1962: President John F. Kennedy announced the end of the Cuban Missile Crisis after the Soviets removed all IRBMs from Cuba. USAF U-2s, RB-66s, and RF-101 Voodoo aircraft (pictured) were instrumental in gathering photographic evidence proving the buildup of missile launchers in Cuba. Kennedy and Khrushchev publicly announced that the Soviets would dismantle their offensive weapons in Cuba and return them to the Soviet Union, subject to United Nations verification, in exchange for a US public declaration and agreement to not invade Cuba again. Secretly, the United States also agreed to dismantle its medium range nuclear missiles deployed to Turkey. The 363d Tactical Reconnaissance Wing deployed RF-101 and RB-66 aircraft to MacDill AFB, Florida, from Shaw AFB, South Carolina. On October 26, the 363d flew its first low-level reconnaissance missions. The wing gathered significant intelligence on the sites over the next three weeks and uncovered the location of IL-28 Soviet bombers and air-to-air and surface-to-air missile sites.
