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General Aviation
Blue Moon over Cuba: Aerial Reconnaissance during the Cuban Missile Crisis
Most books on the Cuban Missile Crisis tell the story using the memoirs of those who advised President Kennedy as he struggled to avoid World War III. This book is the only known personal account of the lead photographic reconnaissance squadron's scouting dangerous low-level operations, flying the supersonic RF-8A Crusader, during the classified Operation Blue Moon. Captain Ecker was the commanding officer of US Navy Light Photographic Squadron 62 (VFP-62, otherwise known as "Fightin' Photo†?) during the Cuban Missile Crisis, a team created for reconnaissance and aerial photography, and consulted on the movie Thirteen Days, which included dramatic scenes of his first mission over Cuba on October 23, 1962. Blue Moon over Cuba is an authoritative and complete account of the low-level reconnaissance that might be said to have helped JFK avert nuclear Armageddon.
429 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 21, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
November 14, 2020
A very interesting read on aerial reconnaissance conducted over Cuba during the 1962 Missile Crisis. I enjoyed reading the accounts of the pilots actually involved. The book adeptly weaves these specific events into the wider context of what was happening.
However, the book could use a little polish in terms of focus and organization. It fluctuates between a biography on the late Capt. William Ecker (of whose memoirs this book is mostly based on) and a general history of the Crisis. The book is capable at doing both, but it does distract the reader at times. I very much enjoyed reading Ecker's personal recollections of the operation, along with the accounts of other pilots involved. The inclusion of such excerpts reveals a lot of the human side of the conflict, from light-hearted stories such as the marines' Playboy Bunny misadventure, to more serious memories such as a pilot's experience with encountering segregation at the time. These personal accounts brought such a refreshing and interesting look that I wanted to know more about these people. I was distracted when the book pulled back to a global scale and discussed the events of the Crisis at length without any reference to these personal accounts.
At the other end, I found the account of the Missile Crisis as a whole to be detailed and informative. The author, Kenneth Jack, not only relies heavily on other personal accounts and memoirs but also pulls information from a variety of other historians and authors, which I respect a lot. However, I felt that the book often leans too hard into the general history, when its real strength lies in the smaller scale of events and the inspiring people who were involved. Although establishing the context of events is important, the book would have been stronger if it shed some focus on the geopolitics and well known events in favor of VFP-62 - micro vs macro. An example of this inconsistent focus is in the final chapter, in which Jack discusses the aftermath of the Crisis, Castro and Khrushchev's aftermath, and his own analysis on if Kennedy was an effective leader, but then only briefly describes the aftermath of VFP-62 and the role of the pilots and RF-8s during the Vietnam War.
Perhaps it's my fault for expecting this book to be more of a historical account of Operation Blue Moon than an informal history and collation of memoir excerpts. In my opinion, the organization of the book made it a "jack of all trades, master of none" piece of Cold War history.
Despite this, the book is a worthwhile read into a specific topic such as this.
However, the book could use a little polish in terms of focus and organization. It fluctuates between a biography on the late Capt. William Ecker (of whose memoirs this book is mostly based on) and a general history of the Crisis. The book is capable at doing both, but it does distract the reader at times. I very much enjoyed reading Ecker's personal recollections of the operation, along with the accounts of other pilots involved. The inclusion of such excerpts reveals a lot of the human side of the conflict, from light-hearted stories such as the marines' Playboy Bunny misadventure, to more serious memories such as a pilot's experience with encountering segregation at the time. These personal accounts brought such a refreshing and interesting look that I wanted to know more about these people. I was distracted when the book pulled back to a global scale and discussed the events of the Crisis at length without any reference to these personal accounts.
At the other end, I found the account of the Missile Crisis as a whole to be detailed and informative. The author, Kenneth Jack, not only relies heavily on other personal accounts and memoirs but also pulls information from a variety of other historians and authors, which I respect a lot. However, I felt that the book often leans too hard into the general history, when its real strength lies in the smaller scale of events and the inspiring people who were involved. Although establishing the context of events is important, the book would have been stronger if it shed some focus on the geopolitics and well known events in favor of VFP-62 - micro vs macro. An example of this inconsistent focus is in the final chapter, in which Jack discusses the aftermath of the Crisis, Castro and Khrushchev's aftermath, and his own analysis on if Kennedy was an effective leader, but then only briefly describes the aftermath of VFP-62 and the role of the pilots and RF-8s during the Vietnam War.
Perhaps it's my fault for expecting this book to be more of a historical account of Operation Blue Moon than an informal history and collation of memoir excerpts. In my opinion, the organization of the book made it a "jack of all trades, master of none" piece of Cold War history.
Despite this, the book is a worthwhile read into a specific topic such as this.
March 18, 2022
Fast-moving and wide-ranging account of one of the most dangerous episodes in human history.
Blue Moon Over Cuba is an exciting book that takes readers from the cockpits of Navy photo-reconnaissance fighters flying more than 700 mph just two hundred feet above hostile guns in Cuba, to the White House and United Nations. Well-written, the book includes the personal memoirs of the Navy RF-8 squadron commander who flew the first low-level missions, the late CDR William Ecker, and was built up with recent interviews and research by Kenneth Jack, who was actually a member of that Navy squadron. It mines transcripts to convey the tense disagreements between US leaders, and delves into details to show how the skill and commitment of individuals made a difference. For example, as the crisis was building, the squadron received a mysterious phone call: "Do not hang up this phone. You can man your aircraft and start your engines." Then a short while later," Launch your aircraft." This permission allowed the professional RF-8 pilots to provide the critical evidence that could not be gathered from high-flying U-2s, and which was dramatically shown to the world in front of the UN Security Council. Blue Moon Over Cuba also reveals Soviet and Cuban thoughts to give a well-rounded and chilling view of the crisis. My compliments to Mr Jack for making this story of a grand and complex event so readable and personal!
Blue Moon Over Cuba is an exciting book that takes readers from the cockpits of Navy photo-reconnaissance fighters flying more than 700 mph just two hundred feet above hostile guns in Cuba, to the White House and United Nations. Well-written, the book includes the personal memoirs of the Navy RF-8 squadron commander who flew the first low-level missions, the late CDR William Ecker, and was built up with recent interviews and research by Kenneth Jack, who was actually a member of that Navy squadron. It mines transcripts to convey the tense disagreements between US leaders, and delves into details to show how the skill and commitment of individuals made a difference. For example, as the crisis was building, the squadron received a mysterious phone call: "Do not hang up this phone. You can man your aircraft and start your engines." Then a short while later," Launch your aircraft." This permission allowed the professional RF-8 pilots to provide the critical evidence that could not be gathered from high-flying U-2s, and which was dramatically shown to the world in front of the UN Security Council. Blue Moon Over Cuba also reveals Soviet and Cuban thoughts to give a well-rounded and chilling view of the crisis. My compliments to Mr Jack for making this story of a grand and complex event so readable and personal!
November 29, 2017
One of the best books you will read on photographic intelligence during the Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962.
December 26, 2023
overall good book
Got into a lot of details on the recon missions over Cuba. Which is great. But in the end it turned into peat and repeat and opinion.
Got into a lot of details on the recon missions over Cuba. Which is great. But in the end it turned into peat and repeat and opinion.
May 4, 2013
"Blue Moon Over Cuba" is an exceptional work, simultaneously serving as a tribute to all of the United States Navy's surface and aviation personnel who admirably fulfilled a daunting and dangerous mission to gather critical intelligence over Cuba during an international crisis -- as well as being a stellar example of excellent research detail and outstanding writing by its authors. Beyond the highly positive reviews already provided on "Blue Moon," this work is a "must read" for anyone interested in obtaining or researching not only an overarching operational knowledge and technical understanding of the military intelligence activities that took place during the "Cuban Missile Calamity," but also for those wishing to garner insight and appreciation of the highly detailed personal and organizational perspectives "Blue Moon" provides that are not available elsewhere. More over, "Blue Moon" is an easy, accurate, and insightful read that further clarifies and underscores the major and unique impact the United States Navy had on strengthening United States sovereignty and security in forcing the Soviet Union to back-down and to remove their offensive missiles from Cuban soil. No other book embodies the compendium of information on the Cuban standoff "Blue Moon" affords; it will be a key asset and reference on anyone's bookshelf.
This is an important book about a select group of aviators on the front lines during perhaps the most dangerous moment of the Cold War, telling the story of how heavily the intelligence community, and the President of the United States, relied on state-of-the-art aerial reconnaissance to navigate a way out of a confrontation that had the world on the brink of nuclear war in the Fall of 1962.
This is an important book about a select group of aviators on the front lines during perhaps the most dangerous moment of the Cold War, telling the story of how heavily the intelligence community, and the President of the United States, relied on state-of-the-art aerial reconnaissance to navigate a way out of a confrontation that had the world on the brink of nuclear war in the Fall of 1962.
October 12, 2014
What started out as an attempt to publish the memoirs of Capt. William B. Eckler, the Commanding Officer of VFP-62 during the Cuban Missile Crisis, this book evolved into much more. It is basically a one stop summary of the Cuban Missile Crisis and how photo reconnaissance was able to prevent war in the fall of 1962. All aspects of the Crisis are discussed, including the operations of VFP-62 with their RF-8 Crusaders, ruminations on aerial photo reconnaissance and the technology involved, and the behind the scenes military and political maneuvering both in Washington and in the United Nations. The book also make is clear that once the Crisis was over VFP-62’s work was not done, as they needed to fly missions to verify that the missiles had been removed and that additional weapons had not been imported. The combination of all of these items makes this a fascinating book and an excellent read. Highly recommended.
April 5, 2020
If you want to know what was the photography surveillance role of the Navy during the Cuban missile crisis please read this book. Also, if you are an MC in the Macy today also read this book and learn about your legacy PH rating and what we used to do to contribute to the cause. Very interesting from beginning to end.
October 3, 2023
Interesting to understand the Cuban missiles crise
did-not-finish
August 13, 2016A little too dry and narrowly-focused for me.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews