The machines behind the decisions
Missiles, aircraft
and ships.
What they were, where they fitted into the crisis, and why their crews and capabilities mattered. This is a selected guide to the central systems and vessels, not a complete order of battle.
Find and verify
Reconnaissance aircraft photographed the build-up and later checked the removal of equipment.
Intercept and defend
Ships enforced the quarantine while air defences and submarines created further points of danger.
Prepare for escalation
Nuclear missiles and bombers in Cuba, Britain and elsewhere made this a much wider confrontation.
Deployed, planned, on alert and authorised to fire are different states. Each profile explains its connection to October 1962 without treating readiness as a launch order.
Missiles
6 profiles
Missiles
R-12 / SS-4 Sandal
The Soviet medium-range ballistic missile whose deployment in Cuba triggered the confrontation.
Read the profile →Missiles
R-14 / SS-5 Skean
A longer-range Soviet missile planned for Cuba, but the missiles themselves did not arrive.
Read the profile →Missiles
S-75 / SA-2 Guideline
The surface-to-air missile system that made high-altitude reconnaissance dangerous.
Read the profile →Missiles
Thor in Britain
Sixty American-built missiles operated by RAF crews under joint British–American arrangements.
Read the profile →Missiles
Jupiter in Turkey and Italy
The American intermediate-range missile central to the confidential Turkish part of the settlement.
Read the profile →Missiles
Luna rockets and FKR-1 cruise missiles
Shorter-range Soviet nuclear systems in Cuba created dangers beyond the photographed strategic missile sites.
Read the profile →Aircraft
6 profiles
Aircraft
Lockheed U-2
High-altitude reconnaissance supplied the photographs—and two separate U-2 incidents helped make 27 October so dangerous.
Read the profile →Aircraft
Vought RF-8A Crusader
The US Navy’s camera-equipped Crusader brought back detailed low-level photographs.
Read the profile →Aircraft
McDonnell RF-101 Voodoo
An Air Force reconnaissance aircraft used to follow the Soviet build-up and its dismantling.
Read the profile →Aircraft
B-52 Stratofortress and B-47 Stratojet
America’s strategic bombers made the nuclear alert a worldwide operation.
Read the profile →Aircraft
Britain’s Vulcan, Victor and Valiant
The RAF’s three V-bomber types formed Britain’s airborne nuclear deterrent during the crisis.
Read the profile →Aircraft
Ilyushin Il-28 Beagle
Soviet jet bombers in Cuba remained a diplomatic issue after the missile settlement.
Read the profile →Ships and submarines
5 profiles
Ships and submarines
Soviet submarine B-59
A diesel-electric submarine carrying a nuclear torpedo became a hidden flashpoint on Black Saturday.
Read the profile →Ships and submarines
USS Beale (DD-471)
A destroyer involved in the quarantine and the confrontation with Soviet submarines.
Read the profile →Ships and submarines
USS Essex (CVS-9)
An anti-submarine carrier that supported the naval quarantine around Cuba.
Read the profile →Ships and submarines
USS Enterprise (CVAN-65)
The nuclear-powered carrier formed part of the American force assembled during the crisis.
Read the profile →Ships and submarines
USS Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. and Marucla
The boarding of a merchant ship on 26 October shows how the quarantine worked in practice.
Read the profile →