The Speed of Heat by David Mueller

On November 5th, 1962, two RF-8A Crusaders flew another low level reconnaissance mission over the island of Cuba during the Cuban Missile Crisis. During this mission, Lt. Cdr. Tad Riley from VFP-62 and Capt. Fred Carolan from VMCJ-2 were jumped by a pair of Russian MiG-21 fighters. Although one of the MiGs disengaged, the other continued to chase the Crusaders. The unarmed Crusaders then "hit the deck" and went to afterburner, reaching speeds of Mach 1.2, and at times, were below 50 feet of altitude over the sugarcane fields of Cuba.