Soviet Spy Planes over the West during the Cold War

"Rusty B" wrote in message
m...
I've noticed that by doing a Google search, you can come up with all
kinds of data about U.S. and western countries flying recon flights
over Soviet and other Communist territory during the Cold War
along with a list of shootdowns.

I'm sure there were also Soviet recon flights over and near
Western territory during the Cold War, but no one seems to
mention it. Does anyone have a list of incidents?

Two incidents I have found are overflights of the Italian and
Turkish Jupiter missile sites.

A Google search found this May 2001 message:

"In 1962, a Bulgarian MiG-17 recon airplane crashed into an olive grove
near
one of the Italian Launch Sites, after overflying the site."

George Smith, who installed Jupiter missiles in Turkey in 1961 also
mentioned a MiG crash near the Turkish Jupiter sites. He said film
was recovered from the wreckage.

Does anyone have any more info about the above incidents or other
overflight incidents?

If you stretch the definition of "overflight" a bit, there was the Soviet
Tu-16 that did a low level over and around a USN CVBG, then dipped a wingtip
into the water and cartwheeled in (photos available on the web--saw thenm
rather recently). There were also reports that the Soviets used Aeroflot
aircraft configured with cameras to do some surveillance work on the way
into New York and Washington, DC. Then there was this offering regarding
Soviet incursions into Japanese airspace: "Japan's airspace was violated 350
times in 1986 by Soviet aircraft. There were 36 incursions this January
alone." (www.winstonchurchill.org/i4a/ pages/index.cfm?pageid=564 ) In the
end the comparitive openess of western antions did not require the Soviets
to go to the lengths that nations like the US and UK had to resort to in
order to gain information about military developments.

Brooks


- Rusty Barton
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