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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."

Open the PDF at page 4 Original source ↗

“Mission Control”17 pages

  • p. 9 …The struggle between the CIA and the US Air Force to control the U-2 and…
  • p. 72 …2 missions. Access to the photographs taken by the U-2 would be strictly controlled, which…
  • p. 73 …This pact gave the Air Force responsibility for pilot selection and training, weather information, mission plotting…
  • p. 81 …Before the start of a mission, the ground crew set the counters to indicate the total…
  • p. 96 …All of the products from this project would be placed in the new control sys- tem…
  • p. 100 …This was an S-band radar used by Soviet forces for early warning and ground-controlled…
  • p. 113 …The President nevertheless maintained tight control over the program and authorized only 10 days of overflights…
  • p. 128 …the following day, whithi next U-2 mission returned from the Middle East. After quickly developing…
  • p. 140 …Welzenbach (S); Mission folder 4020 (18 Marcn n, CJJA rerar9 ITS Codeword). OSA History. chap. 4…
  • p. 142 …of the first series of U-2 missions as condu this research under a project codenamed…
  • p. 147 …not an easy task in crowded Japan.`) Detachment C began conducting missions in June 1957 after…
  • p. 191 …This revised cover story, along with a mission flight plan consistent with it, was sent to…
  • p. 196 …with Abel's "wife" (probably his Soviet control) in East Germany. In November 1961, Acting DCI…
  • p. 204 …in-the DDP in order to maintain control of his overhead reconnais- sance projects (the U…
  • p. 220 …Strongly favoring Air Force control of the U-2 missions over Cuba. the DOD representatives called…
  • p. 335 …The flood of information that the U-2 missions gathered led to a major expansion of…
  • p. 340 …In 1959 Bissell became Deputy Director for Plans but kept the reconnaissance projects under his control…
CO5653421 UNCLASSIFIED
• Chapter 1
Searching for a System
The Need for High-Altitude Reconnaissance 1
Early Postwar Aerial Reconnaissance 2
New Approaches to Photoreconnaissance 4
The Air Force Search for a New Reconnaissance Aircraft 8
Lockheed CL-282 Supporters and the CIA 13
Scientists and Overhead Reconnaissance 17
The BEACON HILL Report 17
Concern About the Danger of a Soviet Surprise Attack 19
The Air Force Intelligence Systems Panel 21
British Overflight of Kapustin Yar 23
The Intelligence Systems Panel and the CL-282 24
The Technological Capabilities Panel 26
Project Three Support for the Lockheed CL-282 27
A Meeting With the President 32
CIA and Air Force Agreement on the CL-282 33
• Chapter 2
Developing the U-2
The Establishment of the U-2 Project 39
Funding Arrangements for Project AQUATONE 43
Major Design Features of the U-2 45
The Development of the Camera System 48
Preparations for Testing the U-2 56
Security for the U-2 Project 59
The CIA — Air Force Partnership 60
Technical Challenges to High-Altitude Flight 61
Delivery of the First U-2 66
Initial Testing of the U-2 68
U-2s, UFOs, and Operation BLUE BOOK 72
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.