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
99 Soviet Air Forces. 12 Early in 1956, concern about a possible Soviet advantage in long-range bombers grew as Air Force Chief of Staff Twining informed the Senate Armed Services Committee that the Soviet Union already had more Bisons than the United States had B-52s and that the Soviets would be able to "maintain this advantage for some time if they keep on the production curve we are now pre dicting." 13 By May 1956, reporting on the growing Soviet air strength was no longer confined to aviation journals; U.S. News and World Report, for example, featured articles headlined "Can Soviets Take the Air Lead?" and "Is U.S. Really Losing in the Air?" 1"' Alongside fear of possible Soviet superiority in long-range bombers came a new potential threat: Soviet progress in guided mis sile research. Trevor Gardner, Air Force Assistant Secretary for Research and Development, warned in September 1955 that "the most complex and baffling technological mystery today is not the Russian capability in aircraft and nuclear weapons but rather what the Soviet progress has been in the field of guided missiles." 15 On 30 January 1956, Time magazine made the guided missile its cover story. . The article began by describing a hypothetical crisis set in 1962 in which the United States suffered a humiliating defeat because it had lagged behind the Soviet Union in guided missile development. 16 Just two weeks after this story appeared, the Soviets successfully tested a missile with a range of 900 miles, and President Eisenhower admitted at a press conference that the Soviet Union might be ahead of the United States in some areas of the missile field. Administration critic Senator Stuart Symington then claimed, "The facts are that our missile development may be ahead in the short-range area, but their mis sile development is ahead in the area that counts by far the most-the " Robert Hotz. "Russian Jet Airpower Gains Fast on US," Aviation Week, 23 May 1955, pp. I 2-15; "Aviation Week Story Spurs Debate on US, Red Airpower Positions," Aviation Week. 30 May 1955. pp. 13-14. '' Claude Witze. "Russians Outpacing US in Air Quality, Twining Warns Congress." Aviation Week, 27 February 1956. pp. 26-28; Robert Hotz, "Russian Air Force Now Gaining in Quality," Aviation Week. 12 March I956, p. 286. " "Can Soviets Take the Air Lead? What LeMay, Wilson, Ike Say,"' US News and World Report. 11 May 1956, pp. 108-114; "ls U.S. Really Losing in the Air?" US News and World Report. I 8 May I956. pp. 25-27. " William Coughlin. "Gardner Defends Greater R&D Spending," Aviation Week. 26 September 1955, p. 14. " "Missiles Away," Time. 30 January 1956, pp. 52-55. Seu et ftlUFOHN Chapter 3 S&&fCt
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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.