Documents / FOIA release
This is a CIA History Staff monograph by Gregory W. Pedlow and Donald E. Welzenbach, written in 1992 and approved for release in 2011. It covers the CIA's manned overhead reconnaissance program from 1954 to 1974 and its two aircraft, the U-2 and the A-12 OXCART. It follows their development, the overflights of the Soviet Union, the downing of Francis Gary Powers in 1960, and later operations. One section is titled "U-2s, UFOs, and Operation BLUE BOOK."
“Edwards Air Force Base”5 pages
--Geoost-ALIDEQUAL Chapter 4 174 ED 129581.6181111>10101010<25Yrs (Si of Soviet ICBM sites. The other proposed overflight, Operation TIME STEP out of Greenland, was more likely to run into bad weather (which would affect both navigation and photography) because the tlightpath would remain above 60° north latitude during the entire mission. Furthermore, mission planners opposed this route because of its greater risk. In his letter to Richard Bissell on 14 March 1960, tated: Operation "TIME STEP" is our last choice because we can as- sume, with a 90 percent probability of being correct, that we will be detected on entry, tracked accurately throughout the period in denied territory (approximately four hours), and will evoke a strong PV0 [Soviet Air Defense] reaction. This flight plan would permit alerting of SAM sites, and pre-positioning of missile equipped fighters in the Murmansk area (point of exit) thus enhancing the possibility of successful intercept. In addition, we must assume that even were the Soviets unable to physicall y in- terfere with such an incursion, sufficient evidence will be avail- able to permit them to document a diplomatic protest should they desire to do so.15 The concerns raised by about TIME STEP should also have been raised about tJation ND SLAM, which would be the most adventuresome overflight to date because it proposed covering so much of the Soviet Union. If the Soviets could track the U-2 early in the mission, they would have plenty of time to prepare to intercept the aircraft. The pilot selected for Operation GRAND SLAM was Francis Gary Powers, the most experienced U-2 pilot in the program. Powers had joined the project in May 1956 and had flown 27 operational mis- sions in the U-2. including one each over the Soviet Union and China as well as six along the Soviet border. To prevent the U-2 from being seen project manag- ers decided to ferry the aircraft from the night be- fore the scheduled flight. Once the p ane was refueled and its camera was loaded, it would take off at daybreak, with little if any exposure to local residents because of darkness and its short stay—less than six Memorandum for Richard M. Bissell. Deputy Director (Plans). from 1;;I cting Chief. DPD, "E‘aluation of Proposed CHALICE Operations.' 14 N1arc1i IStaff, COMIREX records,' 1CHALICE (General)" (TS Codeword). UNCLASSIFIED
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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.