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
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- p. 102 …working on a cover story for over
seas operations. It was important to have a plausible…
- p. 115 North
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First Overflights, 20 June - 5 July 1956
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- 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,,
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- 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
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NATO maneuvers taking place in the Barents Sea area…
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- p. 226 f.
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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
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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
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SEAFOAM
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320
Sec, el NOI-O"N
Chapter 7
involvement in fndochina, U-2 photography provided accurate and
up-to-date intelligence to US policymakers and tield commanders, as
sisting them in crisis management and the planning of military opera
tions. Agency U-2s also assisted in monitoring cease-fire agreements
in the Middle East, with operations occurring after an undeclared war
in 1970 and the 1973 Middle East war.
By the time the OXCART became fully operational, manned
strategic reconnaissance of the Soviet Union was no longer seriously
considered. The political risks were too high. especially since the
quality of intelligence from reconnaissance satellites was increasing
steadily. Thus, the OXCARTs only operational use was for collecting
tactical intelligence in the Far East. Like the U-2, the OXCART gath
ered valuable intelligence during crisis situations. Thus. in January
1968. OXCART photography revealed the location of the USS Pueblo
and showed that the North Koreans were not preparing any
large-scale military activity in conjunction with the ship's seizure.
ADVANCES IN TECHNOLOGY
One very important byproduct of the CIA's manned reconnaissance
program was the many advances in technology that it generated.
Thanks to simplified covert procurement arrangements and the lack
of detailed and restricting specifications, creative designers such as
Kelly Johnson produced state-of-the-art aircraft in record time. The
U-2, designed to carry out reconnaissance missions for two years at
best, proved so successful that, even after its original area of activity
became too dangerous for overflights at the end of four years, the air
craft served the CIA well for another 14 years and still is in service
with other government agencies.
The OXCART is an even better example of the technological ad
vances generated by the CIA's reconnaissance program. Although the
OXCART was designed almost 30 years ago and first flown in 1962.
its speed and altitude have never been equaled. The development of
this aircraft also led to the use of new materials in aircraft construc
tion. Unfortunately. the technological breakthroughs that made the
OXCART possible took longer than expected. By the time the aircraft
was ready for operations, the missions originally planned for it were
not practicable. The tremendous technological achievement repre
sented by the OXCART ultimately led to the aircraft's demise by in
spiring the Air Force to purchase its own version of the aircraft. The
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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.