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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 93 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…
80
~eerct NOPORl<I
Chapter 2
wings parallel to the ground duriing takeoff. Once airborne, Rose
made a low-level pass over the airstrip and shook loose the lefthand
pogo. When he attempted to make a righthand turn to come back over
the runway to shake loose the remaining pogo. Rose stalled the U-2
and it plunged to earth, disintegratiing over a wide area. Three months
later. on 3 1 August 1956, a second fa tal crash occurred during a
night-flying exercise. Frank G. Grace stalled article 354 at an altitude
of about 50 feet when he tried to climb too steeply at takeoff. The
craft fell , cartwheeled on its left wing. and struck a power pole near
the runway. More experienced U-2 pilots always cut back abruptly on
the throttle as soon as the pogo sticks fell away in order to avoid such
stal Is.
Before the year was out, two more U-2s were destroyed in
crashes. one of them fatal. On 17 September 1956, article 346 lost
part of i ts right wing while on i ts takeoff ascent from Lindsey Air
Force Base in Wiesbaden, Germany. The aircraft disintegrated in mid
air. killing pilot Howard Carey. T he loss of article 357 on l 9
December 1956 resulted from pilot hypoxia. A small leak prema
turdy depleted the oxygen supply and impaired Robert J. Ericson's
judgment as he flew over Arizona. Because of his inability to act
quickly and keep track of his aircraft's speed. the U-2 exceeded the
placarded speed of 190 knots and literall y disintegrated when it
reached 270 knots. Ericson managed to jettison the canopy and was
sucked out of the aircraft at 28,0001 feet. His chute opened automati
cally at 15,000 feet, and he landed without injury. The aircraft was a
total loss."''
COORDINATION OF COLLECTION REQUIREMENTS
From the very beginning of the U-2 program. it was apparent that
some sort of an interagency task force or office would be needed to
develop and coordinate collection requirements for the covert over
head reconnaissance effort. In a 1three-page memorandum to DCI
Dulles on 5 November 1954 setting forth the ideas of the
Technological Capabilities Panel's Project 3 on this subject. Edwin
L and wrote:
It is recommended that . .. a permanent task force. including Air
Force supporting elements. he set up under suitable cover to
provide guidance on procurement, to consolidate requirements
· • U-2 Acci<l.:nt R.:port~. folders -1. 10. and 1-1. OSA records. job 67 -8--115. box I (S).

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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.