Archimedes, yes, you waste your time in pompous and smug lecturing that seeks to demonstrate your apparently superior knowledge of unknowable things (or were you senior in the CIA too?) over we normal members of the race, we that do not seek to flaunt our politically correct 20-20 revisionist hindsight.
Clearly you never believe anything you are told or were given to believe in the past - it must be a real handicap believing that everyone you obtain information from is lying to you and that all your memories are falsehoods. To berate yourself so caustically for recalling past events as you so unreasonably berated me must be particularly distressing. I'm sorry for you.
The article that provokes this discussion suggested that the US Govt were disapproving of FGP at the time, as was commonly understood at the time. Sorry pal, it's there in the history (i.e.the real one you haven't re-written).

finis.

"The article that provokes this discussion suggested that the US Govt were disapproving of FGP at the time, as was commonly understood at the time. Sorry pal, it's there in the history (i.e.the real one you haven't re-written).

finis."

The early USG response toward Powers rested primarily with the DCI and was not generally accepted among others in the USG. Sense eventually prevailed once Kennedy's first DCI left office. Powers was awarded the Star once the DDCI was free to do so. The appropriate, if delayed, conclusion. FINIS indeed.

Don't feed the troll guys.

Interested to learn that Powers was not shot down in the conventional meaning of the word, the missile shockwave as it passed by caused the aircraft to breakup between the empennage and wing trailing edge (see 3:40), a good video.

Every day's a school day - will sit down and watch the whole thing when the Easter p***y-little-jobs-list has shrunk to manageable proportions. Thanks for the post, megan :ok:

FGP Debrief
 

If you read Ben Rich's Skunk Works once he was returned he was debriefed personally by Kelly Johnson who verified that his story was accurate for the CIA.

One evening crossing the USA/Canadian border returning from IAH we had a visitor on the flight deck. He was an American in his 60s and after a general chat about airline flying and life style he commented on Gary Powers and the U2. He said that he had been on the same squadron as Powers and said Powers was considered to be slightly unpredictable and unconventional. He said that Powers had dosed off during the flight at a critical time when he needed to change fuel tanks and suffered a flame out. The only way to restart the engine was to descend into more dense air and was then within reach of SAM missiles. He might have been spinning a line but seemed knowledgeable. 🤪

There is no change of tanks available on the aircraft, fuel is either on or its off, operated electrically by a switch..

Facts....mere facts!:=