<Tr> <Th> Executed by </Th> <Td> Soviet Air Defense Forces </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Casualties </Th> <Td> 1 Soviet (friendly fire) killed </Td> </Tr> <P> On 1 May 1960, a United States U-2 spy plane was shot down by the Soviet Air Defence Forces while performing photographic aerial reconnaissance deep into Soviet territory . The aircraft, flown by pilot Francis Gary Powers, was hit by an S - 75 Dvina (SA - 2 Guideline) surface - to - air missile and crashed near Sverdlovsk (today's Yekaterinburg). Powers parachuted safely and was captured . </P> <P> Initially, the US authorities acknowledged the incident as the loss a civilian weather research aircraft operated by NASA, but were forced to admit the mission's true purpose when a few days later the Soviet government produced the captured pilot and parts of the U-2's surveillance equipment, including photographs of Soviet military bases taken during the mission . </P>

Who did the u 2 spy plane belong to