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.
“Nevers”34 pages
182 Secret NOFOfUd Chapter 4 Japanese Government, faced with growing anti-American sentiment and complaints in the press about the presence of "spyplanes" on Japanese territory, asked the United States to remove the U-2s. The very next day the CIA closed Detachment C; its U-2s were disman tled and returned to the United States aboard C-124s.37 [n the midst of the furor in Japan. on l July 1960, just six weeks after the Paris Summit, Soviet fighter aircraft shot down an Air Force RB-47 on an electronic intelligence collection mission over interna tional waters near the Soviet Union's Kola Peninsula. Two survivors were captured. The Soviet Union claimed that the aircraft had vio lated its airspace, while the United States denounced the Soviets for downing the plane over international waters. The acrimony exacer bated an already tense international atmosphere. 3" One additional blow to the U-2 program came in the summer of I960. NASA, concerned about the damage to its reputation from its involvement in the U-2 affair and hoping to obtain international coop eration for its space program. decided to end its support of the cover story that U-2s were conducting weather research under its auspices.''' These developments resulted in a complete halt to all U-2 opera tions from overseas bases for more than six months. Pilots and air craft from Detachments B and C were consolidated into Detachment G at Edwards Air Force Base, California. the unit formed after the C[A had vacated the Nevada testing site in 1957 as a result of AEC nuclear testing. Detachment G now comprised eight pilots from Detachment B and three pilots from Detachment C. Because Powers' capture had compromised Project CHALICE, the Agency assigned a new cryptonym to the U-2 effort; henceforth, it was called Project IDEALIST."" " OSA Chronology. p. 28 (TS Codeword). " "Mystery of the RB--+7," Newsweek. 25 July 1960. pp. 36-37: .. Nikita and the RB--+7."' Time. 25 July I960. pp. 30-31. ,., At a meeting of high-levt:1 CIA. NASA. and State Department ofticials on 31 May 1960, NASA was willing to continue its association with U-2 flights for the time being. but the Administrator of NASA. Dr. Keith Glennan. believed that his agency "would be well ad vised to disengage from the U-2 program as rapidly as possible." James A. Cunningham. Memorandum for the Record. ··Tdephont: Conversation with Dr. Hugh Dryden, Deputy Director, NASA," I June 1960. DPD chrono tile #.+553-60. OSA records (S). "' OSA Hisrorv, chap. !2. pp. -H--+9; chap. 16. p. 10 (TS Codeword). Se&Fet
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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.