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.
“Edwards Air Force Base”7 pages
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.
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.