NODULE X7 OSWALD IN MINSK AND THE U2 DUMP: JANUARY ...

THE RUSSIAN'S RESPONSE
Premier Khrushchev made a speech to the Soviets on May 5, 1960, in which he
reported his Air Force had downed an American spy plane, but made no mention that
Francis Gary Powers had been captured and the wreckage of the plane found. The
speech suggested an element in the American Government was at work without the
President's knowledge: "Even KGB often carries on activities I do not know about." In a
later statement the Soviet Government claimed the "flight had been sent to wreck the
Summit talks...the CIA knew Powers would be shot down, thus setting the stage for the
Summit's collapse."
At first, the State Department insisted the Russians had shot down one of the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration's U-2 meteorological research planes. On May 7,
1960, Premier Khrushchev reported to the Supreme Soviet that "we have plane parts
and we also have the pilot." The Eisenhower Administration was caught red-handed in a
lie. Khrushchev would announce he was about to attack the U-2's bases.
President Eisenhower canceled his trip to the USSR. On May 14, 1960, President
Eisenhower flew to the Summit Conference in Paris. Premier Khrushchev demanded an
apology for the overflights, and President Eisenhower promised him that no further
flights would be sent over Russia. The Summit meeting collapsed, over before it had
even started and détente with it.
The Soviets had previously failed to shoot down the U-2 for two reasons: It carried a
granger and flew at an altitude of over 60,000 feet.
Powers:
FACTOR ONE: THE GRANGER
As a defense against air-to-air missiles, those fired from another aircraft, a
new piece of equipment called a 'granger' was installed in the tail. As
explained to us, should an aircraft lock onto a U-2 with his radar and
launch a missile, the granger would send out a faulty signal to break the
radar lock. Whether it actually did this or not we had no way of knowing,
since we had never been threatened by aircraft.
The Soviets reported:
Expert findings on the tape recorder and its tape have shown that the
signals recorded by Powers came from surface radar systems insuring the
anti-aircraft defense of the Soviet Union. Special equipment had been
installed in Power's aircraft to counteract and interfere with interception
radar stations and fighter plane direction.
The Soviets also stated: