This Special National Intelligence Estimate prepared by the CIA in February 1963 in the aftermath of the Cuban Missile Crisis assesses the likely reactions if the United States resumed it’s low-level Blue Moon surveillance missions over Cuba. The last low-level mission before this report was flown on November 15, 1962.
The LBJ Administration Assesses the Risk of Another Cuban Missile Crisis
In July 1964, President Johnson ordered a review of the risk of another Cuban Missile Crisis happening and for an outline of the alternative courses of action that would be available.
NSAM 311: Reviewing the Risk of Another Cuban Missile Crisis
In National Security Action Memorandum No. 311 (NSAM 311), President Johnson ordered Secretary of State Dean Rusk, Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, and Director of Central Intelligence John McCone to review the prospect of a repeat of the Cuban Missile Crisis and to outline the various alternatives that would be available if it happened.
The Most Dangerous Moment in Human History
A quote by Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. is often used in recent years in talking about the Cuban Missile Crisis. But where and when did he say it?
CIA Post-Mortem on the Cuban Missile Crisis: Khrushchev’s Miscalculated Risk
A detailed narrative of the CIA’s post-mortem assessment of the Cuban Missile Crisis. It includes very useful summaries of the nature and chronology of the Soviet buildup as well as what and how U.S. intelligence analysts knew about it.
Strategic Air Command at DEFCON 2 during the Cuban Missile Crisis
Footage of the Strategic Air Command forces at Barksdale Air Force Base at DEFCON 2 during the height of the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Tactical Air Command Operations at Homestead Air Force Base during the Cuban Missile Crisis
Footage of the Tactical Air Command on alert during the Cuban Missile Crisis at Homestead Air Force Base, Florida. Includes aerial shots of the planes on alert on the tarmac, dispersed to make them less vulnerable to surprise attack.
Robert McNamara’s Press Conference on Cuban Missile Crisis
Silent footage of a press briefing by Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara regarding the Soviet buildup in Cuba during the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Cuban Missile Crisis Miscellaneous B-Roll
Various B-roll clips shot by U.S. Air Force camera operators during and after the Cuban Missile Crisis, including command posts, press coverage, and newsreel footage from Havana.
General Curtis LeMay visits Homestead Air Force Base during the Cuban Missile Crisis
Footage of General Curtis LeMay, Chief of Staff of the US Air Force, visiting the Tactical Air Command at Homestead Air Force Base during the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Homestead Air Force Base Security Demonstration during the Cuban Missile Crisis
Footage of a demonstration exercise of perimeter security measures at Tactical Air Command headquarters at Homestead Air Force Base during or shortly after the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Tactical Air Command Operations at Homestead Air Force Base during the Cuban Missile Crisis
Operations of the Tactical Air Command during the Cuban Missile Crisis at Homestead Air Force Base. Includes the preparation of rockets and weapons, planes on alert on the tarmac, and the arrival of General Walter Sweeney Jr (Tactical Air Command Commander) and General Thomas Power (Strategic Air Command Commander).
B-52s at DEFCON 2 during the Cuban Missile Crisis
Footage of B-52s at DEFCON 2 alert at Barksdale Air Force Base at the height of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Includes a shot of a B-52 taking off armed with a GAM-77 Hound Dog nuclear air-launched cruise missile. According to the camera operator’s slate, the footage was shot on October 27, 1962, widely regarded as the most dangerous day of the Cuban Missile Crisis.
B-52 Bombers on DEFCON 2 Alert during the Cuban Missile Crisis
B-52 bombers in the Strategic Air Command on alert at Barksdale Air Force Base on October 27, 1962, widely regarded as the most dangerous day of the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Strategic Air Command B-47 Bombers Dispersed during the Cuban Missile Crisis
B-47 bombers of the Strategic Air Command are stationed on the tarmac at Memphis Airport during the Cuban Missile Crisis. They were stationed here during the crisis as part of the mobilization procedures to disperse SAC’s forces to make them less vulnerable to surprise attack. SAC was at DEFCON 2 at the time.
NSC ExComm Meetings, 1962-1963
A complete list of the meetings of the Executive Committee of the National Security Council, a special group created by President John F. Kennedy during the Cuban Missile Crisis.
JFK at Homestead Air Force Base / Air Force One Arrives & F-100 Flyby
JFK visits Homestead Air Force Base, headquarters of the Tactical Air Command, on November 26, 1962, not long after the Cuban Missile Crisis. This reel is taken with a camera on the runway. It captures JFK arriving by Air Force One and a flyby of F-100 Jets.
Preparing for JFK’s Meeting with Mikoyan 11/29/1962
Soviet First Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers Anastas Mikoyan had just returned from a long and difficult mission to Cuba to help repair the damage caused by the outcome of the Cuban Missile Crisis. President Kennedy was schedule to meet him later in the day. McGeorge Bundy prepared a talking points paper.
LBJ, the ExComm, and the Cuban Missile Crisis
Tucked away in the files of the Pre-Presidential papers at the LBJ Library is a fascinating little collection of notes on the ExComm meetings during the Cuban Missile Crisis and its aftermath.
Current Intelligence Weekly Summary 2/1/1963
A consolidated summary of intelligence compiled by the CIA on February 1, 1963. Topics include the Cuban situation, Soviet economy, Sino-Mongolian relations, the Congo, Togo, Iran, Indonesia-Malaysia relations, South Korea, Italy, Denmark’s Faeroe Islands problem, Brazil’s new Cabinet, Argentina’s financial crisis, the Chinese Navy, and Turkey’s first five-year plan.
John McCone’s Statement on the Soviet Military Presence in Cuba 2/6/1963
This was a publicly released statement by Director of Central Intelligence John McCone. It was designed to silence the growing criticism from some members of Congress such as Senator Strom Thurmond (D-South Carolina) and Senator Kenneth Keating (R-New York) about the continued Soviet military presence in Cuba. With the criticism peaking in early February 1963, the administration made a concerted effort to be more publicly transparent about what it knew about the Soviet forces still in Cuba and what had been removed.
Robert McNamara’s Special Briefing on Cuba
Faced with mounting Congressional criticism of the Kennedy’s administration’s transparency on the Soviet buildup in Cuba, Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara and John Hughes of the Defense Intelligence Agency laid out in unprecedented detail for television cameras and the reporters the intelligence information that gave the administration the confidence to say that no long-range nuclear missiles remained in Cuba.
JFK Visits Strategic Air Command Headquarters after the Cuban Missile Crisis
Film footage of President John F. Kennedy visiting the headquarters of the Strategic Headquarters in at Offutt Air Force Base, near Omaha, Nebraska, on December 7, 1962. Includes his arrival on Air Force One and delivering brief remarks.
Castro’s Five Points
Shortly after Nikita Khrushchev backed down in the Cuban Missile Crisis, Fidel Castro laid out five conditions he said needed to be met before a pledge from Kennedy not to invade Cuba could be taken seriously.
Mikoyan’s Visit to Cuba after the Cuban Missile Crisis
When Anastas Mikoyan and his son visited Havana in the immediate aftermath of the Cuban Missile Crisis, they found a very different city than they had seen on their first visit less than three years earlier.