Q 01/05

How many days did the Cuban Missile Crisis last, from 16 to 28 October 1962?

A) Twenty-one

B) Thirteen

C) Six

D) Nine

Answer · why

B) Thirteen

Robert Kennedy's posthumous memoir of the crisis was titled Thirteen Days, and Cubans call it the October Crisis.

Q 02/05

What name do Russians use for the October 1962 confrontation?

A) The Caribbean Crisis

B) The Havana Crisis

C) The Kennedy Crisis

D) The Atlantic Crisis

Answer · why

A) The Caribbean Crisis

Cubans call it the October Crisis; the Soviet leadership later saw the outcome as 'a blow to its prestige bordering on humiliation'.

Q 03/05

Which American missiles had been placed in Italy and Turkey in 1961, within range of Moscow?

A) Minuteman

B) Polaris

C) Jupiter

D) Atlas

Answer · why

C) Jupiter

Thor missiles had gone to England in 1959 under Project Emily; the Jupiters became the secret half of the eventual deal.

Q 04/05

What was the Soviet code name for the secret deployment of missiles to Cuba?

A) Maskirovka

B) Zapata

C) Mongoose

D) Anadyr

Answer · why

D) Anadyr

Plans were written out in longhand and approved by Marshal Malinovsky on 4 July and Khrushchev on 7 July 1962.

Q 05/05

How were Soviet troops bound for Cuba misdirected about their destination?

A) They were given Spanish lessons for Spain

B) They were told they were on a fishing expedition

C) They were issued ski boots and parkas for a 'cold region'

D) They were told they were going to Vietnam

Answer · why

C) They were issued ski boots and parkas for a 'cold region'

The tropical climate then wrecked much of their equipment, with fuse failures, corrosion and generator blackouts.