Documents / FOIA release

CIA/CSI/ History Staff Monograph, The Central Intelligence Agency and Overhead Reconnaissance: The U-2 and Oxcart Programs, 16 July 2002.

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, 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."

  • p. 4 …Intelligence Systems Panel 21 British Overflight of Kapustin Yar 23 The Intelligence Systems Panel and the…
  • p. 29 …Operations Staff, OSI, "Overflight of Kapustin Yar." 15 October 1954, OSI (OSWR) records TS, down- graded…
  • p. 36 …British Overflight of Kapustin Yar The British were also working on high-altitude reconnaissance air- craft…
  • p. 37 …its members about the British overflight of Kapustin Yar because they were not cleared for this…
  • p. 122 …bomber, similar to the RAF overflight of Kapustin Yar in 1953. The US reply, sent to…
  • p. 152 …This facility was used to test radars against incoming missiles fired from Kapustin Yar, 1,400…
CO5653421 UNCLASSIFIED
Chapter 4
186
snubbed by President Kennedy, who one year earlier had warmly wel-
comed two Air Force RB-47 fliers released by the Soviet Union.
McCone remained hostile to Powers, and in April 1963 he awarded
the Intelligence Star to all of the U-2 pilots except Powers. Finally on
25 April 1965, just two days before McCone's resignation became ef-
fective, Powers received the Star (which was dated 1963 on the back)
from DDCI Marshall S. Carter."
Powers' return from captivity raised the question of what his fu-
ture employment should be. This issue had already been discussed
one year earlier by John N. McMahon, executive officer of the DPD,
who noted that he and Col. Leo P. Geary (the Air Force project offi-
cer) were concerned about a major dilemma for the CIA and the US
Government: I
[012958 1.61d1I11>1010<25Yrs
" OSA History, chap. 14. p. 54 (TS Codeword). Beschloss. Mayday, p. 397.
John N. McMahon to Chief, Cover Staff. DPD. 21 March 1961. Operation
files. OSA records tS).
" OSA History, chap. 14, p. 52 (TS Codeword).
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UNCLASSIFIED

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