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.
“RAF”18 pages
Sec, el NOFORN Hiring U-2 Pilots ........_................................................................................. 73 Pilot Training ............................................................................................... 75 Final Tests of the U-2 ................................................................................ 76 Three Fatal Crashes in 1956 ..................................................................... 79 Coordination of Collection Requirements ............................................... 80 Preparations To Handle the Product of U-2 Missions ......................... 82 The Impact of the Air Force Project GENETRIX Balloons................... 84 AQUATONE Briefings for Selected Members of Congress ................. 88 The U-2 Cover Story .................................................................................. 89 ♦ Chapter 3 U-2 Operations in the Soviet Bloc and Middle East, 1956-1958 The Deployment of Detachment A to Lakenheath ............................... 94 The Move to Wiesbaden ........................................................................... 95 President Eisenhower's Attitude Toward Overflights............................ 96 First Overflights of Eastern Europe ....................................................... 100 First U-2 Flights Over the Soviet Union ............................................... 104 Soviet Protest Note .................................................................................. 109 The End of the Bomber Gap................................. :................................ 111 Tactical Intelligence From U-2s During the Suez Crisis .................... 112 Renewed Overflights of the Soviet Union ........................................... 122 Radar-Deceptive "Dirty Birds" ................................................................ 128 The New Detachment C .......................................................................... 133 Detachment B Flights From Pakistan .................................................... 135 The Decline of Detachment A ................................................................ 139 Cooperation With Norway ....................................................................... 142 Declining Overflight Activity.................................................................... 143 Concerns About Soviet Countermeasures Against the U-2 .............. 147 More Powerful Engines for the U-2 ...................................................... 149 Intervention in Lebanon, 1958 ................................................................ 152 British Participation in the U-2 Project ................................................. 153 The U-2 Project at the Beginning of 1959 ........................................... 157 ♦ Chapter 4 The Final Overflights of the Soviet Union, 1959-1960 The U-2 and the "Missile-Gap" Debate................................................ 159 The Last Overflight: Operation GRAND SLAM .................................... 170 The Aftermath of the U-2 Downing ...................................................... 177 The Withdrawal of the Overseas Detachments ................................... 181 The Fate of Francis Gary Powers .......................................................... 183 Changes in Overflight Procedures After May 1960 ............................ 187
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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.