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.
“Headquarters”22 pages
105 the Soviet Union's submarine construction program. Mission 2013's route also overflew a number of major military airfields to make an inventory of the new Bison jet-engine heavy bomber.1s The second overflight, on the following day, continued the search for Bison bombers. Pilot Carmine Vito's route was similar but somewhat to the south of Stockman's and also flew farther east, more than 200 kilometers past Moscow. Although the Soviet capital was al most completely hidden by clouds, the A-2 camera with haze filters took some usable photographs of the city. These turned out to be the only U-2 photographs of Moscow because no other mission was sent over the Soviet capital. Among the key targets photographed during mission 2014 were the Fili airframe plant, where the Bison was being built; the bomber arsenal at Ramenskoye. where the Bisons weire test ed; the Kaliningrad missile plant; and the Khimki rocket-,engine plant.=0 When Allen Dulles returned to work on Thursday. 5 July 1956. he asked Bissell if any overflights had taken place during the Independence Day holiday. One had been made on the fqurth and an other just that morning, Bissell replied. (Because of the six-hour time difference, the 5 July flight was safely back in Wiesbaden by the time Dulles spoke to Bissell.) When Dulles asked the routes of these missions. Bissell told him that they had overflown both Moscciw and Leningrad. "Oh my Lord." Dulles exclaimed, "do you thi1:1k that was wise the first time?" "Allen." Bissell replied. "the first is the safest." :, President Eisenhower also wanted to know the results of the 4 and 5 July flights, but his principal concern was whether there had been any indication that either flight had been discovered or tracked by radar. Eisenhower told Colonel Goodpaster "to advise Mr. Allen " Urban J. Linehan. Na1io11al Phowgraphic /merpretatio11 Center: The Years of Project HTAUTOMAT. 1956- 1958. Directorate of Science and Technology Historical Series NPIC-3. December 1974. 6 vols. (hereafter cited as NPIC History). vol. l, p. 20 (S): Mission folder 2013 (4 July 1956). OSA records. job 67-8-328. bo,c 7 (TS Codeword). Note on mission numbers: each proposed mission received a number. but not all of these missions were flown. '" NP/C History. vol. I. p. 21 (S): Mission folder 2014 (5 July 1956). OSA records. job 67-8-328. box 7 (TS Codeword). " Bissell interview by Welzenbach (S). Sec, et NOFOAN Chapter 3
Not linked to a story yet.
Official release, from the pursue 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.