B Reactor History Room: Cuban Missile Crisis

The Cuban Missile Crisis exhibit panel in the History Room.

See exhibit panel for specific image credits.

Main Text
Text at the left reads: “During the 13 days of the Cuban Missile Crisis, U.S. spy planes took photos of the missile installations the Soviet Union set up on Cuba.”

Text at the bottom right continues: “Cuban Missile Crisis - An international crisis began in October 1962, when a U.S. spy plane flying over Cuba photographed a Soviet medium range ballistic missile facility. In response, on October 22, 1962, President Kennedy announced his decision to enact a naval blockade of Cuba while considering a full-scale land invasion. After 13 days of fear that the world was on the brink of nuclear war, Soviet leader Khrushchev and President Kennedy came to an agreement where weapons were removed, and no country was invaded.”

Exhibit Panel Description
The poster shows a black-and-white aerial photograph over San Cristobal, Cuba on October 14, 1962. Annotations and arrows indicate the locations of erector slash launch equipment, and eight missile trailers.

Visit This Exhibit Panel
In-person visitation of the B Reactor is only authorized on guided tours offered by the Department of Energy.