The U–2 Crisis of 1960 occurred when an American U–2 spy plane was shot down over the Soviet Union. The U.S. denied the true purpose of the plane, but was forced to admit it when the U.S.S.R. produced the living pilot and the largely intact plane to corroborate their claim of being spied on aerially. The incident worsened East–West relations during the Cold War and was a great embarrassment for the United States.
