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.
“Headquarters”22 pages
61 project-the construction and testing of the aircraft-remained the ex clusive province of Lockheed .~9 As a result of this agreement, CIA remained in control of the program, but the Air Force played a very important role as well. As Richard Bissell later remarked about the U-2 project, "The Air Force wasn't just in on this as a s upporting element, and to a major degree it wasn't in on it just supplying about half the government personnel; but the Air Force held, if you want to be precise, 49 percent of the common stock." 30 One of the first Air Force officers assigned to Project OILSTONE was Col. Osmund J. Rieland. He began coordinating Air Force a:ctivi ties in the U-2 program with Richard Bissell in December 1954. On 27 June 1955, Rieland became Bissell's deputy, although Air Force Chief of Staff Twining did not officially approve this assignment until 4 August, the day after the signing of the CIA- Air Force agreement. ln March 1956, Colonel Ritland returned to the Air Force and was fol lowed as deputy project director by Col. Jack A. Gibbs. . . . - Another Air Force officer. Lt. Col. Leo P. Geary. joined the: pro gram in June 1955 and remained with it until August 1966. l1onger than any of the other project managers. Using the Air !Force Inspector General's office as cover with the title of Project Otificer, AFCIG-5, Geary served as the focal point for all Defense Department support to the U-2 and OXCART programs. His 11 years with the overhead reconnaissance projects provided a high degree of Air Force continuity.J• TECHNICAL CHALLENGES TO HIGH-ALTITUDE FLIGHT To get the U-2 aircraft ready to Ry, Lockheed engineers had to solve problems never before encountered. Among these problems w21s the need for a fuel that would not boil off and evaporate at the very high altitudes for which the aircraft was designed. Gen. James H. Doolittle See, el N61-0ftN Chapter 2 Osmund J. Rieland ,. OSA History. chap. 3. p. 15 and annex 14 (TS Codeword). •• Speech given by Richard Bissell at CIA Headquaners. 12 October 1965 (TS Codc::word). " Brig. Gen. Leo A. Geary (USAF-Ret.). interview by Donald E. Wc:lzc:nbach. tape re cording, 3 April 1986 (S); OSA History, chap. 3, p. 3 (TS Codtword). Secret
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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.