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.
“The Pentagon”12 pages
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293
Chapter 6
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OXCART. This technology would be invaluable for Air Force pro
jec!s such as the 8-70 bomber and for the civilian supersonic trans
.po.rt (SST) then being discussed in Congress. [n the fall of 1963,
several Presidential advisers expressed their concern to DCI McCone
that Lockheed had received a $700 million headstart in the develop
ment of supersonic technology, giving the firm a tremendous ad.van
tage over other aerospace companies working on a supersonic
transport. McCone passed these concerns on to President Kennedy on
12 November 1963, just 10 days before the fateful trip to Dallas. The
President instructed CIA and the Defense Department to develop a
plan for surfacing the OXCART but to await further discussions with
him before taking any action.30
President Lyndon B. Johnson received a detailed briefing on the
OXCART program from McCone, McNamara, Bundy, and Rus:k on
29 November, after just one week in office. McNamara strongly ad
vocated surfacing a version of the OXCART. McCone was more cau
tious, calling for the preparation of a statement that could be 1USed
when surfacing became necessary but arguing that such a step was not
"John A. McCool!... Memorandum of !vketing in Cabinet Room for the Purpose of
Discussing the Surfacing of the ox:· 21 January 1963. DC! records (TS Codeword);
idem. Memorandum for the Record. Discussion with the President-October 21 st--6:00
p.m.. 22 October 1963. DCl records {S): OSA fliswry. chap. 20. pp. 73-7-' (TS Codeword).
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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.