Sept. 15, 1962
U.S. reconnaissance planes photograph a Soviet freighter, the Poltava, nearing Cuba, with eight R-12 medium-range missiles hidden below decks. The above show the Poltova approaching the island. The Soviet cargo ship Krasnograd leaves for Cuba from Nikolaev, Ukraine, with another six R-12 missiles.
Sept. 16, 1962
The Poltava docks at Mariel, Cuba. A CIA agent reports the unloading of long rockets and a convoy of at least eight trucks departing for San Cristobal.
The Soviet ship Indigirka leaves a nuclear supply base in the Soviet Arctic with a cargo of six atom bombs, 12 Luna warheads, 36 R-12 long-range warheads, and 36 FKR short-range warheads.
Sept. 17, 1962
A CIA agent observes a missile convoy near Artemisa in western Cuba.
National Archives
