Col. Fletcher Prouty discusses Gary Powers U2 flight - Black Op Radio Show

Col. Fletcher Prouty discusses the Gary Powers U2 flight and the ramifications to Eisenhower's "Crusade For Peace". The details in getting downed pilot Allen Pope back as well


Prouty and the Air Forces' professional support of the CIA's U2, a well run program. Powers' plane had a different camera, not the one with the most secret technology. Allen Dulles told the Fulbright Committee, they couldn't have reached it, it came down, then they got it Special fuel, JP fuel and hydrogen, the tank only had half enough, it came down half way in the flight. The U2 people were the most surprised that the plane was up there, another office, Cover and Deception
Détente between Khrushchev and Eisenhower, it was supposed to be a NASA atmospheric research airplane
The order for "no overflights" was nonexclusive, then this flight took off, Dulles was uncertain about the facts
Procedure for assigning a pilot to a certain plane for a certain flight, nothing in his pockets
The planned summit meeting was cancelled, it had been scheduled for May 10th 1960 in Paris
Cancelling of all overflights, Eisenhower certainly did not approve that flight, we had a cover story
At first Khrushchev withheld the fact that the pilot was alive, embarrassed Eisenhower
They were hiding that somebody else sent the plane out
The special camera was removed and they put a regular camera in it, they knew it was going to go down
The four names of the men who sent it, Prouty wouldn't divulge them, they were employees, somebody told them
Even the pilots didn't know that hydrogen was used in the fuel, they learned that later
Why isn't this out in the public? The doors to the Government Printing Office are not locked, newspapers won't print it
Allen Pope was shot down, he had identification that he shouldn't have had on the flight
It was a clandestine flight, it was exposed, the operation was being supported by the United States, that was his role
In 1962 Robert Kennedy helped release Pope, President Kennedy sent him to Indonesia to negotiate
In each case when they went down it completely embarrassed the operation, somebody wanted Pope to go down
Certain people fixed the plane so that it would come down, if the engine goes out there isn't enough oxygen to restart
If the bottle ran out of hydrogen, he couldn't restart, he was surrounded by MIGs, he glided down and landed in a field
People have to make an effort to unlearn the story they've been told
It was in Khrushchev's interest to say they shot it down