Documents / Official release
This is a Secret History Staff monograph by Gregory W. Pedlow and Donald E. Welzenbach of the Central Intelligence Agency, published in 1992. It gives a history of the CIA's manned overhead reconnaissance program from 1954 to 1974, covering the development and operation of the U-2 and the A-12 OXCART aircraft. It covers overflights of the Soviet Union, the 1960 downing of Francis Gary Powers, and later operations. One section is titled "U-2s, UFOs, and Operation BLUE BOOK."
From the source:Release of 2026-06-12 This CIA History Staff document chronicles the complete history of the U-2 and OXCART (A-12) high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft programs from 1954 to 1974, detailing their development, operations over the Soviet Union and other targets worldwide, the famous downing of Francis Gary Powers in 1960, organizational reforms following that incident, and the eventual transfer of operations from CIA to Air Force control. A more redacted version of this document has been available on CIA's public website.
“Hill”15 pages
93 iee,et NOFORN Chapter 3 U-2 Operations in the Soviet Bloc and Middle East, 1956-1968 By January 1956, everyone working on Project AQUATONE could see that the U-2 was nearing the time for operational deployment. During tests the aircraft had met all the criteria established in late I954. Its range of 2,950 miles was sufficient to overfly continents, its altitude of 72,000 feet was beyond the reach of all known antiaircraft weapons and interceptor aircraft, and its camera lenses were the finest available. Because the main targets for the U-2 lay behind the Iron Curtain. Bissell and his staff began looking for operational bases in Europe. The United Kingdom, America's closest ally, seemed the logical choice for U-2 bases, and, on 10 January 1956, Bissell flew to London to discuss the maner with Royal Air Force (RAF) and MI-6 officials. Their initial response was favorable, but they told Bissell that the proposal needed approval at a much higher level. Bissell reported his findings to DCI Dulles, who promptly ar ranged to meet with Foreign Secretary Selwyn Lloyd in Londcin to explore the possibility of winning the British Government's approval for the project. Dulles presented his case to Lloyd on 2 February, and, by early March. Prime Minister Anthony Eden approved the basing of U-2s in the United Kingdom. The U-2s were to use Lakenheath AFB, an RAF base also used by the USAF Strategic Air Command (SAC).' ' OSA History. chap. 11. pp. 10-15 (TS Codeword). Secaet
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Official release, from the pursue 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.