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.

Open the PDF at page 341 Original source ↗

“Nevers”34 pages

  • p. 13 …Without their help a good deal of this story could never have become known. The assistance…
  • p. 44 …the CL-282; in fact, there may never have been a formal decision as such. In…
  • p. 74 …Ry, Lockheed engineers had to solve problems never before encountered. Among these problems w21s the need…
  • p. 84 …Flight tests continued, with the U-2 ascending to alti tudes never before attained in sustained…
  • p. 102 …put aside for further thought (which it never received), and Bissell 's weather research cover re…
  • p. 147 …Peninsula, because of bad weather and, therefore, never entered Soviet airspace. A second attempt to photograph…
  • p. 157 …2 flight over the Black Sea that never violated Soviet airspace revealed 12 attempts at interception…
  • p. 159 …Six of the men on board were killed and the remaining 11 were never heard from…
  • p. 160 …Although this new Berlin crisis never became as threat,ening as the blockade of l 948…
  • p. 165 …The Air Force never equipped its orig inal U-2s with the 175 engines. 10" Detachment…
  • p. 189 …Powers never made it past Sverdlovsk. Four and a half hours into the mission, an SA…
  • p. 194 …program in I 974, but RAF pilots never again conducted an overt1ight in an Agency U…
  • p. 208 …very good reason, and such a situation never developed, in part because satellite photography gradually began…
  • p. 210 …Since this never happened, Francis Gary Powers' flight on l May 1960 proved to be the…
  • p. 223 …Responsibility for photo graphic coverage of Cuba remained with the Air Force; Agency pil,ots never…
  • p. 227 …Both were expe rienced with World War II aircraft, although Vito had never flown the rebels…
  • p. 248 …It was short of both pilots and planes and never had more than three U-2s…
  • p. 257 …This was an electronic intelligence mission that, in ac cordance with the new guidelines, never came…
  • p. 264 251 Seu et NOFOAN Chapter 5 There was never another Agency U-2 mission from an…
  • p. 290 …the OXCART aircraft for its own use. never adopted the laminated vertical stabii izers." THE OXCART…
  • p. 294 …Scott employed concepts never be fore used in camera systems. These included the use of a…
  • p. 298 …As it turned out, the 158 was never used in a Navy aircraft. "OSA History. chap…
  • p. 299 …This new delay was caused by leaking fuel tanks, a problem that would never be solved…
  • p. 303 …the J58 had to reach performance levels never before achieved by a jet engine. while operating…
  • p. 313 …even though the SKYLARK contingency plan was never put into effect. Since U-2s continued to…
  • p. 316 …Moreover, the Soviets never operated the radars in the tracking and lockon modes, a fact that…
  • p. 317 …strongly opposed it and the 303 Committee never forwarded the proposal to President Johnson. 5" The…
  • p. 318 …The OXCART, which had never operated in heavy rain, taxied to the runway and took off…
  • p. 326 …collector of strategic intelligence, the OXCART was never used for this purpose. Its brief deployment was…
  • p. 328 …the President never went so far as to eliminate the overflight program. As Commander in Chielf…
  • p. 333 …its speed and altitude have never been equaled. The development of this aircraft also led to…
  • p. 348 …a 16-kilogram VHF recorder for communications intelligence (COMINT), was never used and was transferred to…
  • p. 349 …a mission over the Soviet Union that never took place. Systems-XI through XV were ECM…
  • p. 356 …Project SANDY HOOK never advanced very far in develop ment; projected high costs and substantial technical…
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Sec,st NOFORPd
Appendix B
Secret
the Air Force in January 1959. Five months later he moved up to
Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Research and Development,
and the following y~ar he became Under Secretary of the Air Force.
In these positions he was involved in coordination with the CIA on
both the U-2 and OXCART projects. In 1963 Charyk left government
to become the first chairman of the Communications Satellite
Corporation.
CUNNINGHAM, James A., Jr.
An ex-Marine Corps pilot, he became the administrative officer for
the U-2 project in April 1955. Cunningham handled the day-to-day
management of the U-2 program and brought only the more complex
problems to Richard Bissell's attention. Later he served as the Deputy
Director of the Office of Special Activities and then Special Assistant
to the Deputy Director for Science and Technology.
DONOVAN, Allen F.
An aeronautical engineer who had helped to design the P-40 fighter
while working at the Curtiss-Wright Corporation, Donovan was one
of the founders of the Cornell Aeronautical Laboratory after World
War IL He served on several Air Force advisory panels and was a
strong advocate of the proposed Lockheed CL-282 aircraft. Later he
became vice president of the Aerospace Corporation.
DOOLITTLE, James H.
A vice president of Shell Oil Company and an Army Air Force re
serve general, Doolittle headed General Eisenhower's Air Staff dur
ing World War II. After the war Doolittle served on many Air Force
advisory panels, and in 1954 he chaired a special panel investigating
the CIA's covert activities. Doolittle also served on the Technological
Capabilities Panel and the President's Board of Consultants on
Foreign Intelligence Activities.
DUCKETT, Carl E.
Headed the Directorate of Science and Technology from September
1966 until May 1976, first as Acting Deputy Director and then as
Deputy Director beginning in April 1967. During his tenure, the em
phasis in the CIA's overhead reconnaissance program shifted from
aircraft to satellites.
DULLES, Allen W.
DCI from 1953 until 196 l. Although initially reluctant to see the CIA
involved in aerial reconnaissance, which he viewed as the military's
area of responsibility, Dulles became a strong supporter of the U-2

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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.