The Central Intelligence Agency and Overhead Reconnaissance; The U-2 and OXCART Programs, 1954-1974
🏛️ CIA
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.
Key points
- 🏛️ Official U.S. government release — batch 3 (Jun 12, 2026)
- Official file: CIA-UAP-003
- When: 1954-1974
📖 In the encyclopedia
Read it yourself
The description above is the government’s own, from the official release. The official file is linked on this page.
CIA. (1954). The Central Intelligence Agency and Overhead Reconnaissance; The U-2 and OXCART Programs, 1954-1974. https://www.war.gov/medialink/ufo/061226/release_03/documents/CIA-UAP-003-THE_CENTRAL_INTELLIGENCE_AGENCY_AND_OVERHEAD_RECONNAISSANCE-THE_U-2_AND_OXCART_PROGRAMS_1954-1974.pdfRelated records
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