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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 89 Original source ↗

“The Advance”34 pages

  • p. 6 …255 The Phaseout of the Office of Special Activities ........ ................... 257 0 ) Chapter 6 The U-2…
  • p. 7 …319 Advances in Technology............................................... ........................... 320 Cooperation With the Air Force ............................................................. 321 Impact of the Overhead Reconnaissance…
  • p. 22 …retired from the Air Force to become the assistant director of Lockheed's Advanced Development Program…
  • p. 24 11 / Chapter 1 gravity (g's) instead of the military specification strengLh of 5.33 g…
  • p. 32 …lithium deuteride, a tech nology more advanced than the heavy water method used by US '' BEACON…
  • p. 33 …between the developed and undeveloped nations. This aggressive Soviet foreign policy. combined with advances in nuclear…
  • p. 58 …secrecy in the new project, Kelly Johnson placed it in Lockheed's Advanced Development facility at…
  • p. 65 …His software algorithms made it possible to model lens designs and determine in advance the effects…
  • p. 76 …seen on pilot Francis Gary Powers) advanced gear for the U-2 pilots. David Clark expert…
  • p. 111 …of Soviet advances in long-range bombers and missiles. The initial sighting of the new Soviet…
  • p. 114 …Adenauer be informed in advance of US plans to overfly the Soviet Union from bases in…
  • p. 174 …concentrating on developing the more advanced solid-fueled missiles rather than increasing the num ber of…
  • p. 183 …if the Soviet SAMs received sufficient advanced warning, they posed a major threat to the U…
  • p. 191 …the cover story that had been prepared and distributed in advance of the mission. The first…
  • p. 206 …In 1965 the head of OSA received a new title, Director of Special Activities. The Office…
  • p. 235 …STPOLLY added the more advanced Lockheed P3A in 1963. Between 1955 and 1967, when the CIA…
  • p. 249 …The Defense Department feared that the loss of this device with its highly advanced traveling-wave…
  • p. 250 …Chapter 5 Advanced ECM Equipment for Detachment H Demand for overhead photography of the PRC continued…
  • p. 252 …In addition, the Project TACKLE U-2s began receiving even more advanced ECM • 60 equipment. •• Mission…
  • p. 265 …but some was the result of technological advances. The ini tial order for eight of the…
  • p. 266 …This camera was actually a very advanced version of the original B camera with a new…
  • p. 282 …aircraft from the small inventory of its most advanced bomber. Even had the B-588 program…
  • p. 295 …In fact, it was an advanced version of the highly reliable B camera developed for the…
  • p. 296 …Prospective pilots had to be qualified in the most advanced fighters and be emotionally stable and…
  • p. 307 …advanced experimental jet aircraft, the A-11. which has been tested in sustained flight at more…
  • p. 310 …It was now time to find work for the most advanced aircraft ever conceived and built…
  • p. 321 …advanced aircraft ever .built was to be put out to pasture. The aban donment of the…
  • p. 325 …when the OXCART program ended in the summer of 1968, no mcire advanced successor was wait…
  • p. 326 …The most advanced aircraft of the 20th century had become an anachronism before it was ever…
  • p. 333 …ADVANCES IN TECHNOLOGY One very important byproduct of the CIA's manned reconnaissance program was the…
  • p. 334 …the end of the usefulness of the world's most advanced aircraft; its offspring, the SR…
  • p. 335 …Thus, the CIA sponsored the development of the world's most advanced aircraft-the OXCART-and…
  • p. 352 …They believed that recent advances in the minia turization of electronic technology would make possible the…
  • p. 356 343 Defense Research and Engineering, John Foster, liked the concept and provided DOD funding for ORD…
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Seerct NOFORN
Chapter 2
and could not survive the stresses of loops and barrel rolls. Moreover,
the original U-2s were placarded, which meant that they could not be
flown at sea level faster than 190 knots in smooth air or 150 knots in
rough air. At operational altitude, where the air was much less dense,
they could not exceed Mach 0.8 (394 knots). Speeds in excess of
these limits could cause the wings or tail section to fall off.
Airspeed was a very critical factor for the U-2. At maximum alti
tude only 6 knots separated the speeds at which low-speed stall and
high-speed buffet occurred. Pilots called this narrow range of accept
able airspeeds at maximum altitude the .. coffin corner" because at
this point the U-2 was always on the brink of falling out of the sky. If
the aircraft slowed beyond the low-speed stall limit, it would lose lift
and begin to fall, causing stresses that would tear the wings and tail
off. A little too much speed would lead to buffeting, which would
also cause the loss of the wings or tail. Flying conditions such as
these required a U-2 pilot's full attention when he was not using the
autopilot. Airspeed was such a critical factor that Kelly Johnson
added a vernier adjustment to the throttle to allow the pilot to make
minute alterations to the fuel supply. 50
Among the unique devices developed for the U-2 was a small
sextant for making celestial .. fixes" during the long overflights.
Because cloud cover often prevented U-2 pilots from locating naviga
tional points on the earth through the periscope, the sextant turned out
to be the pilots' principal navigational instrument during the first
three years of deployment. When clouds were not a factor, however.
the periscope proved highly accurate for navigation. During the final
tests before the aircraft became operational. U-2 pilots found they
could navigate by dead reckoning with an error of less than I nautical
mile over a 1.000-nm course.5'
FINAL TESTS OF THE U-2
Flight-testing of the U-2 continued throughout the fall and winter of
1955-56 in order to test all the various systems. By mid-January
1956. SAC officials were so impressed that they also wanted to pur
chase a fleet of these planes. On 30 January. DCI Dulles agreed to
" Cunningham int.:rview (TS Codeword): John Parangosky. intt:rview by Donald E.
Wdzenhach. tape recording. 6 March 1986 (S): information supplied by James
Ch..:rbonneaux to Donald E. Wdzenhach (S).
" Cunningham interview (TS Codeword).
Seci:et

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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.