CIA-UAP-003, The Central Intelligence Agency and Overhead Reconnaissance; The U-2 and OXCART Programs, 1954-1974

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.

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Appendix E
340
Project AQUILINE Corporation for chainsaws. the aircraft's designed speed was 60 knots
at an altitude of 1.000 feet with a 15-pound payload. The air•::raft
could fly at this speed for up to 30 hours, thanks to the engine's ex
tremely high fuel efficiency: 480 nautical miles per gallon of fuel.
In 1968 tests on an AQUILINE prototype at Randsburg Wash on
the US Navy's Naval Ordnance Test Station at China Lake,
California, showed that the aircraft was extremely difficult to see:. To
assist pilots of chase aircraft in keeping AQUILINE in sight, its entire
upper surface was painted bright orange: even so. sighting remained
difficult.
The 1esting process was very hard on AQU ILINE because it was
recovered by flying it into a net close to the ground. which almos:t al
ways caused some damage to the wings or propeller. As a result, one
Secret