Cuba Archive - Case 3912

Case ID: 3912

Title: Mayor

First name: Rudolph

Last name: Anderson

Suffix: Jr.

Aliases: N/A

Name also reported as: Rudolfino Anderson

Age: 35

Gender: Male

Date of Birth: Year:1927

Civil Status: Unknown

Date of death/disappearance: Day:27 / Month:10 / Year:1962

Citizenship: United States

Last known address: N/A

Last known city: N/A

Last known province-TOD: N/A

Last known province current: N/A

Last known country: United States

Location death-address: near the town of Veguitas, Oriente province

Location of death - city: N/A

Location of death province - at TOD: Oriente

Location of death province - current: N/A

Location of death - country: Cuba

Trial held?: No

Docket Number: N/A

Sentence details: N/A

Arrest or detention at time of death: No

Date of arrest: N/A

Imprisoned/Detained: Location: N/A

How long imprisoned/detained: N/A

Death attributed to: Castro regime

Death attribution detail: Armed Forces: FAR (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias)

Associated Event: N/A

Case description:

Pilot of U-2 plane shot down by a Soviet surface-air missile during the Cuban missile crisis while flying a reconnaissance mission as President Kennedy and Russian Premier Nikita Khrushchev negotiated the removal of Russian missiles from Cuban soil. Apparently, Soviet and Cuban troops launched two land to air missiles, that exploded far from the plane but shrapnel penetrated the fuselage and Anderson´s suit. The loss of pressure disabled Anderson and brought down the plane near the town of Veguitas, then Oriente province.Then Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev later wrote in his memoirs that Fidel Castro had ordered Soviet antiaircraft officers stationed in Cuba to shoot down the plane and they had complied without authorization from Moscow. The plane was almost completely destroyed but Anderson’s body was recovered and returned to the United States. He was buried at Woodlawn Cemetery after a military funeral and posthumously awarded the first Air Force Cross. Anderson was survived by a wife, Jane; a daughter, Robyn; and two sons, James and Rudolph Anderson Jr.  He had been an Eagle Scout growing up in South Carolina and had a degree in textile engineering from Clemson University (1948). After working for several years at a mill, he joined the U.S. Air Force in 1951 and was a combat pilot during the Korean War.
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Piloto del avión U-2 derribado por un misil soviético de superficie durante la crisis de los misiles cubanos. Tomó las primeras fotos de los silos de misiles soviéticos que se produjeron durante la crisis y fue el destinatario de la primera Cruz de la Fuerza Aérea. Le sobrevivió su esposa, una hija y dos hijos. Luego, el primer ministro soviético Nikita Khrushchev escribió que Fidel Castro había ordenado a oficiales antiaéreos soviéticos estacionados en Cuba que derribaran el avión y que lo hicieron sin autorización de Moscú.
Se ha informado que las tropas soviéticas y cubanas lanzaron dos misiles tierra-aire pero ambos explotaron muy lejos como para causar daños graves a la aeronave. Sin embargo, un pequeño trozo de metralla atravesó el fuselaje del avión y penetró en el traje de Anderson, provocando su despresurización. Probablemente perdió el conocimiento casi inmediatamente y murió en segundos. Su avión sin piloto quedó entonces fuera de control y cayó 13 millas a la Tierra, estrellándose cerca del pueblo cubano de Veguitas.

Sources: Conflict of Evidence:

Violation Status: Reported: Highly likely / Highly reliable source(s)

Cause of Death: - Combat: Fatality or Missing in Action

Occupations: - Military Specific Occupations

External Files: N/A

Relatives in Archive: N/A

Victim Type: - Armed Forces: of another country

Affiliations: N/A

Other Victims Same Event: N/A

Case Record - Rudolph Anderson