Soviet Spy Planes over the West during the Cold War

Rusty B wrote:
I've noticed that by doing a Google search, you can come up with all
kinds of data about U.S. and western countries flying recon flights
over Soviet and other Communist territory during the Cold War
along with a list of shootdowns.

I'm sure there were also Soviet recon flights over and near
Western territory during the Cold War, but no one seems to
mention it. Does anyone have a list of incidents?

Two incidents I have found are overflights of the Italian and
Turkish Jupiter missile sites.

A Google search found this May 2001 message:

"In 1962, a Bulgarian MiG-17 recon airplane crashed into an olive grove near
one of the Italian Launch Sites, after overflying the site."

George Smith, who installed Jupiter missiles in Turkey in 1961 also
mentioned a MiG crash near the Turkish Jupiter sites. He said film
was recovered from the wreckage.

Does anyone have any more info about the above incidents or other
overflight incidents?

- Rusty Barton

Rusty -

This has been extensively discussed here in the past; go back, for
example, and search around the time a US recon plane was forced down in
China after colliding with a Chinese fighter.

The Soviets didn't need to do recon flights using sophisticated
dedicated planes, so there is little in the way of "incidents" in the
same sense.

Since the US is a free country, they can drive up to the gates, take
pictures, drive to a nearby hill, take pictures, rent a chopper and do a
near-by fly-by and take pictures, rent a nearby apartment and watch and
count traffic... see a pattern here? A free country means it is much
easier to conduct the type of recon that required the US to use recon
overflights over communist, closed countries.

The closest the Western Countries have to such incidents is when they
bounce a Soviet out for spying; see, for example:

- http://www.iwar.org.uk/news-archive/...e/03-22-01.htm
-
http://www.parliament.the-stationery.../Debate-1.html
- http://www.cipherwar.com/news/01/rus...l_expelled.htm
- http://www.therussiajournal.com/index.htm?obj=4376