely defensive. Kennedy, who has the photos, does not reveal what he knows.

19 October 1962

The Joint Chiefs push for an air strike

The Joint Chiefs of Staff argue for bombing the missile sites, followed by an invasion. Kennedy leaves for a campaign trip while the ExComm keeps debating.

20 October 1962

Kennedy picks the blockade

Kennedy returns to Washington, citing a cold, and chooses a naval blockade, called a "quarantine" because a blockade is an act of war. The air strike stays as a fallback.

21 October 1962

The quarantine force sails

The final decision is taken: the quarantine goes ahead and the air strike is put off. Warships leave Norfolk and Florida for the approaches to Cuba.

22 October 1962

Kennedy tells the world

In a televised address at 7 pm, Kennedy reveals the missiles, announces the quarantine and warns that any missile launched from Cuba will be met with a full retaliatory response against the Soviet Union.

23 October 1962

The quarantine is signed

The Organization of American States backs the quarantine and Kennedy signs the proclamation. The Aleksandrovsk, carrying nuclear warheads, slips into the port of La Isabela. Khrushchev orders some of the missile ships to turn back.

24 October 1962

Eyeball to eyeball

The quarantine takes effect at 10 am. Soviet ships approaching the line stop dead in the water or turn around. Strategic Air Command goes to DEFCON 2, the only time in US history.

25 October 1962

The first ship is let through

The tanker Bucharest reaches the line. The destroyer USS Gearing hails her and, as she carries only fuel, lets her sail on to Cuba. At the UN, Adlai Stevenson shows the photos to the Soviet ambassador.

26 October 1962

The Marucla is boarded

Sailors from USS Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. board the Soviet-chartered freighter Marucla, find no weapons and let her pass. In the evening a long personal letter from Khrushchev offers to remove the missiles if the US promises not to invade Cuba.

27 October 1962

Black Saturday

A U-2 is shot down over eastern Cuba and Major Rudolf Anderson is killed. US destroyers drop practice depth charges on submarine B-59, whose officers argue over firing a nuclear torpedo until Vasily Arkhipov refuses. A second Khrushchev letter asks for US missiles to leave Turkey.

28 October 1962

Khrushchev backs down

Radio Moscow broadcasts that the Soviet Union will dismantle the missiles and ship them home in return for a US pledge not to invade Cuba. The quarantine stays in place while the removal is checked.

20 November 1962

The quarantine ends

After the Soviet Union agrees to take its Il-28 bombers out of Cuba as well, Kennedy lifts the quarantine. Strategic Air Command steps down from DEFCON 2.