Blue Moon over Cuba: Aerial Reconnaissance during the Cuban Missile Crisis

by William B Ecker USN (ret.), Kenneth V. Jack, Michael Dobbs

Overview

Blue Moon over Cuba is the only known personal account of the lead photographic reconnaissance squadron during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Most books on the Cuban Missile Crisis tell the story using the memoirs of those who advised President Kennedy as he struggled to avoid World War III. This book details the scouting of dangerous low-level operations and flying the supersonic RF-8A Crusader during the classified Operation Blue Moon.

The Central Intelligence Agency's (CIA) high-altitude Lockheed U-2 spy plane discovered the presence of medium-range nuclear missile sites being constructed in Cuba on October 14, 1962. This hard intelligence initiated the 13-day crisis that brought the world to the brink of nuclear war. As the crisis progressed, the need for more detailed high-resolution aerial photography became apparent to the intelligence community.

VFP-62 and its RF-8A photo-Crusader, with its unique forward-firing capability, produced 168,000 photographs of the missile sites, while being shot at by Cuban anti-aircraft weapons. Flying at near supersonic speeds and treetop level, VFP-62 led the aerial surveillance to determine the operational status of the missile sites. For their performance, 12 VFP-62 and four VMCJ-2 pilots received the prestigious Distinguished Flying Cross, and the squadron received the Navy Unit Commendation, presented personally by President John F Kennedy.

Blue Moon over Cuba is an authoritative and complete account of the low-level reconnaissance that might be said to have helped JFK avert nuclear Armageddon.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781472802958
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication date:	03/20/2013
Series:	General Aviation
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	320
File size:	13 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

The late Captain William B Ecker USN was the commanding officer of US Navy Light Photographic Squadron during the Cuban Missile Crisis. His memoir of the squadron's photographic missions over Cuba was written in 1986. However, it was never published. It is the only known personally written account of the squadron's reconnaissance missions.

Kenneth V. Jack was a photographer's mate second class during the Cuban Crisis. He led the first carrier testing of the camera and its night-photography capabilities aboard the supercarrier USS Forrestal a few months before the crisis began. In retirement, he developed a website dedicated to VFP-62 (www.vfp62.com). He wrote an article, Supersonic Hooligans Over Cuba, for the National Naval Aviation Museum's October 2011 issue of Foundation.

Michael Dobbs is a former Washington Post Foreign Correspondent and author of the critically acclaimed One Minute to Midnight, recognised as one of the best ever books on the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Kenneth V. Jack was a photographer's mate second class during the Cuban Crisis. He led the first carrier testing of the camera and its night-photography capabilities aboard the supercarrier USS Forrestal a few months before the crisis began. In retirement, he developed a website dedicated to VFP-62 (www.vfp62.com). He wrote an article, Supersonic Hooligans Over Cuba, for the National Naval Aviation Museum's October 2011 issue of Foundation.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Foreword
Author's Notes

CHAPTER 1 The Making of a Fighter Pilot
CHAPTER 2 “Eyes of the Fleet”
CHAPTER 3 The Military Build-Up in Cuba – July to October 15, 1962
CHAPTER 4 The Cuban Crisis Begins – October 16–22, 1962
CHAPTER 5 Executing the Mission – October 23, 1962
CHAPTER 6 Pentagon Briefing – October 23, 1962
CHAPTER 7 The USAF Gets Its Chance – October 24, 1962
CHAPTER 8 Showdown at the United Nations – October 25, 1962
CHAPTER 9 The Marines Join Blue Moon Missions – October 25, 1962
CHAPTER 10 The Crisis Mounts – October 25-29, 1962
CHAPTER 11 Unarmed, Unescorted,&Unafraid
Chapter 12 Night Photo Missions Over Gitmo – November 5, 1962
CHAPTER 13 Verifying the Removal of Missiles – November 1962
CHAPTER 14 Medals and Commendations
CHAPTER 15 Thirteen Days – the Movie
CHAPTER 16 “Hooligans in the Sky”
Endnotes

Appendices
Scale drawings of the RF-8A
Map: The Nuclear Umbrella Facing President Kennedy
Map: Cuba, October 1962
Map: The Cuban Military Build-Up
Address by President John F. Kennedy, October 22, 1962
President Kennedy's Remarks in Key West upon Presenting Unit Citations at the Boca Chica Naval Air Station on November 26, 1962
VFP-62 Recipients of the Navy Unit Commendation

Index

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"This book is extensively researched: it gives an even-handed and unbiased account of the US, Soviet and Cuban perspectives leading up to, during, and after October 1962."
—Jerry Jackson, BookMark, www.WPSU.org (September 2012)

"Many books have been written about [the Cuban Missile Crisis] and the decisions made by the president and his advisors, but none have covered the details of the Blue Moon aerial reconnaissance missions and the men who flew them ... The photos in the book are superb, and their excellent captions add greatly to bringing the story of CAPT Ecker and his squadron to life ... This is a great book and highly recommended."
—Doug Siegfried, The Hook (Fall 2012)

"This new book is based on the memoir of a recently-deceased CO of the U. S. Navy RF-8 squadron that flew the first, productive low-level missions over Cuba, and refined with material that only personal experience can bring by a former enlisted technician serving with that squadron at that time. The account provides several viewpoints into a highly readable and creditable story of just exactly how the Navy and Marine Corps aviators and gound crews contributed to the American response to the Soviets' highly provocative act of placing nuclear-armed missiles a scant 90 miles from the U. S. ... All in all, this new book is very welcome as the 50th anniversary of the crisis approaches. It is well worth reading from many perspectives, especially as an account of those tension-filled days when the entire world stood so close to the brink of its own destruction."
—Peter Mersky, Wings of Gold (Fall 2012)

"An entirely new perspective on the crisis, and is a "must" for any collection strong in either military topics or American history."
- The Midwest Book Review (November 2012)

Editorial Reviews

"This book is extensively researched: it gives an even-handed and unbiased account of the US, Soviet and Cuban perspectives leading up to, during, and after October 1962."
—Jerry Jackson, BookMark, www.WPSU.org (September 2012)

"Many books have been written about [the Cuban Missile Crisis] and the decisions made by the president and his advisors, but none have covered the details of the Blue Moon aerial reconnaissance missions and the men who flew them ... The photos in the book are superb, and their excellent captions add greatly to bringing the story of CAPT Ecker and his squadron to life ... This is a great book and highly recommended."
—Doug Siegfried, The Hook (Fall 2012)

"This new book is based on the memoir of a recently-deceased CO of the U. S. Navy RF-8 squadron that flew the first, productive low-level missions over Cuba, and refined with material that only personal experience can bring by a former enlisted technician serving with that squadron at that time. The account provides several viewpoints into a highly readable and creditable story of just exactly how the Navy and Marine Corps aviators and gound crews contributed to the American response to the Soviets' highly provocative act of placing nuclear-armed missiles a scant 90 miles from the U. S. ... All in all, this new book is very welcome as the 50th anniversary of the crisis approaches. It is well worth reading from many perspectives, especially as an account of those tension-filled days when the entire world stood so close to the brink of its own destruction."
—Peter Mersky, Wings of Gold (Fall 2012)

"An entirely new perspective on the crisis, and is a "must" for any collection strong in either military topics or American history."
- The Midwest Book Review (November 2012)

"It is no exaggeration to say the book reads like a suspense thriller—no small feat, this being Jack’s first book."
- www.speedreraders.info

From the Publisher