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.
290 6ee1 et NOFOAN Chapter 6 First flight of the A-12, 30 April 1962 Initial testing could not explore the A-12·s maximum potential, since the J58 engine was stil l not ready. Developing this power plant to OXCART specifications was proving much more difficult than had been expected because the J58 had to reach performance levels never before achieved by a jet engine. while operating under ex tremely difficult environmental conditions. To simulate the stress that the J58 would undergo during maximum power output (Mach 3.2 at 97,000 feet), the power plant was tested in the exhaust stream of a 175 engine. ln the course of this extremely severe testing, the J58•s problems were gradually overcome. By January 1963, Pratt & Whitney had delivered 10 J58 engines to the Nevada testi ng site. T he first flight of an A- 12 with two J58 eng ines took place on 15 January 1963. μ SPEED-RELATED PROBLEMS As 158-equipped A-12s reached higher and higher speeds. more diffi culties arose. Major problems developed at speeds between Mach 2.4 and 2.8 because the aircraft's shock wave interfered with the flow of air into the engine. greatly reducing its performance. Solving this problem required long and often highly frustrating experimentation •· William H. Brown. ··J58/SR-7 I Propulsion lntt!gration." Studies i11 /ntellis:,·11c,e 26 (Summt!r 1981):pp. 17-18 ( U): OSA History. chap. 20. pp. 5~. 67 (TS Co<lc:wor<l).
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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.