Documents / Official release
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.
“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…
134
Gee. et NOl'OFUQ
Chapter 3
The search for a new home for Detachment C led the Agency to
ask the Air Force in the autumn of 1956 for permission to locate the
detachment at Yokota AFB, Japan. Because Yokota was already the
base for one covert project (the very secret Air Force Project BLACK
KNIGHT using RB-57s), Air Force Chief of Staff Twining did not
wish to locate another one there and denied the reques t. The Agency
then turned co the Navy, which granted permission for Detachmernt C
to use the Naval Air Station at Atsugi, Japan. The Japan.ese
Government received no notification of the proposed deployment be
cause at that time it had no control over activities involving US mili
tary bases in Japan. Deployment of Detachment C began in early
1957 but was complicated by a recent decision to permit the families
of Project AQUATONE employees to accompany them on overseas
tours. As a result, program managers had to find housing facilities on
the base or in nearby communities, not an easy task in crowded
Japan.""
Detach ment C began conducting m1ss1ons in June 1957 alfter
several aircraft and pilots flew to Eie lson Air Force Base near
Fairbanks, Alaska. Air Force rndar order-of-battle reports and NSA
studies had revealed that the radar network in the Soviet Far East,
wi th antiquated radar sets and personnel of a lower caliber than those
in the western Soviet Union, was relati vely ineffective. To take ad
vantage of these weaknesses, Detachment C staged three missions
from Alaska into the Soviet Far East. The first. on 7/8 June (the air
craft crossed the international date line during the flight), was unable
to photograph its target, the ICBM impact area near Klyuchi on the
Kamchatka Peninsula, because of bad weather and, therefore, never
entered Soviet airspace. A second attempt to photograph Klyuchi on
19/20 June was marred by a camera malfunction that ruined ev;ery
third frame of photography. This flight was tracked by Soviet radars.
but there was no attempt at interception. After a pause of almost three
months during which Detachment C received a dirty-bird U-2, the de
tachment's third mission over Klyuchi on 15/ 16 September 1957
achieved exce llent results. The radar-deception devices proved in1ef
fective, however. as the U-2 was tracked by Soviet radar and trailed
by five fighters.s'
. , OSA History. ch.ip. l5, pp. 2. 16-19: chap. 16. p. I (TS Co<lcword).
" Mission folders 6002 (8 June 1957). 6005 C!0 June 1957). and 6008 (16 September
l 957). OSA records. job 67-8-3'.!8. bo.~ 7 (TS Codeword).
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About this file
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.