29 Facts About Gary Powers

Francis Gary Powers was an American pilot whose Central Intelligence Agency Lockheed U-2 spy plane was shot down while flying a reconnaissance mission in Soviet Union airspace, causing the 1960 U-2 incident.

Gary Powers later worked as a helicopter pilot for KNBC in Los Angeles and died in the 1977 helicopter crash.

Gary Powers was the second born and only male of six children.

Gary Powers's family lived in a mining town, and because of the hardships associated with living in such a town, his father wanted Powers to become a physician.

Gary Powers hoped his son would achieve the higher earnings of such a profession and felt that this would involve less hardship than any job in his hometown.

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Gary Powers was commissioned as a second lieutenant in December 1952 after completing his advanced training with USAF Pilot Training Class 52-H at Williams Air Force Base, Arizona.

Gary Powers was then assigned to the 468th Strategic Fighter Squadron at Turner Air Force Base, Georgia, as a Republic F-84 Thunderjet pilot.

Gary Powers was discharged from the Air Force in 1956 with the rank of captain.

Gary Powers then joined the CIA's U-2 program at the civilian grade of GS-12.

Gary Powers was shot down by an S-75 Dvina surface-to-air missile over Sverdlovsk.

Gary Powers did note a second chute after landing on the ground, "some distance away and very high, a lone red and white parachute".

Gary Powers was interrogated extensively by the KGB for months before he made a confession and a public apology for his part in espionage.

Gary Powers tried to limit the information he shared with the KGB to that which could be determined from the remains of his plane's wreckage.

Gary Powers was hampered by information appearing in the western press.

Gary Powers's father brought along his attorney Carl McAfee, while the CIA provided two additional attorneys.

Gary Powers's sentence consisted of 10 years' confinement, three of which were to be in a prison, with the remainder in a labor camp.

Gary Powers's cellmate was Zigurds Krumins, a Latvian political prisoner.

Gary Powers could send and receive a limited number of letters to and from his family.

Some pieces of the plane and Gary Powers's uniform are on display at the Monino Airbase museum near Moscow.

However, the CIA feared that Gary Powers languishing in Soviet prison might learn of Barbara's plight and as a result reach a state of desperation causing him to reveal to the Soviets whatever secrets he had not already revealed.

Gary Powers initially received a cold reception on his return home.

Gary Powers was criticized for not activating his aircraft's self-destruct charge to destroy the camera, photographic film, and related classified parts.

Gary Powers was criticized for not using a CIA-issued "suicide pill" to kill himself .

Gary Powers stated that the reasons for the divorce included her infidelity and alcoholism, adding that she constantly threw tantrums and overdosed on pills shortly after his return.

Gary Powers worked for Lockheed as a test pilot from 1962 to 1970, though the CIA paid his salary.

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Gary Powers might have landed safely if not for the last-second deviation, which compromised his autorotative descent.

Gary Powers is buried in Arlington National Cemetery as an Air Force veteran.

Gary Powers received the CIA's Intelligence Star in 1965 after his return from the Soviet Union.

Gary Powers was scheduled to receive it in 1963 along with other pilots involved in the CIA's U-2 program, but the award was postponed for political reasons.