"How The Blockade Began"
U.S. News & World Report (Nov. 5, 1962)

    The blockade, as it got under way in the Carribean, was something to watch...........The
American blockade force was now spread out below, over thousands of square miles of blue
Caribbean.  From [unreadable] feet in the air, the altitude maintained by our two-engine Navy transport, it was an impressive sight..........The nucleus of this blockade fleet was the force of 40 warships that had been scheduled to conduct maneuvers off Puerto Rico.  Most of these sailed out secretly on October 21.  By October 24 they had been joined by more warships from several East Coast ports.  Norfolk, Va., and the big base at Mayport, Fla., near Jacksonville, contributed the biggest numbers...............

    Involved, by this time, were several carriers, some cruisers, dozens of destroyers, even
some submarines...............

    Aircraft were involved as well, but not in great numbers.  We saw nine in a four-hour
flight across the blockade area.  The bug function of the blockade planes, at this stage, was to spot by their high-altitude radar, all ships coming into the Caribbean, then to make a quick check on each one to find its nationality, type, and course.  It was the warships that were actively carrying out the blockade - and prepared to use force if necessary.  Nonetheless, hundreds of planes had been assembled.  You could see that the U.S. this time appeared to have more than enough strength on hand, in position to carry out an effective blockade.