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. 24 …Instead of a conventional landing gear, Johnson proposed using two skis and a reinforced belly rib…
  • p. 25 …a perceived shortcoming of the Lockheed design." Another factor in the rejection of Kelly Johnson's…
  • p. 26 …19 On 7 June 1954, Kelly Johnson received a letter from the Air Force rejecting the…
  • p. 27 …Gardner described Kelly Johnson's proposal and showed the drawings to Strong. After this meeting. Strong…
  • p. 30 …To make Kelly Johnson' s revolutionary design a reality, one addit ional source of support was…
  • p. 42 …it. A lthough Land had heard Allen Donovan '' James R. Killian. Jr.. interview by Donald E…
  • p. 48 …do the job in Johnson's airplane. And further, I overlaid a curve showing that with…
  • p. 57 …demanding, and Kelly Johnson agreed that such a move would save a lot of money. Lockheed…
  • p. 58 …Ben A. Rich (current head of the "Skunk Works"). interview by Donald E. Welzenbach and Gregory…
  • p. 69 …staff) flew over Nevada with Kelly Johnson in a small Beechcraft plane piloted by Lockheed's…
  • p. 72 …This responsibility has placed a heavy burden on the Office of Security for establishing procedures to…
  • p. 79 …Battin suggested the method used by Nazi war criminal Hermarnn Goering, a thin glass ampule containing…
  • p. 81 …Kelly Johnson used a '·wet-wing" design for the U-2, which meant that fuel was…
  • p. 89 …Airspeed was such a critical factor that Kelly Johnson added a vernier adjustment to the throttle…
  • p. 162 …By late 1957, Johnson agreed that something had to be done. After a series of tests…
  • p. 276 …The committee examined two other Kelly Johnson designs at this meeting-a tailless subsonic aircraft with…
  • p. 324 …OXCART did win a temporary reprieve in late November 1967. The Johnson administration decided to keep…
372
Seeret ~QlzOR~
Index
Luna 2 rocket
163
Lundahl, Arthur C.
82, 114-115. 117,119,121,135,
142, 154, 191,209,241, 331
M
M Building
83
M-12 aircraft
291
M-195 aircraft
9
MacArthur, John
167
Macdonald. Duncan E.
22, 154-155
Macmillan, Harold
155-156, 164. 167, 187
Malaya Sazanka, Soviet Union
144
Malinovsky, Rodion
160
Malta
114, -116
Manchuria
229. 233. 237
Mandrake
148
Manhattan Project
329
Manila, Philippines
311
manned space program
62
March AFB, California
75
Mark-30
335
Marquardt ramjets
268
Marr, William H.
72
Mars
7:
Marsna1 Plan
15,327
Martin. Glenn L., Aircraft Corporation
5, 8-9. 24, 270
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
4, 15, 18, 27, 30, 110, 129-130, 327,
330, 332-333
Matomic Building
42, 104
MATS
72
Matsu Islands
229
May Day
20. 176, 191. 195
MC-2 and MC-3 partial-pressure suits
64
McConaughy, Walter P.
257
McCone. John A.
184-186, 192, 195, 197, 201, 206-207,
209, 232-234, 236-238, 240, 292-294,
296,298,300,327,331
McCoy, Frederick
95
McCullough Corporation
339
McDonnell Aircraft
312
McElroy, Neil
146, 161-162
McFadden. William
54
McMahon, John N.
186
McNamara, Robert
229, 234, 236, 238, 253, 285, 292-293,
298, 300-301
mechanical fuel totalizer/counters
68
Mediterranean Sea
114, 116. 121, 140, 142, 153
medium-range ballistic missiles
201,206
Melpar. Incorporated
342
Menderes. Adnan
112, 181
mercenary pilots
214
metal fatigue
242
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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.