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.
“Donald A. Johnson”17 pages
Geeret PJOFORN ..'t', Chapter 5 U-2 Operations After M ay 1960 U-2 Operations in Latin Ameri ca ................ ...................... ................... .. 197 U-2 Support to the Bay of Pigs Invasion.. ..... ............ .............. ....... 197 Aerial Refueling Capability for the U-2 ........................... ........ ....... .. 198 U-2 Coverage Duri ng the Cuban Missile Crisis .............................. 199 U-2s Over South America ............. ..................................................... 211 U-2 Operations in Asia ........ ........................... ......................................... 211 Detachment C and the Indonesian Revolt of 1958 ............... .... ..... 211 China Offshore Islands Dispute of 1958 ................................ ..... ..... 215 U-2 Support for DDP Operations in Tibet....................................... 216 U-2Cs for Detachment C....................... .................... ... ....................... 217 U-2 Crash in Thailand ......................................................................... 219 End of Detachment C Operations ...................................... ............... 219 Detachment G Missions Over Laos and North Vietnam .............. 221 New Detachment on Taiwan ......... ......... ........................................... 222 Use of Detachment H Aircraft by US Pilots ............................ ....... 230 U-2s in India ................. ........................................................................ 231 Increasing Responsibilities. Inadequate Resources in Asia ........... 233 Advanced ECM Equipment for Detachment H................................ 237 Infrared Scanner Over PRC Nuclear Plants ....................... 238 .............................. ......... 240 ~~::-::;--::,-;-~~:F:::.:-:=--::-r-;~ =-=-=~The End of U-2 Overflights o ain an China ............................. 242 Peripheral M issions by Detachment H ................... .......................... 244 Operation SCOPE SHIELD Over North Vietnam ............................. 246 Improvements in U-2 Technology .........................................................247 Modification of U-2s for Aircraft Carrier Deployment ... ... ............. 247 Use of Car rier-Based U-2 To Film a French Nuclear Test Site... 249 A New Version of the U-2 ...................................................... ........... 251 Replacement of the Orig inal U-2s W ith U-2Rs............. ........ .......... 253 The Final Years of the U-2 ................. ................................................ .... 253 Support to Other Agencies .... .......... .................................................. 254 Overseas Deployment Exercises and Missions ............................... 255 The Phaseout of the Office of Special Activities ........ ................... 257 0 ) Chapter 6 The U-2·s Intended Successor: Project OXCART, 1956-1968 The Evaluation of Designs for a Successor to the U-2 .... ................ 260 Competition Between Lockheed and Convair ...................................... 267 The Selection of the Lockheed Design .............. ... ................ ................ 270 Efforts To Red uce the A·12's Radar Cross Section ............................ 274 The OXCART Contract ............................................................................. 277
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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.