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
)
f\
Sweden .__,_,_"-..
) ~
STOCICHOUil
-~
✓
vf!.Sea
\f Finland…
- p. 116 r/
o/
North
Sea
1/'.
AMSTERDAM ;,
0
0
Baltic
S<la
--- Mission 2013 4 July
- - - Mission…
- p. 120 …Black SEia
~
q, TurkE~Y
~ ~111~ 13~ • ? ~
...• o<)
Mediterranean Sea () .. ••
•,,, Malta
(U.K.)
Sec, et NOFORN
......
. . .. ·:. ·.•
- p. 131 Mission 1316, 1 November 1956
Turkey
Cyprus ',
(U.K .) '·
Mediterranean Sea
lncirlik Airbase
_/\
o/ t.
</
\
f…
- 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
• '
-···1~- .....
;.. :~.:
~~~~ •' :~·f.:~<,,·
·ir.fa
0
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
I_U."-i
~,...~
_''-),.,,
.";!:-,
- Mission 3086 5 August
Mission 3088 29 August…
- p. 216 …Caribbean Sea
lOOKiloml.it•~
100 200 Mff.-s
Guvtof
Mex~co
\\\
I
\
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
0
IND/AN OCEAN
300 --
300 IIOOMlloo
.·'
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…
257
lead to the overseas deployment of Detachment G U-2s in 1974, when
the CIA was tasked to monitor the Israeli-Egyptian and lateir the
Israeli-Syrian disengagement areas. On 21 April l 974, a Detachment
G U-2 with appropriate support elements arrived at Akrotiri, Cyprus,
to conduct Operation OLIVE HARVEST. Between l2 May and 28
July, the detachment conducted six overfli ghts of the disengagement
areas. During these missions the electronic warning systems of the
U-2 registered numerous radar lockons, but no surface-to-air mis:siles
were fired. On l August 1974, responsibility for the OUYE
HARVEST missions as well as the aircraft itself came into the hands
of the Air Force as part of the transfer of the entire Agency U-2 pro
gram at that time. 77
The Phaseout of the Office of Special Activities
The Agency's U-2 program had been under review since the autumn
of l 969 to detennine if it should be continued along with the larger
Air Force U-2 program. In December 1969, President Nixon decided
to keep the Agency's program in existence through l 971 and asked
for a formal review by the 40 Committee (the new name for the 303
·Committee/Special Group). ln August 1970, the committee recom
mended continuing the program through fiscal year 1972. On 12
August 1972, the 40 Committee again favored continuation of the
CIA U-2 program. This recommendation was motivated primarily by
a desire not to alienate the Nationalist Chinese Government by el.imi
nating Project TACKLE. In June 1973, however, DCI Jame:s R.
Schlesinger informed the 40 Committee that this project could be ter
minated without causing major difficulties with the Nationalist
Chinese. On 30 August 1973, the 40 Committee approved the C:IA's
plans to tenninate the U-2 program effective I August 1974. The: Air
Force would assume funding responsibility for the four U-2R airicraft
assigned to the Agency and would take physical possession of them
then or shortly thereafter. On l April l 974, Ambassador Walter P.
McConaughy informed the Nationalist Chinese Government of the
US intention to end the U-2 project, and the two countries then
worked out a schedule for phasing out Project TACKLE.73
The transfer of all Agency U-2s to the Air Force eliminated
Detachments G and H. Their parent organization, the Office of
Special Activities, began its phaseout immediately thereafter. The
20-year career of the U-2 with the CIA had come to an end.
,., Ibid.. pp. 31-H (TS Codeword).
,. Ibid.. chap. 10, pp. 1-4 (TS Codeword).
Secret NOfOftN
Chapter 5
Not linked to a story yet.
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.