Documents / Official release
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.
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SCHLESINGER, James R.
DCI from February to July 1973, Schlesinger supported the Nixon ad
ministration's proposal to terminate the Agency's U-2 program.
SCOTT, Roderic M.
An engineer with Perkin-Elmer who worked with James Baker in de
signing the first cameras for use in the U-2. Scott helped design the
30001 camera for the OXCART.
SCOVILLE, Herbert, Jr.
In February 1962 Scoville became the first Deputy Director for
Research, which took over control of the Agency's reconnaissance
programs from the Deputy Director for Plans. Frustrated by the lack
of support from the DCI and the other directorates, he resigned in
June 1963.
SEABERG, John
An aeronautical engineer who was recalled to active duty with the Air
Force during the Korean war, Seaberg drafted the first specifications
fo~ _a high-flying jet reconnaissance aircraft in 1953.
STEVER, H. Guyford
A professor of aeronautical engineering at MIT, Stever served on nu
merous Air Force advisory panels and later became the Air Force's
chief scientist.
STRONG, Philip G.
Chief of collection in the Office of Scientific Intelligence, Strong kept
himself well informed on developments in overhead reconnaissance
and attended many Air Force advisory panel meetings as an observer.
In 1954 he learned about the Lockheed CL-282 design and passed the
information on to Edwin Land's study group investigating US intelli
gence-gathering capabilities.
WHEELON, Albert ("Bud") D.
, Wheelon became the Deputy Director for Science and Technology in
August 1963 following the reorganization and renaming of the
Deputy Director for Research. He held this position until September
1966.
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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.