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.
“Mission Control”27 pages
273 Secret NOFORN Chapter 6 characteristics, although the Lockheed design's specifications were slightly better in each category. The Lockheed design was also prefer able in terms of overall cost. In the vital area of vulnerability to radar detection, however, the Convair design was superior. Its smaller size and internally mounted engines gave it a smaller radar cross section than the Lockheed A-12. 15 Comparison of Lockheed and Convair Designs Lockheed A-12 Speed Range (total) Range (at altitude) Cruising Altitude Start Midrange End Cost summary (for 12 aircraft without engines) Mach 3.2 4,120 nm 3,800 nm 84,500 ft. 91.000 ft. 97,600 ft. $96.6 million Convair KINGFISH Mach 3.2 3,400 nm 3,400 nm 85.000 ft. 88.000 ft. 94,000 ft. $ I 21.6 million Some of the CIA representatives initially favored the Convair KINGFISH design because of its smaller radar cross section, but they were eventually convinced to support the Lockheed design by the Air Force members of the panel, who believed that Convair's cost over runs and production delays on the B-58 project might be repeated in this new project. In contrast, Lockheed had produced the U-2 under budget and on time. Another factor favoring the A-12 was security. Lockheed had experience in running a highly secure facility (the Skunk Works) in which all of the key employees were already cleared by the Agency. Despite its vote in favor of the Lockheed proposal, the selection panel remained concerned about the A-12 's vulnerability to radar de tection and therefore required Lockheed to prove its concept for reducing the A-l2's radar cross section by l January 1960. On 14 September 1959, the CIA awarded a four-month contract to Lockheed " OSA History, chap. 20, pp. 18-19 (TS Codeword). Secret
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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.