Soviet forces shoot down a U-2 over Cuba as Washington and Moscow edge toward a secret deal

A Soviet surface-to-air missile downs a U.S. U-2 reconnaissance plane over Cuba and kills Major Rudolf Anderson Jr. On the same day, Washington receives a harder Soviet message demanding removal of U.S. Jupiter missiles from Turkey. President Kennedy resists immediate military retaliation, and that night Attorney General Robert Kennedy secretly meets Ambassador Anatoly Dobrynin to signal a path to settlement. The day becomes the crisis peak because combat has begun even as diplomacy becomes most urgent.