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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.

Open the PDF at page 74 Original source ↗

“Nevers”34 pages

  • p. 13 …Without their help a good deal of this story could never have become known. The assistance…
  • p. 44 …the CL-282; in fact, there may never have been a formal decision as such. In…
  • p. 74 …Ry, Lockheed engineers had to solve problems never before encountered. Among these problems w21s the need…
  • p. 84 …Flight tests continued, with the U-2 ascending to alti tudes never before attained in sustained…
  • p. 102 …put aside for further thought (which it never received), and Bissell 's weather research cover re…
  • p. 147 …Peninsula, because of bad weather and, therefore, never entered Soviet airspace. A second attempt to photograph…
  • p. 157 …2 flight over the Black Sea that never violated Soviet airspace revealed 12 attempts at interception…
  • p. 159 …Six of the men on board were killed and the remaining 11 were never heard from…
  • p. 160 …Although this new Berlin crisis never became as threat,ening as the blockade of l 948…
  • p. 165 …The Air Force never equipped its orig inal U-2s with the 175 engines. 10" Detachment…
  • p. 189 …Powers never made it past Sverdlovsk. Four and a half hours into the mission, an SA…
  • p. 194 …program in I 974, but RAF pilots never again conducted an overt1ight in an Agency U…
  • p. 208 …very good reason, and such a situation never developed, in part because satellite photography gradually began…
  • p. 210 …Since this never happened, Francis Gary Powers' flight on l May 1960 proved to be the…
  • p. 223 …Responsibility for photo graphic coverage of Cuba remained with the Air Force; Agency pil,ots never…
  • p. 227 …Both were expe rienced with World War II aircraft, although Vito had never flown the rebels…
  • p. 248 …It was short of both pilots and planes and never had more than three U-2s…
  • p. 257 …This was an electronic intelligence mission that, in ac cordance with the new guidelines, never came…
  • p. 264 251 Seu et NOFOAN Chapter 5 There was never another Agency U-2 mission from an…
  • p. 290 …the OXCART aircraft for its own use. never adopted the laminated vertical stabii izers." THE OXCART…
  • p. 294 …Scott employed concepts never be fore used in camera systems. These included the use of a…
  • p. 298 …As it turned out, the 158 was never used in a Navy aircraft. "OSA History. chap…
  • p. 299 …This new delay was caused by leaking fuel tanks, a problem that would never be solved…
  • p. 303 …the J58 had to reach performance levels never before achieved by a jet engine. while operating…
  • p. 313 …even though the SKYLARK contingency plan was never put into effect. Since U-2s continued to…
  • p. 316 …Moreover, the Soviets never operated the radars in the tracking and lockon modes, a fact that…
  • p. 317 …strongly opposed it and the 303 Committee never forwarded the proposal to President Johnson. 5" The…
  • p. 318 …The OXCART, which had never operated in heavy rain, taxied to the runway and took off…
  • p. 326 …collector of strategic intelligence, the OXCART was never used for this purpose. Its brief deployment was…
  • p. 328 …the President never went so far as to eliminate the overflight program. As Commander in Chielf…
  • p. 333 …its speed and altitude have never been equaled. The development of this aircraft also led to…
  • p. 348 …a 16-kilogram VHF recorder for communications intelligence (COMINT), was never used and was transferred to…
  • p. 349 …a mission over the Soviet Union that never took place. Systems-XI through XV were ECM…
  • p. 356 …Project SANDY HOOK never advanced very far in develop ment; projected high costs and substantial technical…
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).
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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.