WORLD HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -For thirteen days in October 1962 the world waited-seemingly on the brink of nuclear war-and hoped for a peaceful resolution to the Cuban Missile Crisis. In October 1962, an American U-2 spy plane secretly photographed nuclear missile sites being built by the Soviet Union on the island of Cuba.

Detailed explanation-2: -In 1962 the Soviet Union began to secretly install missiles in Cuba to launch attacks on U.S. cities. The confrontation that followed, known as the Cuban missile crisis, brought the two superpowers to the brink of war before an agreement was reached to withdraw the missiles.

Detailed explanation-3: -Why did the USSR put nuclear missiles on Cuba? To close the missile gap: the Soviet leader, Khrushchev, knew the USA had medium and long-range nuclear missiles aimed at the USSR from bases in Turkey, just on the USSR’s ‘doorstep’.

Detailed explanation-4: -The next morning, October 28, Khrushchev issued a public statement that Soviet missiles would be dismantled and removed from Cuba. The crisis was over but the naval quarantine continued until the Soviets agreed to remove their IL–28 bombers from Cuba and, on November 20, 1962, the United States ended its quarantine.