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 …17 The BEACON HILL Report .................................................................... 17 Concern About the Danger of a Soviet Surprise Attack ................ 19…
  • p. 13 Helen Hill Kleyla and Robert D. O'Hern. This 16-volume Top Secret Codeword study of…
  • p. 14 …view of the "other side of the hill." With the advent of dry film, it became…
  • p. 30 …Dulles The BEACON HILL Report In 1951 the Air Force sought even more assistance from scientists…
  • p. 31 …Their head quarters was located over a secretarial school on Beacon Hill, which soon became the…
  • p. 32 …et NOFOAN Chapter 1 document on 15 June 1952, the BEACON HILL Report advocated radical approaches…
  • p. 34 …Created in July 1953, the Intelligence Systems Panel (ISP) included several experts from the BEACON HILL…
  • p. 37 …sance needs ex.pressed in the BEACON HILL Report. Theoretically, he explained to the panel. any…
  • p. 41 …H. T. Friis R. Mettler A.G. Hill E. Purcell W. H. Radford E. H. Plesset…
  • p. 44 …members had been discussing since the BEACON HILL and Intelligence Systems Panel meetings. James Baker was…
  • p. 45 …Having participated in the BEACON HILL Study and the Intelligence Systems Panel, several Project Three members…
  • p. 344 …He headed the Beacon Hill Panel in 1952 and later became director of Lincoln Laboratories. PARANGOSKY…
  • p. 345 …of several advisory panels, including the BEACON HILL project. He helped Baker decide what cameras to…
  • p. 364 …BEACON HILL Report: Problems of Air Force Intelligence and Reconnaissance. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 15 June…
  • p. 371 …Soviet Union 137 Beacon Hill 17-19. 21. 24, 3 1-32. 331-33'.! BEACON HILL…
383
SR-71
295, 302, 308-31 I, 321
SS-4 (SHYSTER) MRBM
206
SS-6 ICBM
[ 160, 165, 171-171
stainless steel
277, 280
Stassen, Harold
330
State Department
81, 95, IOI, 146, 154, 163, 179, 186,
196-197, 212, 224-225, 229,243,249
"stealth" research
313
stereo camera
281, 252
stereoscopic lenses
250
Steuart Building
83, Ill, 114
STEVER
260. 333
Stockman, Hervey
65. J-04-105
STPOLLY
222,224,240
Strategic Air Command (SAC)
11, 14, 17, 20, 26, 42, 60, 74-76, 78,
89, 93, 95, 198, 201, 207-210, 299, 230
meteorologists
42
strategic bombing
49
"strategic hamlet"
230
strategic intelligence
82,115,152,302,304,313,315,
319,322
strategic reconnaissance
9, 122,230,295, 297, 299, 313,
320,322,329
Strauss, Lewis
56
Strong, Philip G.
14-17, 21-22, 24-25, 29-30, 333
subsonic
8, 14, 260, 263
Seeret NOFORN
Index
Suez Canal
112-114, 117,120,256
Suez Canal, Israeli-British-French attack on
116
Suez Canal Company
I 12-113
Suez Crisis
152
Suhrawardy, Huseyn Shaheed
135
suicide pill
65
Sukarno, Achmed
212,215
Sulawesi (Celebes)
212
Sullivan, Dennis
307
Sumatra
212
SUN SPOT
171
Super Snooper
132
supersonic designs
260 -
supersonic interceptor
285
supersonic technology
292-293
Support. Directorate of
40, 83
surface-to-air missile (SA-2) sites
201
surface-to-air missiles
257,299,301,303,339
surface-to-surface missiles
205-206, 209. 304. 306
Sverdlovsk, Soviet Union
172, 176-179, 185
Symington, Stuart
99, 161
synthetic lubricants
279
Syria
114, 120, 133, 153
Syrian radars
343
System-I
335
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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.