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…
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.