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. 22 …11 Air Force headquarters soon approved Martin's proposal to mod- •ify" the B-57 and…
  • p. 54 …the DCI Jfor Planning and Coordination I Headquarters CIA USAF -125 I I I Foreign…
  • p. 55 …total of 357 personnel divided among project headquarters, a US test ing faci lity. and three…
  • p. 56 …until it moved into the new CIA Headquarters building at Langley in March 1962. The final…
  • p. 73 …On 3 August 1955, Dulles and Twining met at SAC headquarters in Omaha to sign the…
  • p. 102 …U-2 project officer, the Air Force Headquarters project officer, and NACA's top official, Dr…
  • p. 107 …did not have to report to higher headquarters. WRSP-1, known within the Agency as Detachment…
  • p. 117 …Late on the evening of 3 July, Bissell went to project headquarters in the Matomic Building…
  • p. 127 …The PARAMOUNT Committee worked inside PID headquarters in the Steuart Building. Composed of members from CIA…
  • p. 138 …later and promptly reported the conversation to headquarters. When details of Vito's close call reached…
  • p. 153 …project headquarters had already decided that Western Europe was not a satisfactory location for overflights of…
  • p. 168 …110 In June 1958, representatives from the British Air Ministry came to project headquarters for an…
  • p. 191 …commander at Adana, co Air Force Europe headquarters. and co the Chief of Station at Ankara…
  • p. 194 …Because the new government had not been briefed on the U-2, Project Headquarters refused to…
  • p. 205 …its own building to the new CIA Headquarters at Langley. Soon afterward. Col. Stanley W. Beerli…
  • p. 235 …the pilot reported the incident to Headquarters. The Office of Security immediately con tacted the Pennsylvania…
  • p. 312 …that the performance of an A-12 with J75 engines (as suggested by project headquarters for…
  • p. 319 …been deployed in North Vietnam.61 Project Headquarters in Langley planned and directed all operational BLACK…
  • p. 323 …Project headquarters informed Deputy Defense Secretary Vance on lO January I 967 that the A- l…
  • p. 324 …President Johnson con firmed this decision on 21 May."9 - - - Project headquarters selected 8 June 1968…
  • p. 334 …Air Force personnel served at all levels of the recon naissance program, from project headquarters to…
  • p. 365 …Speech given by Richard Bissell at CIA Headquarters, 12 October 1965 (Top Secret Codeword). Interview with…
377
Plans, Directorate of
73, 81, 157,197,211,287
Plesetsk, Soviet Union
176
Poland
I00-101, l04, I 10, 123, 145,303
polarizing filters
330
Polaroid Corporation
18, 24, 29
POLECAT
221
Polish Ambassador to the US
109
Polyarny Ural
172
polygraph examination
185
Pope, Allen L.
214-215
poppy fields
254
Port Said, Egypt
120
Portsmouth Harbor
94
. P9tassium cyanide
66. 125
powered glider
14, 25. 339
Powers. Francis Gary
88,117,124, 174-178, 181-187,
190-191, 195, 197,201.219, 221.
224,252,316,322.332, 336
Poznan, Poland
104
PR3 aircraft
5
Pratt, Perry W.
31
Pratt & Whitney
12, 31. 35, 40, 48, 67, 71. 152,217,
251,268,270, 284-285, 290
Pratt & Whitney J58 power plant
270
Pratt & Whitney J75-Pl3 jet engine
152
Pratt & Whitney J75/19W engines
284
Pratt and Whitney J57
12
President's Board of Consultants on
Foreign Intelligence Activities
37, 127, 167, 170, 190, 192,328,
330
President's Foreign Intelligence
Advisory Board
37
President's Intelligence Checklist
201
President's Science Advisory Committee
37
pressure suits
64, 247
pressurized "spacesuit"
63
Prettyman. E. Barrett
184-185
Prettyman Board
185
Princeton University
29
processing and interpretation centers
115
Project Director
61. 82. 329
Project Officer. AFCIG-5
61
Project Staff
40-43. 56, 72-73. 82, 89,
170. 299
Project Three
27, 29-34. 327
propaganda
88, 160, 162. 183. 186. 317
Pryor. Frederick
183
psychological warfare
186. 222
Pueblo
242. 307,320
Puerto Rico
207,211
Pulse-Position Indicator display
267
Purcell. Edward M.
18, 29, 110-111. 129,260,263.
271, 274. 332
Putt, Donald L.
• 11. 35-36. 40
PYO [Soviet Air Defense]
174
Sec, et NOfOAl'I
Index
Secret

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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.