There have always been questions surrounding Powers. Eisenhower presumably ordered overflights of the USSR to stop, pending his planned trip there. However, Powers was launched despite this by the CIA.
The photo shown by the Russians of the ‘damaged U-2’ may not have been that of Powers’ plane, or even of a U-2. IF not, what happened to his plane?
The KGB knew Powers was coming and what his likely flight path would be, from agents in Turkey and elsewhere.
So, did Powers have a suicide pill and decline to use it (understandable), resulting in his being caught alive and identified as a US pilot? And then being put on trial where he was made to perform as the Soviets wished?
Did the KGB or the CIA plan for Powers to be shot down, in order to sabotage Ike’s trip to Russia (and possible openings)?
Did Powers actually land his plane, rather than crash?
Don’t know the answers to any of those; all of the above is pure speculation.
That we traded a valuable Russian spy (Abel) for Powers (a questionable figure) was not extremely popular at the time.
I remember the big flap when it was reported that he was "shot down by a missile". (We had been brazenly overflying Russia at a height that they couldn't reach.) Later I heard that his engine flamed out and when he descended into the range of the AA missile batteries, they knocked him down.
After that I read that he flew a traffic-reporting chopper and died in a crash.
Since writing my vanity review, I have gone to various sources on the Web to see what they say about the incidents in the movie. It seems that my memories, no matter how hazy, are pretty accurate, except for Mr. Donovan’s role.
It seems that that was well publicized at the time, a fact that I must have missed because by that time, I was busy with 2 toddlers and another infant that I cared for full time. I was still short on news since my husband was a student, I had no TV, and no subscriptions to the newspaper, or news magazines. And no time to go to the library.
I relied on radio, only, until he graduated and our cash flow picked up enough for a subscription to the daily paper and to Time magazine. And in those days, radio was something that was plugged into the wall and could only be heard when I was in that very room doing ironing. (We did lots of ironing in those days.) LOL
My memory of dates was accurate. (The movie compresses the time line of major events.) My memory of the contempt the public felt for Powers was accurate. People pretty much viewed him as a sell-out and suspicious. The movie doesn’t make clear the separation of the AF and the CIA. He was really flying for the CIA, although the AF was a co-sponsor. I suppose the AF role was in the training, but the planes belonged to the CIA and the missions were ordered by the CIA. All that info has come out much later.
I neglected to mention that I give the film 4 stars and would see it again. I appreciate the fact that they offered the disclaimer at the very beginning “inspired by true evens”, rather than “based on a true story. It sent me to the Web to do a little research.
Its disgusting of you to call Powers a questionable character. Only a creepy CIA Col Flagg mentality demanding suicide could have expected more of him.
And there was no plot and secret landing. They knew the route, they watched it on radar. We knew they could see but thought we were safe at that altitude. That’s when the SA-2 made its combat debut and got a U-2.
The U-2 missions completely crossing the USSR weren’t exactly common. This one was on May 1st.
So essentially, on their 4th of july, we intended to fly across the country, and get away. There was intense debate as to whether or not it was possible to get away with one more fight. We didn’t.
Powers was an honest to god hero and nothing less. The bastards at the CIA who criticized him, and even Ike that claimed to know nothing, weren’t fit to shine his shoes.
Kelly Johnson at the Skunk Works thought he got a raw deal.