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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 384 Original source ↗

“RAF”18 pages

  • p. 19 …staff was the RB-57D in I 955, whose maximum altitude RAF Canberra Mark-PR3 Seeret
  • p. 36 …In 1952 the Royal Air Force (RAF) began Project ROBIN, which was designed to modify the…
  • p. 106 …The U-2s were to use Lakenheath AFB, an RAF base also used by the USAF…
  • p. 107 …penetrated the British radar net work, causing RAF fighters to scramble. Afterward the Air Ministry made…
  • p. 122 …twin-engine Canberra bomber, similar to the RAF overflight of Kapustin Yar in 1953. The US…
  • p. 156 …Range for the first time since the RAF's overflight in 1953, obtaining photographs of a…
  • p. 166 …In November 1958, four RAF officers arrived at Detachment B at Adana. thus beginning the United…
  • p. 167 …ask Air Vice Marshal MacDonald if the RAF was prepared to '"" See, for ex:ample, the…
  • p. 168 …MacDonald agreed to Bissell's proposal and began recruiting RAF pilots to fly the U-2…
  • p. 169 …Most flights by the RAF pilots in Detachment B, however, took place in the Middle East…
  • p. 177 …For almost a year, the RAF pilots of Detachment B had been ready to fly over…
  • p. 194 …A four-man unit of RAF U-2 pilots was stationed at Detachment G, Edwards AFB…
  • p. 200 …approval authority for missions conducted by the RAF pilots in Detachment 8. The loss of Powers…
  • p. 316 …Project IDEALIST U-2 flying from an RAF facility in Great Britain. The OXCART would fly…
  • p. 332 …1960, the need for British participation lessened. RAF pilots henceforth flew only training or ferry missions…
  • p. 339 …P-E PFIAB PI PIC PID PSAC RAF RFP SAB SAC SAC SA/PC/DCI SAM…
  • p. 351 …4154 Powers Peshawar B B Tyuratam, Kyshtym, Sverdlovsk; downed by SAM a RAF pilot Sec1 et
  • p. 402 …Louis 29 Watertown Strip 57 Watton RAF Base. England 156 "weather plane" cover story 179 weather…
Land. Edwin H. (Din)
18, 21, 25, 29-34, 36, 80-81, 89, 96,
100. 110, 19 1-192, 260, 262-263, 269-27 1,
292,307,330, 332-333
Land Panel
37
Langley, Virginia
43, 192, 306,
Langley AFB. Virginia
23
Laos
2 I6, 22.1. 231. 233
Las Vegas. Nevada
284
Latham, Allen. Jr.
29
Latvia
303
Laughlin AFB, Texas
198,200
Lebanon
114, 117, 152-153, 343
Ledford, Jack C.
207, 288. 297
Leghorn, Richard S.
• - • 4-8. 18, 23. 110, 330
LeMay, Curtis E.
11 -12. 14. 60
"Lemon-Drop l(jd"
124
Lend-Lease
7
Leningrad, Soviet Union
104-106. 109, 142, 298. 303
lens
I. 18. 2 1-22, 30. 49-55, 93.
I08. 250. 247. 253, 28 1-282.
321, 327
lens curvatures
52
lens designs
52, 55
LeVier. Tony
56, 68-7 1, 75
LF-lA fuel
62
Libya
121
Sec, et NOFOftN
Index
37 1
lightweight film
32
LINCOLN
18
Lindsey Air Force Base. Wiesbaden. West Gennany
80
liquid-fueled missiles
161,317
lithium deut,eride
19
Lithuania
303
Little, Arthur D., Inc.
29
Liule Quem1:ly
215
Lloyd, Selwyn
93
Lockheed A:ircraft Corporation
9, 24, 329
Lockheed D:ay Fighter
14
Lockheed m,echanics
66, 13,0, 225
London School of Economics
. 15
LONG GREEN
198
long-range bombers
20, 81. 98-99, 316
LONG SHAFT
245
Lop Nor test site
237
Los Ange les., California
186, 254
Lovelace, W. Randolph, III
62, 74
Lovelace Foundation for Medical
Education antd Research
74
low-radar-cross-section vehicle
344
low-level phmography
209
low-vapor-pressure fuel
278
Luke AFB. Arizona
74

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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.