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

No summary written yet.

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.

See, et NOFOAN
New Technologies Necessitated By OXCART's Hig h Speed ............. 279
Designing the OXCART's Cameras ........................................ ....... .. ... .... 281
Choosing Pilots for OXCART .................................................................. 283
Selection of a Testing Site fo r t he OXCART.............................. ......... 283
Delivery of the First OXCART ............................................ .................... 286
Changes in the Project Management .................................................... 286
OXCART' s First Flights.............. ... .............................. .... ..... .......... .. ......... 288
Speed-Related Problems .... .. ........................................ ........... .... ............. 290
New Versions of the OXCART ............................ ............ ..... .................. 291
The Question of Surfacing a Version of the OXCART ...................... 292
Additional Problems During Final Testing ............................................ 295
Discussions on the OXCART's Future Employment ........................... 297
First A-12 Deployment: Operation BLACK SHIELD ............................. 304
The End of the OXCART Program ........................................................ 307
Possible Successors to the OXCART..................................................... 312
Summary of the OXCART Program ...................................................... 313
♦ Chapter 7
Conclusion
U-2 Overflights of the Soviet Union ..................................................... 315
Participation of Allies in the U-2 Prog ram........................................... 319
U-2s as Collectors of Tactical Intelligence .................... ....................... 319
Advances in Technology............................................... ........................... 320
Cooperation With the Air Force ............................................................. 321
Impact of the Overhead Reconnaissance Program o n the CIA. ....... 321
♦ Appendix A: Acronyms ............................................................................. 325
♦ Appendix B: Key Personnel ..................................................................... 327
♦ Appendix C: Electronic Devices Carried by the U-2 ........................... 335
♦ Appendix D: U-2 Overflights of the Soviet Union, ............................. 337
4 July 1954-1 May 1960
♦ Appendix E: Unmanned Reconnaissance Projects .................... .......... 339
♦ Bibliography ................................................................................................ 347
♦ Index ............................................................................................................ 355

Not linked to a story yet.

About this file

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.