Documents / Official release
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.
“Tibet”7 pages
♦ Chapter 1 Searching for a System The Need for High-Altitude Reconnaissance ............................................ 1 Early Postwar Aerial Reconnaissance ................................................... 2 New Approaches to Photoreconnaissance........................................... 4 The Air Force Search for a New Reconnaissance Aircraft............... 8 Lockheed CL-282 Supporters and the CIA. ........................................ 13 Scientists and Overhead Reconnaissance ............................................... 17 The BEACON HILL Report .................................................................... 17 Concern About the Danger of a Soviet Surprise Attack ................ 19 The Air Force Intelligence Systems Panel......................................... 21 British Overflight of Kapustin Yar ....................................................... 23 The Intelligence Systems Pane! and the CL-282 .............................. 24 The Technological Capabilities Panel ................................................. 26 Project Three Support for the Lockheed CL-282 .............................. 27 A Meeting With the President ............................................................. 32 CIA and Air Force Agreement on the CL-282 .................................. 33 ♦ Chapter 2 Developing the U-2 The Establishment of the U-2 Project..................................................... 39 Funding Arrangements for Project AQUATONE .................................... 43 Major Design Features of the U-2 ........................................................... 45 The Development of the Camera System .............................................. 48 Preparations for Testing the U-2 ............................................................. 56 Security for the U-2 Project...................................................................... 59 The CIA - Air Force Partnership .............................................................. 60 Technical Challenges to High-Altitude Flight ......................................... 61 Delivery of the First U-2 ........................................................................... 66 Initial Testing of the U-2 ........................................................................... 68 U-2s, UFOs, and Operation BLUE BOOK................................................ 72
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Official release, from the pursue collection. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is above. 406 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.