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."
“Hill”13 pages
CO5653421 UNCLASSIFIED Sect- OFORN Chapter 5 254 [012958 1.61dll11>1010<25Yrs (SI 'lots were still flying missions targeted against hese missions did not overflyi ncreasinafy. gency u2s flew missions that did not involve intelligence collec- tion requirements. Support to Other Agencies Beginning in 1964, the Agency conducted a program known as RED DOT for the Department of Defense. RED DOT involved the devel- opment and testing of various color, black and white, and infrared films, emulsions, and processing techniques for use in manned and unmanned high-altitude reconnaissance systems. From 1968 until 1974. Detachment G U-2s photo g raphed areas within the United States that were analagous to portions of the Soviet Union in order to test films and techniques for spotting certain targets. This analogous filming was particularly valuable in connection with agricultural areas and nuclear test sites. Some U-2 missions supported agencies outside the intelligence community. In 1968 and 1969, Detachment G U-2s flew high-altitude photographic missions in conjunction with the Apollo VII and IX spaceflights in response to a NASA request. These flights provided photography of the western United States for comparison with the photography taken by the Apollo crews. The Department of the Interior also requested U-2 support in early 1969 to help determine the extent of damage caused by a leak in an offshore oil well in California's Santa Barbara Channel. After preliminary assessment of the film at NPIC, the mission photography was given to the US Geological Survey for further study. Also in early 1969, Detachment G began providing coverage of the western United States at the request of the Department of Commerce. U-2s filmed the Sierra snowfield to aid hydrologists in forecasting snowmelt and flooding potentials. Later that year. Detachment G supported the Office of Emergency Preparedness by photographin g 61.000 square miles of the southern United States as part of a Hurricane Baseline Survey. These photo graphs could be used for future damage assessment following a major hurricane. A subse- quent mission in fiscal year 1971 continued the Hurricane Baseline Survey by photographin g the Gulf Coast. When a major earthquake struck the Los Angeles area on 9 February 1971, Detachment G U-2s flew four sorties to obtain dama ge-assessment photos:4 (bid chap. 3. pp. 3-29 (TS Cudeword). 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.