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. 4 …21 British Overflight of Kapustin Yar ....................................................... 23 The Intelligence Systems Pane! and the CL-282 .............................. 24…
  • p. 29 …OSI. --overflight of Kapustin Yar.'' 15 October 1954. OSI (OSWR) records, job S0R-01424. bo" I…
  • p. 36 …to photograph the missile test range at Kapustin Yar. Because of ad vanced warning from either…
  • p. 122 …bomber, similar to the RAF overflight of Kapustin Yar in 1953. The US reply, sent to…
  • p. 152 …This faci lity was used to test radars against incoming missiles fired from Kapustin Yar, I…
  • p. 156 …Hall flew from Adana to photograph the Kapustin Yar M i ssile Test Range for the…
  • p. 177 …overflew Kuybyshev, Saratov Engels Airfield, and the Kapustin Yar Missile Test Range before landing at Adana…
  • p. 351 …1959 8005 Robinson• Peshawar B B Kuybyshev, Kapustin Yar, Caucasus 5 February l 960 8009 MacArthur…
  • p. 382 …128, 134, 197 Kandalaksha, Soviet Union 176 Kapustin Yar, Soviet Union 16, 23-24, 109, 139…
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Index
374
National Security Council Intelligence
Directive (NSCID)
191
Nationalist China
319,215,224,226,229,236
Nationalist Chinese
201, 205, 222-226,
229-230, 234-237, 239-240,
243, 245-246, 253,257,319
Air Force
223,225
insignia
225
pilots
319,223,230,235,243,246,253
U-2
205, 223-224, 229, 246
Navajo missile
22
Naval Air Station at Atsugi, Japan
134
naval quarantine
210
Nehru, Jawaharlal
231~233
Nelson, Nonnan
68
Nevada
56-57, 341, 113, 130-131, 133, 149,
182, 241, 274, 283, 286, 290, 295,
297, 302-303, 31 I
Nevada Proving Ground
56,241
New Delhi, India
232
Ngo Dinh Diem
230
NICE GIRL
310
nickel-cadmium batteries
240
Nile River
119
NIMBUS
200
1973 Middle East war
256,320
9th Tactical Air Force
330
nitrogen
64
Nixon, Richard M.
245-246, 256-257, 333
Nobel Prize
332
North American Air Defense
Command (NORAD)
289
North Atlantic Treaty Organization
(NATO)
20, 329, 87, 148, 172
radars
87
North Island Naval Base, California
248
North Korea
4,233,237,242,307
North Vietnam
190, 221-222, 230-231, 233, 243,
246-247, 301, 304-307, 311,336,342
North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA)
231
Northrop Aviation
259
Norton, Garrison
14-15, 31, 70,260,331
Norwalk, Connecticut
50
Norway
140, 142, 172, 176-177, 303,319
Norwegian Defense Staff
142
Norwegian Intelligence Service
142
Notre Dame University
7
Novaya Zemlya
172
Novokuznetsk, Soviet Union
138
nuclear energy
39, 81, 225
Nuclear Energy Division
39
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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.