14. The Cubans shot down another U-2
In the morning of October 27 a U-2 operated by the Air Force from McCoy Air Force Base in Florida was shot down as it flew a photo-recon mission over Cuba. Later that afternoon several US Navy low-level reconnaissance aircraft were fired upon as they flew over their objectives on the island. The decision to fire on the American aircraft was assumed by EXCOMM to have been made by Soviet commanders of defense units in Cuba. Much later it was revealed that the decision had been made by the Cubans, specifically Raul Castro, Fidel’s brother, who wanted to escalate the crisis to encourage the Soviets to launch a pre-emptive strike. Kennedy had previously informed his advisers that should any American planes be shot down he would order a bombing strike against the missile sites.
When the president was informed of the loss of the U-2 (he was not told of the attacks on the Navy aircraft) LeMay forcefully reminded him of his earlier decision. Kennedy, who was aware of the progress of the back door negotiations, demurred. Later it was learned that Kruschev had ordered the Soviet commanders in Cuba not to shoot at American aircraft, but Kennedy was not aware of that decision at the time. Kennedy’s refusal to authorize the Air Force to launch retaliatory attacks enraged LeMay, who informed the President that he had authorized his pilots henceforth to return fire if attacked. It was LeMay’s reaction to the president’s decision which moved Bobby Kennedy to warn of the possibility of rogue elements in the Pentagon acting on their own, removing the potential for a diplomatic solution.
