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.

  • p. 11 …At great risk, US Air Force and Navy aircraft had been conducting peripheral reconnaissance and shallow…
  • p. 16 …As a result, in the late 1940s, the US Air Force and Navy began trying to…
  • p. 17 …Two months later, on 7 October 1952, Soviet fighter aircraft stalked and shot down a US…
  • p. 72 …The terminology used to describe U-2 aircraft and pilots also played a part in maintaining…
  • p. 94 …The committee issued its l ist of cargets for the use of the entire intelli gence…
  • p. 147 …The Agency then turned co the Navy, which granted permission for Detachmernt C to use the…
  • p. 180 …James Doolittle urged President Eisenhower to use overflights of the Soviet Union to the maximum degree…
  • p. 223 …by Air Force and Navy reconnais sance aircraft. President Kennedy used NPIC photographs to i llustrate…
  • p. 273 …Charyk, and his Navy counterpart, Garrison Norton. Designers from several air craft manufacturers also attended some…
  • p. 283 …This engine had originally been developed for the Navy's large, jet-powered flying boat, the…
  • p. 297 …The need for additional bui ldings on the base was met by the Navy. Three surplus…
  • p. 298 …After hearing Bissell and Holcomb's suggestion that the 158 might be used in future Navy…
  • p. 348 …Following modifications to make System-VII suitable for use by the Navy, the designation was changed…
  • p. 353 …In 1968 tests on an AQUILINE prototype at Randsburg Wash on the US Navy's Naval…
  • p. 401 …247, 328 US Marine Corps Reserve 14 US Military Academy at West Point 329 US Navy…
336
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Appendix C
--Seeret
unit was manufactured by the Granger Company. One of these de
vices was aboard Gary Powers' U-2 when he was shot down.
System-X was a modification of the HRB's System-VII that was
specially built in 1962 for a mission over the Soviet Union that never
took place. Systems-XI through XV were ECM devices used by U-2s
overflying China and North Vietnam during the Vietnam war.
System-XVI was a passive ELINT collector.
System-XVII was built by HRB-Singer as a result of an October
l 963 USIB requirement for the collection of antiballistic-missile
(ABM) data from Saryshagan. The system was to be deployed in a
U-2 that would fly over western China, along the Sino-Soviet border,
collecting data on the ABMs being tested at Saryshagan. By the time
the unit was completed in l 965, however, the tipoff time before test
launches had been reduced from almost 24 hours to less than an hour,
making it impossible to stage U-2 missions in time to collect the data.
In the late l 960s, additional ECM systems were needed to coun
ter the increasing threats posed by more accurate SAMs and higher
flying aircraft. System-XX was specifically designed to counter the
acquisition and guidance radars used by MIG aircraft, and
System-XXII was an infrared jammer to counter air-to-air missiles.
System-XXI, a COMINT package that replaced the much older
System-III, was originally developed for the OXCART program and
was later adapted for use aboard the follow-on U-2, the U-2R.

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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.