The Missile Crisis (1962)

Question 1

What ‘flooded’ into Cuba after the Bay of Pigs fiasco?

Answer 1

Soviet arms (armaments - not literal arms)

Question 2

When did the USSR publicly announce it was supplying Cuba?

Answer 2

July 1962

Question 3

By September, what sort of weapons and equipment did Cuba have?

Answer 3

• thousands of Soviet missiles
• patrol boats
• radar vans
• jet fighters and bombers

Question 4

How many Soviet technicians were in Cuba to keep the weapons and equipment functional?

Answer 4

5,000

Question 5

What was the USA particularly concerned about regarding Cuba?

Answer 5

That the USSR would put nuclear weapons in Cuba

Question 6

What did JFK tell the USSR on 11 Sep 1962

Answer 6

That he would prevent ‘by whatever means might be necessary’ Cuba becoming a nuclear missile base

Question 7

How did the USSR respond to JFK’s warning that he would not allow Cuba to become a missile base

Answer 7

The USSR promised they would not put nuclear missiles in Cuba

Question 8

What triggered the October crisis?

Answer 8

When an American spy plane flew over Cuba and spotted missile sites in Cuba on 14 October 1962

Question 9

How far away were Cuban missile sites from being able to launch missiles when the American spy planes took photos?

Answer 9

Seven days

Question 10

As well as missile sites, what else did American spy planes report?

Answer 10

That 20 Soviet ships were heading to Cuba carrying missiles

Question 11

Why did Khrushchev place missiles in Cuba?

Answer 11

• The Missile Gap (the USA had far more ICBMs AND could hit the USSR with medium ranged missiles from its bases in Turkey and Europe)
• Khrushchev may have wanted to get concessions from JFK (e.g. missiles out of Turkey)
• Khrushchev wanted to defend Cuba - it was in the USA’s sphere of influence and thus was great propaganda for communism/the USSR

Question 12

What was another phrase used to describe Cuba being in the USA’s sphere of influence?

Answer 12

It was in ‘Uncle Sam’s Backyard’

Question 13

What options were open to JFK to deal with the crisis?

Answer 13

• Do nothing
• Air strike to destroy the missile bases
• Full scale invasion of Cuba
• Get the UN to sort it out
• Blockade

Question 14

When did JFK announce a blockade on Cuba?

Answer 14

Monday 22 October 1962 (8 days after the missile sites were first spotted)

Question 15

How did Khrushchev respond on 23 October ‘62 after JFK had demanded he remove the missiles from Cuba?

Answer 15

Khrushchev wrote a letter to JFK saying Soviet ships would ignore the blockade

Question 16

When did the blockade begin?

Answer 16

Wed 24 October (two days after it was announced)

Question 17

What happened when the Soviet ships (which were carrying missiles) reached the blockade on Wed 24 October (the same day the blockade began)

Answer 17

The 20 ships closest to the blockade stopped or turned around

Question 18

Despite the Soviet ships not attempting to breach the blockade, what was continuing to happen in Cuba?

Answer 18

Work on the missile bases was continuing rapidly

Question 19

What did JFK receive on Friday 26 October?

Answer 19

A letter from Khrushchev admitting for the first time of the existence of missiles in Cuba and that a resolution could be agreed

Question 20

What does Khrushchev’s second letter (Sat 27 Oct.) say?

Answer 20

Proposes that missiles will be withdrawn from Cuba if USA removes missiles from Turkey

Question 21

What complicates matters on 27 October 1962?

Answer 21

An American spy plane is shot down over Cuba and the pilot is killed. JFK is advised to attack Cuba.

Question 22

How does JFK respond to Khrushchev’s letters?

Answer 22

He ignores the second one (about Turkey) and replies to the first that unless the USSR withdraws, the USA will attack Cuba.

Question 23

What does Khrushchev’s final reply on Sunday 28 October say?

Answer 23

That the USSR will ‘dismantle’ the ‘offensive weapons’ and ‘return them to the Soviet Union’