Documents / FOIA release

/specialCollection/MissileGap/1992/1992-04-01.pdf

Central Intelligence Agency · 406 pages · text from the file's own layer

This is a CIA History Staff monograph by Gregory W. Pedlow and Donald E. Welzenbach, published in Washington in 1992 and approved for release in 2011. It covers the CIA's manned overhead reconnaissance program from 1954 to 1974, which developed and flew the U-2 and the A-12 OXCART. It traces the U-2's development, the overflights of the Soviet Union, the downing of Francis Gary Powers on 1 May 1960, and later operations. One section is titled U-2s, UFOs, and Operation BLUE BOOK.

  • p. 223 …Rudolph Anderson. This loss again illustrated the U-2's vulnerability to the SA-2 missile…
Chapter 5
211
CO5653421 UNCLASSIFIED
other means. Although by late 1962 photographic satellites had be-
come an integral part of the overhead collection program, only U-2s
could provide the highly detailed photography that photointerpreters
needed to spot the early stages of work on missile sites. Attempts had
been made to photograph Cuba with satellites, but to no avail because
the satellites' normal orbits placed them over Cuba at the wrong time
of day, after clouds had formed.
U-2s Over
Agency U-2s again conducted operations in the Western Hemisphere
in December 1963. The Directorate of Plans had requestedphoto-
graphic coverage of and neighboring e-
cause of guerrilla activities conducted by a pro-Castro movement
Supplies far this movement appeared to be coming
across we Dowel from On 30 November 1963, the
NSC Special Group approvea overnights of the
order to determine the scope and rate o Du naup ot guci-
riila rorces. The Special Group stipulated that the entire effort was to
be conducted without the knowledge of either the
Within three days, several Detachment G aircraft and pilots de-
ployed to Ramey AFB, Puerto Rico, from which they made six
flights over the border areas between 3 and 19 December 1963 in an
operation known as SEAFOAM. The results of the effort were in-
conclusive, and the task force returned to Edwards AFB on 22
December."'
U-2 OPERATIONS IN ASIA
OSA History, chap. 16. pp. 35-36 (TS Codeword).
(012950 1.6W1111>1011,425Yrs
(Si
(012958 1.6(dli1l>10101010<25Yrs
(Si
UNCLASSIFIED

Not linked to a story yet.

About this file

FOIA release, from the cia-readingroom collection. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is above. 406 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.