FRANCIS GARY POWERS EXCHANGED IN BERLIN
West Berlin (JFK+50) On February 10, 1962, U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers* was exchanged for Soviet spy Rudolf Abel** and U.S. student Frederic L. Pryor. The exchange took place on the Glienicke Bridge here in Berlin.
Powers' U-2 was shot down over Soviet air space on May 1, 1960. He successfully parachuted to the ground safely, but was then captured. At the time of the exchange, Powers was serving a ten year sentence for espionage.
The exchange came partly as a result of the desire on the part of President John F. Kennedy and Premier Nikita Khrushchev for better relations between the United States and the Soviet Union.
*Francis Gary Powers (1929-1977) was born in Jenkins, KY & earned a B.S. at Tennessee's Milligan College. FGP enlisted in the USAF where he was recruited by the CIA. By the time of his capture by the Soviets, FGP had flown many covert missions.
**Rudolf Abel [William August Fisher] (1903-1971) was born in Newcastle, U.K. & became a Soviet intelligence officer. RA was arrested on charges of conspiracy in 1957 & sentenced to 30 years imprisonment.
