<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>On February 10, 1962, US spy plane pilot Gary Powers, who had been shot down over Soviet Russia, was freed on "The Bridge in Spies" in Berlin.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>CIA operative Powers was flying his U-2 reconnaissance aircraft on a top-secret mission in May 1960 when it was hit by a Russian missile, and he was forced to bail out.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He was captured, interrogated and put on trial by Soviet authorities for espionage, in what became a major flashpoint of the Cold War.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/king-charles-speaks-andrew-mountbatten-windsor-jeffrey-epstein/17dd1139-1978-4063-aa32-1d5199f1c658" rel="" target="_blank" title=" King Charles 'stands ready' to support investigation into Andrew Mountbatten Windsor's links to Jeffrey Epstein"><strong><span>King Charles 'stands ready' to support investigation into Andrew Mountbatten Windsor's links to Jeffrey Epstein</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The incident caused a planned superpower summit in Paris between US President Dwight Eisenhower and Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Powers was sentenced to 10 years in prison, after what Western governments described as a show trial.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But behind-the-scenes talks between American and Russian officials led to a deal where Powers would be released in exchange for a high-ranking KGB officer Rudolf Abel arrested in the United States.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/world/today-in-history-february-10-what-happened-on-this-day-gary-powers-release/78118ad2-aecf-44f0-a9f7-2d69e8e6073a" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>It came to fruition on a chilly morning, when both men were brought to the Glienicker Bridge, which connected the then East and West Berlin.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>At an agreed time, the prisoners stepped out on the 130 metres long bridge and began walking towards and across a white line in the centre, separating the city's east and western sectors.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/pro-palestine-rally-planned-during-isaac-herzog-visit-court-challenge/c93d92d0-3917-4fe2-a0dd-71d637ca47f5" rel="" target="_blank" title="NSW Police assistant commissioner slams 'outrageous' protester behaviour during visit of Israeli president"><strong><span>NSW Police assistant commissioner slams 'outrageous' protester behaviour during visit of Israeli president</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>When he returned to the United States, Powers found a cool reception from some Americans who felt he should not have allowed himself to be captured alive.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He, like other CIA officers, carried a hidden dose of poison in case of capture, but Powers chose not to take it after his capture.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Powers was cleared of any blame for the loss of his U-2 plane by the CIA and the Senate.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He later left the CIA and worked as a helicopter pilot for a Los Angeles television station.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He died in 1977 during a helicopter crash.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The family of Powers campaigned for years for official recognition by the US military.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Finally in 2000, he was posthumously honoured by the US Air Force on the 40th anniversary of his plane being downed.</span></div></div><div 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