At the height of
the cold war, as critics of the Eisenhower administration complained
about the growing "missile gap," the United States secretly gathered
data on Soviet missile capabilities through photographs obtained
from U2 reconnaissance plane over flights of the Soviet Union. In
May 1960, plans were finalized for a crucial Paris summit conference
between western nations and leaders of the Soviet Union with
disarmament to be the main focus. Hopes for a successful summit were
dashed when on May 1, May Day; an American U2 spy plane piloted by
Francis Gary Powers was shot down over Soviet air space. On the
first day of the Paris summit, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev
stormed out after delivering a condemnation of U.S. spy activities.
