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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 191 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…
178
Secret l'JOFORl'J
Chapter 4
that the Soviets had discontinued radar tracking of the flight 's pro
gress two hours earlier (0529Z), southwest of Sverdlovsk. Although
there was no word from the Soviet Union concerning the mi:ssing
U-2. key project personnel assembled in the Agency control center
that morning (with the exception of Bissell. who was out of town and
did not arrive until 1530) to analyze the latest information and discuss
courses of action. They quickly established a new project. known as
Operation MUDLARK. co gather and evaluate all available informa
tion about the downed U-2."
Bissell and the other project officials did not know wh,ether
Powers was dead or if the plane and camera had been destroyed', but
they believed chat there was no way that a pilot could survive a crash
from an altitude above 70,000 feet. They. therefore, decided to stick
with the standard cover story for U-2 fl ights: that they were we:acher
flights staged by the National Aeronautics and Space Administr:ation
(NASA)-originally the National Advisory Committee for
Aeronautics. renamed in 1958. This cover story had been approve:d by
the President in 1956.
By the end of the day, the Operation MUDLARK officials had
prepared a statement based on the standard cover story but modified
to fie the available information on Powers· flight and to show Adana
as the aircraft's base in order to conceal Pakistan's role in the mission.
This revised cover story, along with a mission flight plan consistent
with it, was sent to the field commander at Adana, co Air Force
Europe headquarters. and co the Chief of Station at Ankara to replace
the cover story that had been prepared and distributed in advance of
the mission. The first announcement of the new cover story came, late
on 2 May by the Adana base commander, but it did not appear in print
until the following day. On Tuesday, 3 May, NASA released a state
ment about a high-altitude weather plane that was missing on a flight
inside Turkey. The statement had been designed to provide an e>epla
nation for the presence of wreckage inside the Soviet Union by noting
that "the pilot reported over the emergency frequency that he was ex
periencing oxygen difficulties.,. .,: Thus. if the Soviets protested and
pointed to wreckage inside their borders, NASA could claim that the
pilot had lost consciousness and the aircraft had then flown into the
Soviet Union before crashing.
'' Geary incerview (S).
'' Beschloss. Mayday. p. 39.

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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.