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

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.

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Chapter 3
U-2 photography of 1"yuratam
Missile Testing RangEi
was the name Brugioni gave the missile base. Official Soviet releases
concerning this base have always referred to it as Baykonur, but the
community of Baykonyr is actually more than 200 miles north of
Tyuratam.11
While PID was still analyzing the SOFT TOUCH photography,
the Soviet Union announced the successfu l launch of an interconti
nental ballistic missile (ICBM) from Baykonyr (Tyuratam). On 26
August l 957 , the Soviet news agency TASS stated that a "su
per-long-range multistage intercontinental ballistic rocket" had been
successfully tested, adding "it is now possible to send missiles to any
"' Lundahl and Brugioni intcrv i<!w (TS Codeword).
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