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 372 Original source ↗

“Headquarters”22 pages

  • p. 22 …11 Air Force headquarters soon approved Martin's proposal to mod- •ify" the B-57 and…
  • p. 54 …the DCI Jfor Planning and Coordination I Headquarters CIA USAF -125 I I I Foreign…
  • p. 55 …total of 357 personnel divided among project headquarters, a US test ing faci lity. and three…
  • p. 56 …until it moved into the new CIA Headquarters building at Langley in March 1962. The final…
  • p. 73 …On 3 August 1955, Dulles and Twining met at SAC headquarters in Omaha to sign the…
  • p. 102 …U-2 project officer, the Air Force Headquarters project officer, and NACA's top official, Dr…
  • p. 107 …did not have to report to higher headquarters. WRSP-1, known within the Agency as Detachment…
  • p. 117 …Late on the evening of 3 July, Bissell went to project headquarters in the Matomic Building…
  • p. 127 …The PARAMOUNT Committee worked inside PID headquarters in the Steuart Building. Composed of members from CIA…
  • p. 138 …later and promptly reported the conversation to headquarters. When details of Vito's close call reached…
  • p. 153 …project headquarters had already decided that Western Europe was not a satisfactory location for overflights of…
  • p. 168 …110 In June 1958, representatives from the British Air Ministry came to project headquarters for an…
  • p. 191 …commander at Adana, co Air Force Europe headquarters. and co the Chief of Station at Ankara…
  • p. 194 …Because the new government had not been briefed on the U-2, Project Headquarters refused to…
  • p. 205 …its own building to the new CIA Headquarters at Langley. Soon afterward. Col. Stanley W. Beerli…
  • p. 235 …the pilot reported the incident to Headquarters. The Office of Security immediately con tacted the Pennsylvania…
  • p. 312 …that the performance of an A-12 with J75 engines (as suggested by project headquarters for…
  • p. 319 …been deployed in North Vietnam.61 Project Headquarters in Langley planned and directed all operational BLACK…
  • p. 323 …Project headquarters informed Deputy Defense Secretary Vance on lO January I 967 that the A- l…
  • p. 324 …President Johnson con firmed this decision on 21 May."9 - - - Project headquarters selected 8 June 1968…
  • p. 334 …Air Force personnel served at all levels of the recon naissance program, from project headquarters to…
  • p. 365 …Speech given by Richard Bissell at CIA Headquarters, 12 October 1965 (Top Secret Codeword). Interview with…
359
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121
Boston, M assachusetts
13. IS. 22. 24, 27. 52. 56.
110. 260
Boston camera
13
Boston University
22. 24. 52
Bowles. Chester
225
Brahmaputra Valky
231
bridges
82
Briggs School
42
Briglia. FrJnk
339
British and French fleets
116
British Guiana
211
British Guiana-Venezuela border
211
Bri tish overflight of the Soviet Union
. . . • 23-24. I€H
British Parliament
94. 232
British radar network
9-1
Brugioni. Dino
135. 137
Budapest. Hungary
123
Budget. Bureau of the
267. 308-310
Budget. Direcwr of the
40
Buffalo. New York
9. 63
Bulganin. Nikolai
94, 120
Bulgaria
10 1. 124- 125. 1-W
Bundy. McGeorge
188. 201. 205. 209. 236. 293
BUORL
22
Burbank. California
45
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Index
Burke. William
168 120 114
Byeloruss1a
104. 106
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C model camera
54
C- 118 aircra ft
144
C -1 24 cargo planes
66. 135. 181. 219
Cabell. Charles P.
30. 36. 43. ,88. IOI. 122-123. 127.
139. 183. 223. 295. 327, 329
Cairo. Egypt
117. 119
Calcutta. India
232
California
9. 13, 24. 26. 36, 45. 50. 54. 56.
• 133. 182. 198. 200. 208. 22 1. 247.
251-252. 254-256. 295. 311. 3-10
California Institute of Technology
26
Cambodia
216. 230. 243
camera lenscs
93
camera technicians
78
camera-carrying balloons
14. 18. 23. 84, 145
cameras
I. 3-4, 12-13. 21 -22. 3 I. 44, 49-5 1.
S3-55. 60. 77. 87. 196. 244. 281-282.
3 10,313.321. 327. 329. 332. 333
Canberra
5. 9. 23-24. 67. 109. 117, 162
Cannon. Clarence
88
Capp, A l
45
cardiovascular system
62
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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.