Shot down over the Soviet Union

Synopsis

The reconnaissance flights of the Americans into East Block airspace were more numerous and more dangerous than originally claimed. From the sky, the Cold War was waged in earnest - with cameras, aerial canons and rockets. There were countless weapons launched, prisoners taken and fatalities suffered. During the secret aerial war the superpowers forced patently western aircraft into Soviet airspace; Western Germany was a sort of base for America's espionage activities. The film discloses a multitude of heretofore unknown actions, elucidated by impressive, often emotional commentary by the actual participants. The contemporary witnesses discuss operations including the dropping of agents during night flights, and top-secret actions undertaken to detect potential bases for nuclear attacks.