July in Focus

The events leading up to the Cuban missile crisis as the Soviet military buildup in Cuba gathered momentum exactly half a century ago.

BY RACHEL DOBBS | JULY 17, 2012



July 15, 1962

As Soviet cargo ships like the one seen above begin leaving the Black Sea for Cuba, U.S. intelligence notes that they seem to be riding suspiciously high in the water. This leads to the suspicion that they are carrying military equipment or even missiles, which are significantly lighter than normal cargo.

National Security Archive

 

Rachel Dobbs is a research assistant with the Cuban Missile Crisis +50 project. You can follow the project on Twitter at @missilecrisis62.