On October 15, 1962, the Soviet Union was discovered attempting to install nuclear missiles in Cuba. These missiles would have been capable of quickly reaching the United States. President Kennedy responded with a naval blockade. After several days of increasing tensions, the Soviet Union finally agreed to remove the missiles.
In the spring of 1963 the U.S. quietly removed the missiles from Turkey, that equally threatened the Soviet Union. This crisis is regarded as the closest the world has come to a nuclear exchange. Soon after this incident, the famous ‘hot line' was installed between the U.S. and the Soviet Union to help resolve future conflicts
