American spy pilot Francis Powers’ poison-tipped pin, flashlight, and a gun with silencer / Ilya Ogarev
U.S. pilot Francis Gary Powers, who was conducting a reconnaissance flight in the U-2 spy plane over Soviet territory was shot down on May 1, 1960 by a surface-to-air missile near Sverdlovsk (present day Yekaterinburg).
The pilot was able to eject himself. When he was captured Soviet agents discovered a pin with a poisoned tip, a flashlight, and a High Standard HDM pistol with integrated silencer - a U.S. special services weapon. On Feb. 10, 1962 Powers was swapped for Soviet spy Rudolf Abel, who had been arrested by the U.S.
the CIA is known to have issued a small dose of saxitoxin to U-2 spy plane pilot Francis Gary Powers in the form of a small injection hidden within a silver dollar, for use in the event of his capture and detainment.
