Francis Gary Powers
American pilotWikipedia
29
MENTIONS
26
EPISODES
20
PODCASTS
Search complete. 29 mentions across 26 episodes found for "Francis Gary Powers".
Nov 5, 2026
Greg TishHOST
Let's see if you find it before me.
Jason TaylorHOST
Chad GPT says Francis Gary Powers, Dale Harris.
Jason TaylorHOST
Dale
Greg TishHOST
Harris.
JimmyHOST
By then, she'd brought in a second lawyer, Carl McAfee of Norton, Virginia, recommended because he had experience dealing with foreign governments.
JimmyHOST
In 1960, McAfee had in fact traveled to Moscow with the parents of the captured U-2 pilot, Francis Gary Powers, who I've covered before on this channel.
JimmyHOST
According to the appeals court that later heard McAfee's own case, he, Max Jenkins, and Olga flew to Jamaica.
JimmyHOST
They came back with two copies of a death certificate stating that Wallace Thrasher had died in a tragic accident.
Jon ShamahHOST
Right.
Jon ShamahHOST
Gary Powers, he was flying the American U-2 like spy plane over 70,000 feet.
Jon ShamahHOST
He got shot down by a Soviet SA-2 guideline surface-to-air missile.
Jon ShamahHOST
It was a massive shock to the West.
Samuel TrappHOST
You know what I mean? The, the, The air defense discussions talked about in historical triangles.
Samuel TrappHOST
Remember Francis Gary Powers U2 that got shot down over the Soviet Union in 1960? Remember that? And it exposed America to espionage.
Samuel TrappHOST
And oh my God, we're doing that now? In the 60s, people didn't know we were doing that.
Samuel TrappHOST
And then people had to come clean about it because the guy's been, you know, taken into custody.
Helen GabayHOST
Number three, the famous Bridge of Spies, yes, like the Tom Hanks movie, gets its name from the very first exchange that happened there back in 1962.
Helen GabayHOST
Soviet spy Rudolf Abel was traded for American U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers, who was shot down over the Soviet Union.
Helen GabayHOST
But the bridge was used far less often for swapping spies than its legend suggests.
Helen GabayHOST
It only hosted three major exchanges during the whole of the Cold War, in 1962, 85, and 87, though across those exchanges, 40 prisoners were swapped in total.
Jeff CrudeleHOST
Those men coming home at Christmas at the top of this episode.
Jeff CrudeleHOST
If his name rings a bell, it's because Donovan was also the lawyer who negotiated the famous swap of the Soviet spy, Rudolph Abel, for the U2 pilot, Francis Gary Powers.
Jeff CrudeleHOST
Tom Hanks played him in a movie.
Jeff CrudeleHOST
Now, getting the 1,200 men of Brigade 2506 out of Castro's jails was a project of its own.
speaker_0NARRATOR
Then came May 1, 1960.
speaker_0NARRATOR
A CIA U-2 aircraft flown by pilot Francis Gary Powers was shot down over Soviet territory.
speaker_0NARRATOR
The incident immediately became an international crisis.
speaker_0NARRATOR
At first, the United States attempted to deny the purpose of the flight.
Dave FarinaHOST
The USSR also developed more complex air defense missiles that could shoot down any bomber or spy plane the US had at the time, and one actually did.
Dave FarinaHOST
On May 1, 1960, Francis Gary Powers, flying in a Lockheed U-2, was shot down over Russia, captured alive, and paraded around as a trophy.
Dave FarinaHOST
This was a clear indication that the Soviet Union was no longer the technological backwater that many had dismissed.
Dave FarinaHOST
American leadership was in full panic.
Philip ClarkHOST
Yeah.
Philip ClarkHOST
You've got an, uh, speaking of the, the Cold War, you've got an original flight suit that belonged to Francis Gary Powers.
Mike PritchardGUEST
Francis Gary Powers.
Mike PritchardGUEST
I have that here-
Philip ClarkHOST
Um-
speaker_0NARRATOR
In eastern Turkey, across the valley from Mount Ararat, is the site we will be visiting.
speaker_0NARRATOR
This area was first photographed in an aerial survey conducted in 1959 by Francis Gary Powers.
speaker_0NARRATOR
Later, Turkish Lieutenant Durupinar spotted the boat-shaped object in these photographs.
speaker_0NARRATOR
So in 1960, a group from the United States journeyed to the site, but they prematurely concluded it was just a natural formation.
16 more episodes mention Francis Gary Powers.
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