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. 4 …17 The BEACON HILL Report .................................................................... 17 Concern About the Danger of a Soviet Surprise Attack ................ 19…
  • p. 13 Helen Hill Kleyla and Robert D. O'Hern. This 16-volume Top Secret Codeword study of…
  • p. 14 …view of the "other side of the hill." With the advent of dry film, it became…
  • p. 30 …Dulles The BEACON HILL Report In 1951 the Air Force sought even more assistance from scientists…
  • p. 31 …Their head quarters was located over a secretarial school on Beacon Hill, which soon became the…
  • p. 32 …et NOFOAN Chapter 1 document on 15 June 1952, the BEACON HILL Report advocated radical approaches…
  • p. 34 …Created in July 1953, the Intelligence Systems Panel (ISP) included several experts from the BEACON HILL…
  • p. 37 …sance needs ex.pressed in the BEACON HILL Report. Theoretically, he explained to the panel. any…
  • p. 41 …H. T. Friis R. Mettler A.G. Hill E. Purcell W. H. Radford E. H. Plesset…
  • p. 44 …members had been discussing since the BEACON HILL and Intelligence Systems Panel meetings. James Baker was…
  • p. 45 …Having participated in the BEACON HILL Study and the Intelligence Systems Panel, several Project Three members…
  • p. 344 …He headed the Beacon Hill Panel in 1952 and later became director of Lincoln Laboratories. PARANGOSKY…
  • p. 345 …of several advisory panels, including the BEACON HILL project. He helped Baker decide what cameras to…
  • p. 364 …BEACON HILL Report: Problems of Air Force Intelligence and Reconnaissance. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 15 June…
  • p. 371 …Soviet Union 137 Beacon Hill 17-19. 21. 24, 3 1-32. 331-33'.! BEACON HILL…
356
iieeret NOFOAN
Index
Albania
140, 157
Albuquerque, New Mexico
74, 78-79
Allen, Edward L.
21
Almaza Airbase, Egypt
119
altimeters
59-60
altitude
I, 4-6, 7, 8-11, 12, 13-19, 22-26,
33-35, 39, 46-47, 49, 52, 54-55, 59,
61-64, 71-72, 74, 76, 79-80, 84, 87,
89. 93-94, 97, 101, 108, 125, 132,
142, 145, 148-149, 152, 156-157, 168,
175-179, 185,207, 217-219, 229. 235,
240-241, 246-247, 251, 254, 259-260,
262, 263, 267, 268, 273, 277, 278-279,
284,286,288,292,294, 296-297, 304,
312-313, 320, 330, 339, 340, 343
aluminum
271
Ambon Island
214
American Civil War
I
Amory, Robert
114
Anderson, Rudolph
210
Andaya, Norway
172
"Angel",
45, 50, 66,262
Anglo-French bombing campaign
117
Anglo-Soviet relations
94
Ankara, Turkey
135, 178
antiaircraft missile
168
antiaircraft weapons
93, 148
antiballistic missile system
298,303
antiradar studies
267,274
Apollo VII
254
Applied Physics Division
339
AQUATONE
40-43, 59. 62, 66, 74, 77, 82, 88,
93, 96, 100, 108, 113, 115,
122, 134, 155
AQUILA
341
AQUILINE
304, 339-343
Arabs
256
Aral Sea
135
Arbenz, Jacobo
16
"Archangel-I"
262
"Archangel-2"
262
Area 51,
56. 72. 74-75, 77-78, 130-131,
133. 274, 283-284, 286, 291.
303, 305. 341
Arizona
80
Arkansas
78
Armenia
124. 144. 146
arms limitation negotiations
147
arms race
318
Army Air Corps
21. 56
Army Air Force
50,328,330
article 121
286, 288
article 126
296
article 133
296
article 341
66. 71, 131-132
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Official release, from the pursue collection. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is above. 406 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.