16 October 2012Last updated at 01:10

In pictures: Cuban missile crisis 50 years on

Remains of silos for Soviet nuclear warheads, San Cristobal, Cuba

Fifty years after the Cuban missile crisis, when the world came the closest yet to nuclear war, the vast silos built for the warheads are now a jumble of dismantled concrete in the countryside near San Cristobal. It would have taken two-and-a-half hours to prepare and arm the missiles.

Overgrown Soviet built road near San Cristobal, Cuba

Soviet troops built roads like this one, now overgrown, to bring their nuclear missiles onto Cuba. They moved at night, under cover of darkness.

Despite the secrecy, Julio Dominguez saw the huge missiles pass his house and spoke to Soviet soldiers. He says he was well aware of the great danger from the clash of the two superpowers.

This marks the site of the launch pad built for missiles 77 times more destructive than the bomb dropped on Hiroshima. Cuban residents were moved out of areas used for the missile sites.

Today, part of a nuclear silo is used by this family to give added protection to their cyclone shelter.

Wing of a US spy plane, San Cristobal, Cuba

The shooting down of an American U2 spy plane was one of the most dangerous moments of the October crisis. Had the US invaded they would have faced a force armed with tactical nuclear missiles.

Soviet military hardware in San Cristobal, Cuba

Relics of the missile crisis at this military complex in Havana have been spruced up for the 50th anniversary. Much of the Soviet hardware brought onto Cuba was left behind to reinforce the military. Pictures and text by Sarah Rainsford.

Latin America & Caribbean

In pictures: Cuban missile crisis 50 years on

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