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CIA-UAP-003, The Central Intelligence Agency and Overhead Reconnaissance; The U-2 and OXCART Programs, 1954-1974

Central Intelligence Agency · 1954 · 406 pages · text from the file's own layer

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.

Open the PDF at page 136 Original source ↗

“The Advance”34 pages

  • p. 6 …255 The Phaseout of the Office of Special Activities ........ ................... 257 0 ) Chapter 6 The U-2…
  • p. 7 …319 Advances in Technology............................................... ........................... 320 Cooperation With the Air Force ............................................................. 321 Impact of the Overhead Reconnaissance…
  • p. 22 …retired from the Air Force to become the assistant director of Lockheed's Advanced Development Program…
  • p. 24 11 / Chapter 1 gravity (g's) instead of the military specification strengLh of 5.33 g…
  • p. 32 …lithium deuteride, a tech nology more advanced than the heavy water method used by US '' BEACON…
  • p. 33 …between the developed and undeveloped nations. This aggressive Soviet foreign policy. combined with advances in nuclear…
  • p. 58 …secrecy in the new project, Kelly Johnson placed it in Lockheed's Advanced Development facility at…
  • p. 65 …His software algorithms made it possible to model lens designs and determine in advance the effects…
  • p. 76 …seen on pilot Francis Gary Powers) advanced gear for the U-2 pilots. David Clark expert…
  • p. 111 …of Soviet advances in long-range bombers and missiles. The initial sighting of the new Soviet…
  • p. 114 …Adenauer be informed in advance of US plans to overfly the Soviet Union from bases in…
  • p. 174 …concentrating on developing the more advanced solid-fueled missiles rather than increasing the num ber of…
  • p. 183 …if the Soviet SAMs received sufficient advanced warning, they posed a major threat to the U…
  • p. 191 …the cover story that had been prepared and distributed in advance of the mission. The first…
  • p. 206 …In 1965 the head of OSA received a new title, Director of Special Activities. The Office…
  • p. 235 …STPOLLY added the more advanced Lockheed P3A in 1963. Between 1955 and 1967, when the CIA…
  • p. 249 …The Defense Department feared that the loss of this device with its highly advanced traveling-wave…
  • p. 250 …Chapter 5 Advanced ECM Equipment for Detachment H Demand for overhead photography of the PRC continued…
  • p. 252 …In addition, the Project TACKLE U-2s began receiving even more advanced ECM • 60 equipment. •• Mission…
  • p. 265 …but some was the result of technological advances. The ini tial order for eight of the…
  • p. 266 …This camera was actually a very advanced version of the original B camera with a new…
  • p. 282 …aircraft from the small inventory of its most advanced bomber. Even had the B-588 program…
  • p. 295 …In fact, it was an advanced version of the highly reliable B camera developed for the…
  • p. 296 …Prospective pilots had to be qualified in the most advanced fighters and be emotionally stable and…
  • p. 307 …advanced experimental jet aircraft, the A-11. which has been tested in sustained flight at more…
  • p. 310 …It was now time to find work for the most advanced aircraft ever conceived and built…
  • p. 321 …advanced aircraft ever .built was to be put out to pasture. The aban donment of the…
  • p. 325 …when the OXCART program ended in the summer of 1968, no mcire advanced successor was wait…
  • p. 326 …The most advanced aircraft of the 20th century had become an anachronism before it was ever…
  • p. 333 …ADVANCES IN TECHNOLOGY One very important byproduct of the CIA's manned reconnaissance program was the…
  • p. 334 …the end of the usefulness of the world's most advanced aircraft; its offspring, the SR…
  • p. 335 …Thus, the CIA sponsored the development of the world's most advanced aircraft-the OXCART-and…
  • p. 352 …They believed that recent advances in the minia turization of electronic technology would make possible the…
  • p. 356 343 Defense Research and Engineering, John Foster, liked the concept and provided DOD funding for ORD…
123
Secretary of State Dulles said that, although he essentially
agreed with the President's comments, he thought that "really impor
tant results" might be obtained by a seven to 10-day operation. He,
nevertheless, questioned the long-term value of the results. DDCI
Cabell replied that U-2 photographs would be useful much longer
than the Secretary of State had implied because they would establish
a reference bank of geographic and manmade features. Siding with
Cabell, Admiral Radford pointed out the need for more intelligence to
make estimates better.
President Eisenhower was not convinced by these arguments.
Although willing to consider extensions of the radar-seeking ferret
flights he had authorized along the Soviet borders. he remained op
posed to penetration flights over the Soviet Union.
Events in Eastern Europe in the fall of l 956 helped to change the
President's mind. In October the Soviet Union backed away fro m a
confrontation with nationalist Communist leaders in Poland only to
find itself facing a similar situation in Hungary, where mass demon
strations led to the formation of a new government under Imre Nagy
• on· 23 October 1956. Soviet troops and tanks temporarily withdrew
from Budapest while awaiting reinforcements. By early November,
however, the Kremlin leadership decided that events in Hungary were
getting out of hand-particularly when Premier Nagy announced his
nation's withdrawal from the Warsaw Pact-and ordered Soviet
troops to suppress the Hungarian uprising. Although President
Eisenhower deplored the Soviet intervention. he turned down CIA re
quests for permission to airdrop arms and supplies to the Hungarian
rebels. In fact, the President forbid all overflights of that nation, in
cluding those by U-2 aircraft, and none was made.60
Although President Eisenhower had not been willing to allow
overflights during the Hungarian crisis, the Soviet Union's actions in
Hungary convinced him to authorize renewed overflights of the
Soviet Bloc, a decision that was made easier by his reelection by a
large margin in early November. Initially. however, the President only
authorized overflights of Eastern Europe and Soviet border regions,
not the deep penetration overfl ights that had been requested by CIA.
At a 15 November 1956 meeting with Acting Secretary of State
Herbert Hoover, Jr. (John Foster Dulles was recovering from cancer
~• Cunningham interview (TS Codeword).
-5-ec,-et NOFORN
Chapter 3

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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.