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. 143 …Air Force contract to evaluate ra dars, EG&G operated a small testing facility at Indian…
  • p. 244 …Then in August 1964, following the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, the Air Force assumed responsibility for…
  • p. 381 …232 Indian Springs, Nevada 274. 130, 132 Indonesia 211-212, 214,319 Indonesian Air Force 212…
367
high-altitude balloon program
22
high-altitude photography
I, 55, 84
high-altitude photoreconnaissance
7
high-altitude reconnaissance
I, 4-5, 8-9, 13-14, 17, 19, 22-25,
33-34, 39, 49, 52, 55, 254, 262,
292, 312, 330
high-altitude weather plane
178
high-impact plastics
313
high-resolution cameras
4
high-resolution infrared scanner
238
high-speed buffet
76
high-speed reconnaissance aircraft
262-263, 270
HIGH WIRE
164
Hitsman, Roger
209
Hitchcock, Alfred
29
Hokkaido, Japan
4
Holcomb. William
285
Hollywood, California
29
Hong Kong
217
Hoover, Herbert, Jr.
123-124
horizontal stabilizers
47
Horner, Richard
70
Hornig, Donald F.
309
HOT SHOP
162
Houston, Lawrence R.
44
HR-333 camera
253
HRB-Singer Corporation
336
HTAUTOMAT
83,115,331
HTNAMABLE
l l0-111
human intelligence sources
2
Hungarian uprising
123
Hungary
101, 123
Hurricane Baseline Survey
254
Hycon Manufacturing Company
13, 50. 252
hydraulic fluid
279
hydraulic pump
279
hydrogen bomb
19-20, 242
hydrogen weapons
164
hydrogen-powered aircraft
263
hydrologists
254
I
IBM CPC (card-programmed calculator)
52
IDEALIST
182. 210. 234, 303
IDEALIST U-2
303
lgarka, Soviet Union
3
ileitis
96
imagery
116, 179. 252-253, 255-256, 282,
298. 303,310
impeller
291
"in-and-out" operations
205
in-flight refueling
198-200, 237, 302
Sec, et NOFORN
Index
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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.