"Black Saturday, October 27, 1962: The Cuban Missile Crisis Near-Misses Explained"

The Cuban Missile Crisis lasted about two weeks, but historians often single out one Saturday. This explainer sets out what the sources we read report happened on it, and where those accounts rest on veterans' memories. It is history, and describes no 2026 event.

For the opening of the crisis, read our explainer on Kennedy's October 22 address.

Near-Miss One: The U-2 Over Cuba

Defense Media Network reports that Major Rudolf Anderson of the 4080th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing was flying a U-2 over Cuba when Soviet forces at Banes fired a surface-to-air missile and destroyed his aircraft. He was probably killed instantly. MiGFlug describes him as a 35-year-old from South Carolina and says he was the only person killed by enemy fire during the crisis.

That article also says the shoot-down was ordered locally, without approval from Moscow. We have not checked this against primary archives, so treat it as one account.

Near-Miss Two: The Lost U-2 Over Siberia

On the same day, a separate U-2 flown by Captain Charles Maultsby was on an air-sampling mission towards the North Pole from Alaska. Both sources say the aurora disoriented him and he strayed west into Soviet airspace over Chukotka before turning back.

According to Defense Media Network, Soviet MiG-19s were launched against him, and Alaska Air Defense Command launched F-102 interceptors that carried nuclear-armed missiles because of the raised alert. They were seconds from firing when word came that the U-2 was back in US airspace. MiGFlug adds that Maultsby glided his aircraft to a landing at Kotzebue, Alaska, after about 10 hours and 25 minutes in the air, and was not blamed.

Near-Miss Three: Submarine B-59

Earlier that day, US destroyers and aircraft held the Soviet submarine B-59 down in the Sargasso Sea using practice depth charges. MiGFlug says the submarine carried a nuclear-tipped torpedo that the US Navy did not know about, and that the crew suffered extreme heat and rising carbon dioxide.

Both sources report that Captain Valentin Savitsky believed real depth charges were being used and prepared the nuclear torpedo. Defense Media Network says other officers persuaded him to cancel the launch. MiGFlug names Vasili Arkhipov, the brigade chief of staff aboard, as the officer who refused to authorise it. The two accounts agree on the outcome, differ slightly on who persuaded whom, and MiGFlug notes that veterans' accounts, including the exact wording of Savitsky's order, are disputed.

The Diplomatic Moves

Overnight, Khrushchev sent a tougher letter that added a demand for the removal of US Jupiter missiles from Turkey. Defense Media Network says it had been sent first but arrived late, and that Washington reacted angrily.

That evening, President Kennedy sent Attorney General Robert Kennedy to meet Soviet Ambassador Anatoly Dobrynin. According to the same source, Robert Kennedy warned that US airstrikes and an invasion would begin in just over 36 hours without a settlement. He offered to remove the Jupiters from Turkey within four to five months, as long as the Soviets did not publicly link this to their withdrawal from Cuba. Dobrynin cabled the offer to Khrushchev.

October 28: The Resolution

Defense Media Network reports that Khrushchev received the offer in the early hours of Sunday, October 28, Moscow time. He accepted it after consulting his advisers, and ordered a positive reply broadcast on Radio Moscow's English-language service so that cable delays would not recur.

Why Black Saturday Is Remembered

The day shows how close a crisis can come to catastrophe through accident, misreading and local decisions, as well as through leaders' choices. The submarine episode only became public in October 2002, according to MiGFlug, at a conference in Havana. Arkhipov had died in 1998.

For India, 1962 was also the year of the war with China, which our Sino-Indian War explainer dates to October 20, a week before Black Saturday. It is a separate history. For the world body of today, see our UN Day article.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is it called Black Saturday?

It is the name historians use for October 27, 1962, because several of the crisis's most dangerous incidents happened on it.

Who was Rudolf Anderson?

A US Air Force U-2 pilot, shot down over Cuba, and the only person killed by enemy fire in the crisis according to MiGFlug.

What did Arkhipov do?

The sources say he helped stop B-59's captain from launching a nuclear torpedo. Accounts of exactly who persuaded him differ.

Was the Turkey deal public?

Defense Media Network says Robert Kennedy asked that it not be publicly linked to the Cuba withdrawal.

Conclusion

Black Saturday is best understood as a day of several near-misses that ended with a private offer and a public reply. For the date's wider context, see our October 27, 2026 overview.