"On This Date in Cryptologic History" Calendar
1962: President Kennedy ordered a naval quarantine of Cuba
President Kennedy ordered a naval quarantine of Cuba after intelligence discovered offensive missile sites on the island #OTD in 1962. The Cuban Missile Crisis highlighted the importance of direct communication between nuclear powers. One of the outcomes of the crisis was the installation of a “Hotline” between Washington and Moscow. The original Washington-to-Moscow Hotline was a one-time tape/teletype system for which the Soviets and Americans exchanged compatible equipment.
Pictured here is the East German T63-SU12 teleprinter with an encryptor system, which was used as part of the hotline from 1963 to 1980. Learn more about the hotline via the link below to the NCM's Virmuze virtual museum.
