U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers

U.S. Air Force Pilot Captain Francis Gary Powers is pictured before his U-2 spy plane on June 1, 1959. On May 1, 1960, while flying a joint Air Force-CIA mission, Powers was shot down over the Soviet Union and held for nearly two years.

Francis Gary Powers (right) with U-2 designer Kelly Johnson in 1966. Powers was a USAF fighter pilot recruited by the CIA in 1956 to fly civilian U-2 missions deep into Russia. Powers and other USAF Reserve pilots resigned their commissions to become civilians.

An undated photo of the Lockheed U-2, which has been around in various incarnations since 1955. With its long wingspan, the U-2 can travel effortlessly at up to 70,000 feet while it photographs ground positions. The exterior of the plane has remained the same since its original flight, but the U-2 has been upgraded with more sophisticated reconnaissance equipment over the decades.

After Powers was shot down, NASA issued a cover story claiming the U-2 has strayed off-course while conducting weather research, and that the pilot "reported difficulties with his oxygen equipment." To bolster the story, on May 6 a U-2 painted with NASA markings and a fake serial number was shown to the media at the NASA Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base.

On May 7, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev revealed that not only had the pilot been captured alive, but that a spy camera and film had been recovered from the plane's wreckage.

Equipment of U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers, on display at his Moscow trial in 1960.

U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers sits in the dock in a Moscow court, August 17, 1960, at the opening of his espionage trial. At left is his defense counsel, Mikhail Griniev.

Francis Gary Powers, the American U-2 pilot who was brought down in Russia, is seen (center foreground, standing in box) during his trial in Moscow's Great Hall of Columns, Oct. 11, 1960. He confessed to espionage and was sentenced to 10 years.

Mr. and Mrs. Oliver S. Powers, the parents of Francis Gary Powers, walk to their plane at New York's Idlewild Airport, Aug. 11, 1960. Family members of Powers flew to Moscow where the U-2 pilot was facing trial on spy charges.

Mrs. Jessica Hileman, sister of U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers, weeps at the sight of photos of her brother's trial, August 17, 1960. She viewed the photos in Copenhagen, Denmark, as she was en route to the trial, the photos had been received by the Associated Press on wire from Moscow a short time earlier. As Mrs. Hileman was flying to the trial, Powers pleaded guilty to Soviet espionage charges.

Barbara Powers reacts during a news conference at Idlewild Airport in New York, Aug. 29, 1960 on her return from Moscow. She said she was not satisfied with the U.S. government's efforts on behalf of her husband, Francis Gary Powers, who was convicted by Russia of espionage.

American U2 pilot Francis Gary Powers posed for this photo within three hours after his return to the United States, on Feb. 11, 1962 in Washington following his release.

After 21 months in a Russian prison, Powers was freed as part of a prisoner exchange between the U.S. and U.S.S.R. Powers was traded for Soviet spy Rudolf Abel.

Spectators jam the Caucus Room of the Old Senate Office Building in Washington, March 6, 1962, for Francis Gary Powers' testimony about his U-2 flight over the Soviet Union that ended with the plane crashing to Earth and Powers parachuting into Russian hands. Powers is seated at the witness table. His attorney, Larry Houston, wearing striped tie, is beside him.

U-2 spy plane pilot Francis Gary Powers sits in the witness chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, holding a model U-2 plane, in Washington, D.C. on March 6, 1962. It was his first public appearance since his release by the Russians on Feb. 10.

Francis Gary Powers holds a CIA Intelligence Star for Valor medal he received as a result of the U-2 incident, April 16, 1970.

The wreckage of a television news helicopter piloted by former spy pilot Francis Gary Powers lies in a field in Los Angeles, Aug. 1, 1977. Powers and another news person were killed while on assignment for local station KNBC.

AP Photo/Richmond Times-Dispatch, Rex L. Bowman

Francis Gary Powers Jr. and Francis Gary Powers III are seen moments after the unveiling of a historic highway marker for U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers, outside the town of Pound, Va., on U.S. Route 23 on Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2005.

Francis Gary Powers Jr. examines the wreckage of his father's U-2 spy plane at the Central Armed Forces Museum in Moscow on April 30, 2010. Historians marked the 50th anniversary of the so-called "U-2 incident" in which U.S. pilot Francis Gary Powers, flying on a CIA mission, was shot down in Soviet air space near the town of Sverdlovsk.

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz (left) awards a posthumous Silver Star to U.S. Air Force Captain Francis Gary Powers, during a ceremony June 15, 2012 at the Hall of Heroes of the Pentagon in Arlington, Va. Attending were Powers family members, including grandchildren Lindsey Berry (3rd left) and Trey Powers (2nd left); son Gary Powers (4th left); and daughter Dee Powers (right).

Captain Powers was awarded the Silver Star posthumously for his "exceptional loyalty" to the U.S. while enduring harsh interrogation in the Lubyanka Prison in Moscow for almost two years.

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