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 374 Original source ↗

“Mission Control”27 pages

  • p. 9 …The struggle between the CIA and the US Air Force to control the U-2 and…
  • p. 72 …2 missions. Access to the photographs taken by the U-2 would be strictly controlled, which…
  • p. 73 …This pact gave the Air Force responsibility for pilot selection and training, weather information, mission plotting…
  • p. 81 …Before the start of a mission, the ground crew set the counters to indicate the total…
  • p. 96 …All of the products from this project would be placed in the new control sys tem…
  • p. 100 …This was an S-band radar used by Soviet forces for early warning and ground-controlled…
  • p. 113 …The President nevertheless maintained tight control over the program and authorized only 10 days of overflights…
  • p. 128 …following day, when the next U-2 mission f m the Middle East. After quickly developing…
  • p. 140 …Welzenbach (S); Mission folder 4020 ( 18 March 1957), OSA records, job 67-B-972, box 7…
  • p. 142 …where they would not interfere with the control surfaces. At the ends of these poles, completely…
  • p. 147 …To take ad vantage of these weaknesses, Detachment C staged three missions from Alaska into the…
  • p. 156 …After these missions, penetrat ion overflights became a rarity. There would be only six more during…
  • p. 167 …U-2 missions. To handle U-2 material, the British created a new control system, which…
  • p. 168 …The British missions would be operationally controlled by CIA project headquarters. Soon afterward four British pilots…
  • p. 169 …where the United Kingdom carried out 27 missions during the two years its pi lots took…
  • p. 170 157 Sec, et MOF'ORI\I Chapter 3 May 1959, and used to fly weather missions…
  • p. 180 …The excellent photography from tnis mission did not reveal a single missile site, but analysts diid…
  • p. 188 …some Soviet airborne-missile fire-control systems. Operation GRAND SLAM, mission 4154 and the 24th deep…
  • p. 191 …key project personnel assembled in the Agency control center that morning (with the exception of Bissell…
  • p. 196 …in cor respondence with Abel's "wife., (probably his Soviet control) in East Germany. In November…
  • p. 204 …in .the DDP in order to maintain control of his overhead reconnais sance projects (the U…
  • p. 220 …Strongly favoring Air Force control of the U-2 missions over Cuba. the DOD representatives called…
  • p. 237 …In reality, however, the United States would maintain strict control over the missions to be flown…
  • p. 335 …The flood of information that the U-2 missions gathered led to a major expansion of…
  • p. 340 …In 1959 Bissell became Deputy Director for Plans but kept the reconnaissance projects under his control…
  • p. 348 …System-I used S- and X-band ELINT receivers to collect ground-controlled intercept and air…
  • p. 400 387 Sec1 et NOFORN mission 2023 108 mission 2029 124 mission 3086 200 mission 3088 200…
361
CL-282 Project
10-17, 24-27, 29-37, 66. 327-331. 333
CL-400 aircraft
263
clandestine operations
16,321
Clandestine Services
192
Clark Airfield. Philippines
212
Clifford, Clark
311
Cline, Ray
209. 224
"coffin comer"
76
Cold War
17
collection requirements
80-81, 189. 253, 300
Columbia Broadcasting System
18
combat aircraft
6. 26. 45
Combined Shipping Adjustmenc Board
15
Commerce. Depanment of
254
commercial airliners
72
communications intelligence (COMINT)
189. 311. 335-336
Communications Satellite Corporation
328
COMPASS TRIP
254
competitive bidding
44
compressor vanes
291
computer-controlled radar
294
computers
52
Congress, United States
44, 88, 98, 111. 159-160. 170, 293,
315, 317-3 18
constant-velocity film transport
281
Constellation airliner
IO. 329
Contingency Reserve Fund
40,44
Secret NOFORN
Index
contractors
42, 72. 259. 288
contrails
152
Convair
262-263. 267-271. 273. 284. 312
Convair F- 106
284
convective clouds
94
Cornell Aeronautical Laboratory
18. 24-25. 328
Corning Glass Works
282
cosmic-ray effects
94
cover officer
89
coven activities
2. 6, 40. 43-44. 73. 80. 88. 134.
157, 189. 191 -192. 212. 214.
222. 320-321. 328. 342
Covert Action Staff (CAS)
214
covert funding
43
Crabb. Lionel
,94
Crete
116
Crick. Alan
154
Crick Commiuee
154
Crimean Peninsula
108
Cuba
188. 197-201. 205-211. 299-300.
302. 310. 327. 339
Cuban air and ground order of battle
198
Cuban Missile Crisis
55. 199. 209-210. 299. 327
Cubi Point Naval Air Station. Philippines
212. 216. 221
Culbertson. Allma.n T.
66
Cunningham. James A.. Jr.
40. 66. 69. 72. 78-i9. 125. 247.
288-289. 328-329
Current Intelligence. Office of
81
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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.