Weekend Open Thread

Most TAH readers know about the May Day 1960 U-2 incident involving Gary Powers. But I’d guess not as many know about a U-2 incident that almost happened roughly 3 1/2 years earlier. It would have been fatal, caused the loss of a U-2, and would have been even more embarrassing to the USA than Powers being shot down had things gone very slightly differently.

U-2A on display at the National Museum of the US Air Force

During overflights of the Soviet Union, U-2 pilots for those flights were offered the option of carrying a suicide kit on each mission. (Carrying the kit at all, along with its use if captured, were at the pilot’s option.) By the time Powers’ U-2 was shot down, this kit used a concealed needle and a purified shellfish toxin (saxitoxin).

However, US overflights of the Soviet Union started in 1956 – nearly 4 years prior to Powers being shot down on May Day 1960. During the earlier years of the program the suicide kit consisted of what was referred to as an “L-pill”. This was a small glass capsule filled with a potassium cyanide solution. Biting down on the pill broke the glass; death due to cyanide poisoning would occur quite shortly afterwards.

That earlier L-pill reportedly very nearly led to another, earlier U-2 incident over the Soviet Union.

. . .

Only one Cold War U-2 flight ever overflew Moscow. That flight occurred on 10 July 1956; it was piloted by Carmine Vito. It wasn’t his only overflight of the Soviet Union.

Though U-2 pilots were warned that opening their pressure suit’s faceplate while at high altitude was dangerous, many did so anyway – generally in order to eat something small or get a piece of chewing gum during a mission. Vito was one of those who did.

Vito was reportedly fond of eating lemon drops during U-2 missions. Seems his throat got dry while at altitude, particularly during Soviet overflights. (Ya think!? Hell, during an overflight mission my butt cheeks would have been clenched tight enough to suck half the damn seat cushion up my . . . well, let’s just say I’d have been damned nervous too. [smile]) He found that lemon drops helped, so Vito always put a supply in one of his flight suit pockets.

This turned out to be a problem on 10 December 1956. On that date, Vito made another overflight of the Soviet Union. And the following reportedly happened (emphasis added):

About midway through the mission Vito opened his faceplate and popped into his mouth what he thought was another lemon drop. Closing the faceplate, he began sucking on the object and thought it strange that it had no flavor and was much smoother than the previous lemon drops. Although tempted to bite down, he decided instead to reopen his faceplate and see what it was. Spitting the object into his hand, he saw that he had been sucking on the L-pill with its lethal contents of potassium cyanide. Just a thin layer of glass had stood between him and near-instant death. Somewhat shaken, Vito successfully continued the mission and returned safely to base.

Source: Norman Polman, Spyplane: The U-2 History Declassified, MBI Publishing, 2001, p. 103.

Yep, you read that correctly. Vito had popped his L-pill into his mouth instead of a lemon drop. Only the fact that Vito refrained from biting down on the L-pill prevented his death – and the U-2 from crashing, very likely over Soviet territory.

You see, Vito had requested the suicide kit for that mission. And one of the USAF techs involved in mission prep had unknowingly put the L-pill Vito had requested into the same pocket that Vito used for his lemon drops.

The account is silent regarding whether or not Vito needed new skivvies after the mission. (I certainly would have.) But those early U-2 pilots were masters at “maintaining an even strain” – so maybe not.

On flights afterwards, the L-pill was reportedly boxed to prevent such a mix-up. And concerns about what might happen if one broke in the cockpit during a mission (with likely fatal results to the pilot) later led to the replacement of the L-pill with the saxitoxin-laced needle carried by Powers on his ill-fated final U-2 flight.

. . .

The accuracy of the above account involving lemon drops, an L-pill, and Vito has been disputed. Purportedly Vito himself denied it – but multiple other accounts say it indeed happened, with at least one account indicating Vito was heard after the mission relating the tale to other U-2 pilots.

Col. Carmine Vito, USAF (Ret), died in Austin, TX, on 27 August 2003. He’s thus no longer around to ask about the story’s accuracy.

Personally, I believe the incident happened – if not to Vito, then to another U-2 pilot. One thing I’ve learned during my lifetime is that (to paraphrase the late Arthur C. Clarke) not only is reality stranger than fiction – it’s sometimes also stranger than you can possibly imagine.

OK, enough Cold War history. Enjoy this week’s WOT – and have a great 3-day weekend.

Category: Historical, Open thread