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.

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51
Secret NOFORN
Chapter 2
his research associate duties at Harvard and his service on go,vem
ment advisory bodies, Baker established a small firm known as Spica,
Incorporated, on 31 January 1955.
The A-1 camera system consisted of two 24-inch K-38 framing
cameras. One was mounted vertically and photographed a 17.2° swath
beneath the aircraft onto a roll of 9.5- inch fi lm. The second K-38 was
placed in a rocking mount so that it alternately photographed the left
oblique and right oblique out to 36.5° onto separate rolls of 9.5-inch
fi lm. The film supplies unwound in opposite directions in ordler to
minimize their effect on the balance of the aircraft. Both cameras
used standard Air Force 24-inch focal-length lenses adjusted for max
imum acuity by Baker. The development of the special rocking mount
by Perkin-Elmer's Dr. Roderic M. Scott was a major factor in neduc
ing the size and weight of the A- I system, because the mount pro
vided broad transverse coverage with a single lens, ending the need
for two separate cameras. 16
•• OSA History. chap. I. annt!x 3, pp. 1-3 (TS Co1kword).
A-1 camera
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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.