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.
“Sea”42 pages
- p. 16 …An RB-29 lost in
the Sea of Japan on 13 June 1952 was probably also…
- p. 38 …off to about 6
percent of its sea-level thrust.
Finally, low structural load factors, like…
- p. 62 …U-2 landing gear and pogos
.Sea,et-
- p. 69 …chap. 8, pp. 1-2 (TS Codeword); Miller, Lockheed U-2. pp. 19-20.
Sea,at
- p. 75 …a boiling point of 300°F at sea level.
Manufacturing this special fuel required petroleum byproducts…
- p. 80 …pounds heavier
and delivered only 10.200 pounds of thrust at sea level; the resulting
Secret
- p. 89 …that they could not be
flown at sea level faster than 190 knots in smooth air…
- p. 98 …Sec.el NOfOftN
Chapter 2
Sea,et
- p. 102 …working on a cover story for over
seas operations. It was important to have a plausible…
- p. 115 North
Sea
First Overflights, 20 June - 5 July 1956
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--- Mission 2013 4 July
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- p. 120 …Black SEia
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Sec, et NOFORN
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- p. 131 Mission 1316, 1 November 1956
Turkey
Cyprus ',
(U.K .) '·
Mediterranean Sea
lncirlik Airbase
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- p. 139 …Soviet border from the Black Sea to the Caspian
Sea and on to Afghanistan. The System…
- p. 146 …On 31 July,
the same aircraft made a run over the Black Sea. There were a…
- p. 148 …was
the first to photograph the major Soviet space launch facility east of
the Aral Sea…
- p. 153 …of
Soviet naval maneuvers in the Barents Sea. The final overflight of
Detachment A , mission 2040…
- p. 154 …K~ome<e,,
tOO 200Miles
Norwegian
Sea
Barents Sea
Kola
Peninsula
'1'v
Sweden f
/ Finlaind…
- p. 155 …Norwegian radars tracked
the overflights of the Barents Sea and Murmansk in October 1957,
and Col…
- p. 157 …well within international airspace above the Black Sea, as
was the case on 27 October I957…
- p. 158 …it turned
abruptly upward over the Bering Sea just west of Alaska, climbed to
110,000…
- p. 166 …the Soviet border and over the Black
Sea without entering Soviet airspace. In late August, as…
- p. 179 Baltic
~a Finland
Black Sea
Tu
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First British Overflight, 6 December…
- p. 185 …Because the Bodo airfield was involved in
NATO maneuvers taking place in the Barents Sea area…
- p. 215 …Caribbean Sea
W- Caymanlsl"""5
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- Mission 3086 5 August
Mission 3088 29 August…
- p. 216 …Caribbean Sea
lOOKiloml.it•~
100 200 Mff.-s
Guvtof
Mex~co
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Caribbean Sea
Multiple missions…
- p. 225 …forces were conducting an all-out air-sea-land drive against
the rebel-held areas in…
- p. 226 f.
0
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IND/AN OCEAN
300 --
300 IIOOMlloo
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Philippine
Sea
- p. 240 …Philippine
Sea
South China
Sea Philippines •
SeGFet NOFOAl<J 72<1~ (IU)0428J 4o92
- p. 248 …6eeret NOFORN
Chapter 5
Sea,et
- p. 257 …The use of peripheral missions prevented any
further losses, although one aircraft crashed into the sea…
- p. 288 275
Settee NOPORN
Chapter 6
Radar testing of A-72 mockup
Sea,et
- p. 316 …Shortly before Leningrad, the A-12
would head west-southwest down the Baltic Sea, skirting the…
- p. 317 …2 would be flying farther out to
sea, safely beyond the range of all Soviet SAMs…
- p. 350 …B B Afghanistan, Tashkent, Tyuratam,
Kazalinsk, Aral Sea
11 August 1957 4039 McMurray Lahore B B…
- p. 351 …A-2 Dushanbe, Tashkent, Tyuratam,
Kazalinsk, Aral Sea
10 September 1957 4059 Hall Adana B A…
- p. 369 …AQUILINE
304, 339-343
Arabs
256
Aral Sea
135
Arbenz, Jacobo
16
"Archangel-I"
262
"Archangel…
- p. 371 358
&ee,et NQFQRN
Index
Baltic Sea
3, 303
Baltic states
104
Baltimore; Maryland
6, 9…
- p. 373 …186, 201, 205, 208-209, 299, 327
Caspian Sea
126
catheterized
64
cathode-ray tube
267…
- p. 382 …23-24, 109, 139, 143, 164
Kara Sea
142
Kazakh language
135
Kazakhstan
135
Kazan', Soviet…
- p. 385 …301
mechanical fuel totalizer/counters
68
Mediterranean Sea
114, 116. 121, 140, 142, 153
medium-range…
- p. 393 …Pennsylvania
222
Sea of Japan
3
Seaberg, John
8-9. 12. 35-36. 333
SEAFOAM
211…
14
Sec, et NOFOAN
Chapter 1
Trevor Gardner
design showed the most promise for reconnaissance of the Soviet
Union. This belief was shared by Gardner's special assistant,
Frederick Ayer, Jr., and Garrison Norton. an adviser to Secretary
Talbott.~'
According to Norton, Gardner tried to interest SAC commander
LeMay in the Lockheed aircraft because Gardner envisioned it pri
marily as a collector of strategic. rather than tactical. intell igence. But
General LeMay had already show ni that he was not interested in an
unarmed aircraft. Gardner, Ayer, and Norton then decided to seek CIA
support for the high-flying aircraft. At that rime the Agency·s official
involvement in overhead reconnaissance was limited to advising the
Air Force on the problems of launiching large camera-carryi ng bal
loons for reconnaissance flights· over hostile territory (for the details
of this program. see chapter 2). The Chief of the Operations Staff in
the Office of Scientific Intelligence, Philip G. Strong. however.
served on several Air Force advisory boards and kept himself well in
formed on developments in reconnaissance aircraft.!!
Gardner, Norton, and Ayer met with Strong in the Pentagon on
12 May 1954, six clays before the Wright Air Deve lopment Command
began to evaluate the Lockheed proposal. Gardner described Kelly
Johnson's proposal and showed the drawings to Strong. After this
meeting. Strong summarized his impressions of the Air Force·s search
for a high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft:
Proposals for special reconnaissance aircraft have been re
ceived in the Air Staff from Lockheed. Fairchild. and Bell. ...
The Lockheed proposal is considered to be the best. It has been
given the type designation of CL-282 and in many respects is a
jet-powered glider based essentially on the Lockheed Day
Fighter XF-104. It is primarily subsonic but can attain transonic
speeds over the target with a consequent loss of range. With an
altitude of 73,000 feet over the target it has a combat radius of
1,400 nautical miles. ... The CL-282 can be manufactured
" Garrison Norton. interview by Donald E. Wt!lzcnbach. tape recording. Wa.shington. DC.
23 May 1983 (S): Michael R. Beschloss. Mayd"y: Eisenhower. Kltrmhchev and the U-2
Affuir (New York: Harper & Row. 1986). p. 79.
" Strong was a colonel in the Marine Corps Reserve and often used that tille even though
he was not on active duty. He later ad,·anced to• the rank or brigadier general in the reserve.
For S1rong·.~ contacts with senior Air Force officials concerning 1he CL-282. see the
Norton interview (S).
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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.