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.

Open the PDF at page 395 Original source ↗

“Cooper”12 pages

  • p. 5 …139 Cooperation With Norway ....................................................................... 142 Declining Overflight Activity.................................................................... 143 Concerns About Soviet Countermeasures Against the U…
  • p. 7 …320 Cooperation With the Air Force ............................................................. 321 Impact of the Overhead Reconnaissance Program o n the…
  • p. 91 …Early in the program Bissell and Ritland had foreseen such an emergency and, with the cooperation…
  • p. 95 …their awareness of the vital nature of their mission kept the level of cooperation high. The…
  • p. 143 …deception project since its early days, he cooperated reluctantly because he disliked adding attachments that made…
  • p. 155 …the beginning of cooperation between CIA and the Norwegian Intelligence Service on the U-2 program…
  • p. 167 …By 1957 cooperation be tween the United Kingdom and the United States had expanded to include…
  • p. 169 …a logical ex tension of the close cooperation that already existed between the two countries on…
  • p. 196 …as possible while giving the appearance of cooperating with his cap tors. To extract the maximum…
  • p. 287 …by Edgerton, Germeshausen & Grier (EG&G) in cooperation with the Scientific Engineering Institute at a small…
  • p. 302 …Halaby cooperated fully with the Agency and personally briefed all FAA regional chiefs on how to…
  • p. 334 …The cooperation between the Agency and the Air Force that began with the U-2 and…
382
Sec, el l'(IOFORl'.J
Index
Soviet Union
1-3, 4-7. 14-27. 31, 39, 65, 81-89,
93-101. 104-106. 108-112. 120,
122-124, 126-130, 133-135, 137-
140, 142-149. 152-157, 159-165,
167-168. 170-172. 174-183. 186-187,
189, 195-197. 200-201, 205-206,
209-211, 215. 219,221,225,232,237,
247, 254, 259. 294, 297-299, 301,
303-304, 312. 315-320, 322. 329-330,
332. 335-336. 339,341,344
activity in Cuba
200,201
air defense system
2. 3. I08. I68. I70, 317
air power of the
20
air show
98
atomic energy program
317
bomber
21. 11 I. 167. 317
borders
123, 127, 143
diplomatic protests
315- -
electronic defenses
317
fighters
3. 5. 23, 26. I27. 144
G-class ballistic-missile submarine
237
guided missile and nuclear programs
135
guided missile research
99
guided missiles
81. 99
guided-missile test range
16
intentions
4. 318
intercept attempts
142
interception of U-2
19, 24-25. 47. 87. 106, 108. 110. 122.
127, 134. 144. I70, 244. 270. 3 I5, 339
medium-range ballistic missiles
201, 206
missile program
128. I59- I61. 163-164
missile test range
16. 23, 143, 164. 167, 176
overflight operation
110
propaganda campaign
317
Protest Note
109
radar coverage
106
radars
3. 7. 15, 97. 130, 134, 168. 176.
259. 339
rail network
167
strategic capabilities
2. 19
Supreme Soviet
179
surface-to-air missile (SAM)
177, 168, 304
surprise attack
19. 26-27, 89. 147, 159, 329-330
Soviet-Finnish border
303. 142
Soviet-Iranian border
124. 162-163. 168
Special Activities. Director of
193
Special Activities (OSA). Office of
43. 192-193, 207. 234-235. 242. 247.
252. 257,288. 296-297, 299. 303. 312.
328. 341-342. 344
Special Assistant for National Security Affairs
188
Special Assistant to the DCI
40
"special" missions
116
Special Operations Division
192
Spica. Incorporated
51
spotting camera
282
Sputnik
159
SQUARE DEAL
168. 170
Sec,et

Not linked to a story yet.

About this file

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.