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.
“Headquarters”22 pages
262 6eeret NOFORN Chapter 6 The two most prominent firms involved in the search for a new aircraft were Lockheed, which had designed the successful U-2, and Convair, which was building the supersonic 8-58 "Hustler" bomber for the Air Force and also working on an even faster model known as the B-588 "Super Hustler." Early in 1958, Richard Bissell asked of ficials from both finns to submit designs for a high-speed reconnais sance aircraft. During the spring and summer of 1958, both fiirms worked on design concepts without government contracts or funds . Following extended discussions with Bissell on the subject of a supersonic successor to the U-2, Lockheed's Kelly Johnson begani de signing an aircraft that would cruise at Mach 3.0 at altitudes above 90,000 feet. On 23 July 1958, Johnson presented his new high-speed concept to Land's advisory committee, which expressed interest in the approach he was taking. At the same meeting. Navy representatives presented a concept for a high-altitude reconnaissance vehicle that ex amined the possibility of developing a ramjet-powered, inflatatble, rubber vehicle that would be lifted to altitude by a balloon and 1then •be propelled by a rocket to a speed where the ramjets could produce thrust. Richard Bissell asked Johnson to evaluate this concept, and three weeks later, after receiving more details from Navy repre sentatives. Kelly Johnson made some quick calculations that showed that the design was impractical because the balloon would have to be a mile in diameter to lift the vehicle, which in tum would need a wing surface area greater than one-seventh of an acre to carry the payload: By September 1958, Lockheed had studied a number of possible configurations, some based on ramjet engines. others with both ram jets and turbojets. Personnel at Lockheed's Skunk Works referred to these aircraft concepts as "Archangel-I," "Archangel-2," and so fonh, a carryover from the original nickname of "Angel" given tci the U-2 during its development. These nicknames for the various des:igns sooo became simply "A-l," "A-2," etc. In September 1958, the Land committee met again to review all the concepts then under consideration and to winnow out the few that were most practicable. Among the concepts rejected were the Navy's proposal for an inflatable, ramjet-powered aircraft, a Boeing proposal for a 190-foot-long hydrogen-powered inflatable aircraft, and a 'Clarence L. Johnson. '"Development of the Lockheed SR-7 I Blacl.bird:· Srudi.es in Intelligence 26 (Summer 1982):4 (U); Johnson. "Archangel log."" 23 July 1958. 1.i August I 958. iiiel.lret
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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.