In October 1962, the world stood at the brink of nuclear war as the United States and the Soviet Union faced off over missiles in Fidel Castro's Cuba.

On Sunday October 14, 1962, an American U-2 spy plane flew over Cuba taking photos of the suspected installations that the US said was clear evidence of Soviet missiles being deployed on the island, sparking the so called Cuban Missile Crisis.

Fifty years on, a new exhibition marking the anniversary of the Cuban missile crisis has opened in Washington.

Located at the National Archives Building, it is set to run until February.

The exhibition contains rare footage, photographs and recordings of the event.