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. 11 …At great risk, US Air Force and Navy aircraft had been conducting peripheral reconnaissance and shallow…
  • p. 16 …As a result, in the late 1940s, the US Air Force and Navy began trying to…
  • p. 17 …Two months later, on 7 October 1952, Soviet fighter aircraft stalked and shot down a US…
  • p. 72 …The terminology used to describe U-2 aircraft and pilots also played a part in maintaining…
  • p. 94 …The committee issued its l ist of cargets for the use of the entire intelli gence…
  • p. 147 …The Agency then turned co the Navy, which granted permission for Detachmernt C to use the…
  • p. 180 …James Doolittle urged President Eisenhower to use overflights of the Soviet Union to the maximum degree…
  • p. 223 …by Air Force and Navy reconnais sance aircraft. President Kennedy used NPIC photographs to i llustrate…
  • p. 273 …Charyk, and his Navy counterpart, Garrison Norton. Designers from several air craft manufacturers also attended some…
  • p. 283 …This engine had originally been developed for the Navy's large, jet-powered flying boat, the…
  • p. 297 …The need for additional bui ldings on the base was met by the Navy. Three surplus…
  • p. 298 …After hearing Bissell and Holcomb's suggestion that the 158 might be used in future Navy…
  • p. 348 …Following modifications to make System-VII suitable for use by the Navy, the designation was changed…
  • p. 353 …In 1968 tests on an AQUILINE prototype at Randsburg Wash on the US Navy's Naval…
  • p. 401 …247, 328 US Marine Corps Reserve 14 US Military Academy at West Point 329 US Navy…
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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.