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 403 Original source ↗

“United Press”17 pages

  • p. 12 later, at press conferences in February and July 1. 964, President Lyndon B. Johnson revealed the…
  • p. 40 …and meetings with every major unit of the US defense and intelligence establish ments. After receiving…
  • p. 98 …The Soviet Union sent strongly worded protest notes to the United States and the nations from…
  • p. 102 …not only press releases and the public Line to be taken, but also the suspension of…
  • p. 107 …in the United Kingdom. At about the ' Ibid.. pp. 17-18 (TS Codeword). ' Press Release of…
  • p. 112 …at a press conference that the Soviet Union might be ahead of the United States in…
  • p. 125 …Dial Press. 1982), pp. 45-47. '' Lundahl and Brugioni interview (TS Codeword). ~eeret
  • p. 167 …By 1957 cooperation be tween the United Kingdom and the United States had expanded to include…
  • p. 174 …Defense Department officials pressed President Eisenhower to authorize renewed overflights to gather up-to-date in…
  • p. 183 …On the 9 April overflight, the U-2 's ELINT-collection unit (System VI) indicated Soviet…
  • p. 195 …in the press about the presence of "spyplanes" on Japanese territory, asked the United States to…
  • p. 198 …DCI records (S). " United States Congress. Senate. Foreign Relations Committee. £recutive Sessions of tlze Sencae Foreign…
  • p. 307 …By 1962 the United States had become aware of the effectiveness of a new Soviet radar…
  • p. 315 …To preserve the secrecy of the OXCART program, the Air Force informed the press that an…
  • p. 328 …at times when the press and Congress alleged that the United States was falling behind the…
  • p. 362 …Smithsonian Institute Press, l 985. Khrushchev. Nikita S. Khrushchev Remembers: The Last Testament. Boston: Little, Brown…
  • p. 401 …United Kingdom (See Great Britain) United Kingdom Requirements Committee 154 United Nations 20 United Press International…
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ieeret NOFORN
Index
WHALE TALE
247,249
Wheelon, Albert (Bud)
240, 287, 333
Wheelus AFB
121
White House
33, 43, 97, 109, ll 1-112, 120, 122.
128, 154, 172, 186, 189
Wienberg, Charles F. {Bud)
7, 11-12
Wiesbaden, Gennany
80, 95, 104-105, 108. l 14-ll5,
120-121
Wiesner, Jerome B.
37
Williams, John J.
185
Williamsport, Pennsylvania
222
Wilson. Charles
126
wind currents
87
wind tunnels
269
wing teeth
277
wings
5, 8. 1I. 23-25, 42, 45, 47, 66. 68.
72. 75-76, 80. 89, 95. 129, 148-149,
199. 242,248, 25!, 271. 274,277,
286, 312, 340
wiretaps
2
Wonsan Harbor
307
Worcester, Massachusetts
62
world press
85, 122
World Warr
l
World War II
1-2. 4, 7-8. 13, 15. 17. 22. 42,
49, 56, 62. 87, 95. 97, !24. 135,
214, 222, 232. 317, 322. 327-33!
Wright Air Development Command
4-5, 8, 12, 14, 18, 35, 73
Wright-Patterson
73
WRINGER
2
WS-461L
144-145
Wu-ch'ang. China
228
X
XF-104
(See Lockheed Day Fighter)
X-16
9. 13, 15. 26, 34-35
X-band radar pulses
335
X-rays
291
y
YAK-25RM
(See Mandrake)
YAK-26
(See Mandrake)
Yakov!ev
148
Yakovlev-25
148
Yale University
15
Yancey, William f.
75, 77-78
YC-97 Boeing Stratocruiser
13
Yerevan, Soviet Union
124
YF-!2A
285, 291, 294, 308
50z(See also AF-12)
Yokota AFB. Japan
134
Sec1et

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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.