The CIA and the U-2 Program 1954-1974

The CIA and the U-2 Program 1954-1974 PDF Author: Gregory W. Pedlow
Publisher: DIANE Publishing
ISBN: 0788183265
Category : Aerial reconnaissance
Languages : en
Pages : 272

Get Book

Book Description
A comprehensive & authoritative history of the CIA's manned overhead reconnaissance program (MORP), which from 1954 to 1974 developed & operated 2 extraordinary aircraft, the U-2 & the A-12 OXCART. Describes not only the program's technological & bureaucratic aspects, but also its political & international context. The MORP, along with other overhead systems that emerged from it, changed the CIA's work & structure in ways that were both revolutionary & permanent. The formation of the Directorate of S&T in the 1960s, principally to develop & direct reconnaissance programs, is the most obvious legacy of the events in this study.

The CIA and the U-2 Program 1954-1974

The CIA and the U-2 Program 1954-1974 PDF Author: Gregory W. Pedlow
Publisher: DIANE Publishing
ISBN: 0788183265
Category : Aerial reconnaissance
Languages : en
Pages : 272

Get Book

Book Description
A comprehensive & authoritative history of the CIA's manned overhead reconnaissance program (MORP), which from 1954 to 1974 developed & operated 2 extraordinary aircraft, the U-2 & the A-12 OXCART. Describes not only the program's technological & bureaucratic aspects, but also its political & international context. The MORP, along with other overhead systems that emerged from it, changed the CIA's work & structure in ways that were both revolutionary & permanent. The formation of the Directorate of S&T in the 1960s, principally to develop & direct reconnaissance programs, is the most obvious legacy of the events in this study.

The CIA and the U-2 Program, 1954-1974

The CIA and the U-2 Program, 1954-1974 PDF Author: Gregory W. Pedlow
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : U-2 (Reconnaissance aircraft)
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Get Book

Book Description
This History Staff Monograph offers a comprehensive and authoritative history of the CIA's manned overhead reconnaissance program, which from 1954 to 1974 developed and operated two extraordinary aircraft, the U-2 and the A-12 OXCART. It describes not only the program's technological and bureaucratic aspects, but also its political and international context. The manned reconnaissance program, along with other overhead systems that emerged from it, changed the CIA's work and structure in ways that were both revolutionary and permanent. The formation of the Directorate of Science and Technology in the 1960s, principally to develop and direct reconnaissance programs, is the most obvious legacy of the events recounted in this study.

The Central Intelligence Agency and Overhead Reconnaissance

The Central Intelligence Agency and Overhead Reconnaissance PDF Author: Gregory Pedlow
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1634508513
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 310

Get Book

Book Description
The CIA’s 2013 release of its book The Central Intelligence Agency and Overhead Reconnaissance 1954–1974 is a fascinating and important historical document. It contains a significant amount of newly declassified material with respect to the U-2 and Oxcart programs, including names of pilots; codenames and cryptonyms; locations, funding, and cover arrangements; electronic countermeasures equipment; cooperation with foreign governments; and overflights of the Soviet Union, Cuba, China, and other countries. Originally published with a Secret/No Foreign Dissemination classification, this detailed study describes not only the program’s technological and bureaucratic aspects, but also its political and international context, including the difficult choices faced by President Eisenhower in authorizing overflights of the Soviet Union and the controversy surrounding the shoot down there of U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers in 1960. The authors discuss the origins of the U-2, its top-secret testing, its specially designed high-altitude cameras and complex life-support systems, and even the possible use of poison capsules by its pilots, if captured. They call attention to the crucial importance of the U-2 in the gathering of strategic and tactical intelligence, as well as the controversies that the program unleashed. Finally, they discuss the CIA’s development of a successor to the U-2, the Oxcart, which became the world’s most technologically advanced aircraft. For the first time, the more complete 2013 release of this historical text is available in a professionally typeset format, supplemented with higher quality photographs that will bring alive these incredible aircraft and the story of their development and use by the CIA. This edition also includes a new preface by author Gregory W. Pedlow and a foreword by Chris Pocock. Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Arcade imprint, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in history--books about World War II, the Third Reich, Hitler and his henchmen, the JFK assassination, conspiracies, the American Civil War, the American Revolution, gladiators, Vikings, ancient Rome, medieval times, the old West, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

The CIA and the U-2 Program, 1954 - 1974

The CIA and the U-2 Program, 1954 - 1974 PDF Author: Donald Welzenbach
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781976995538
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 265

Get Book

Book Description
Written by U. S. Central Intelligence Agency historiansand published in 1998, this is the history of the conception, design and operation of the U-2 aircraft used for aerial reconaissance. Originally issued for internal use and classied as "Secret", this history released to the public is redacted to conceal information still too sensitive to reveal. Parts of the history have been blanked out. Extensively footnoted and contains black and white illustrations.

The C.I.A. and the U-2 Program, 1954-1974

The C.I.A. and the U-2 Program, 1954-1974 PDF Author: Thomas Fensch
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780930751104
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 267

Get Book

Book Description
The C.I.A. and the U-2 Program, 1954-1974 is the formerly Top Secret C.I.A. internal history of the development of the U-2. It describes: the development of the U-2 which was half jet-half glider; why half of all UFO sightings during the text years of the U-2 were actually U-2 sightings; U-2 flights over Russia (the Francis Gary Powers shoot-down in May, 1960), flights over the Soviet Vloc, the Middle East, Asia, North Vietnam and Latin America and the geopolitical significance of high-flight spy planes. This is the first commercial publication of these formerly Top Secret files.

The CIA and the U-2

The CIA and the U-2 PDF Author: Gregory W. Pedlow
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : U-2 (Reconnaissance aircraft)
Languages : en
Pages : 333

Get Book

Book Description


The C.I.A. and the U-2 Program

The C.I.A. and the U-2 Program PDF Author: Thomas Fensch
Publisher: Sharon's Books
ISBN: 9780930751098
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 296

Get Book

Book Description
"The C.I.A. and the U-2 Program, 1954-1974" is the formerly Top Secret C.I.A. internal history of the development of the U-2. It describes the development of the U-2, why half of all UFO sightings during the text years were actually U-2 sightings, U-2 flights over Russia, and more.

The Central Intelligence Agency and Overhead Reconnaissance

The Central Intelligence Agency and Overhead Reconnaissance PDF Author: Gregory W. Pedlow
Publisher: Military Bookshop
ISBN: 9781782664581
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 400

Get Book

Book Description
Please include this as the description: "On May 1, 1960, the news that the Soviet Union had downed a CIA high-altitude spy plane added the names U-2 and Francis Gary Powers to the convoluted narrative of Cold War espionage. Yet this celebrated episode was only one aspect of an extraordinary history of covert, high-tech intrusion of secret U.S. aircraft into other nations air space worldwide. Now, The Central Intelligence Agency and Overhead Reconnaissance: The U-2 and Oxcart Programs offers an official, comprehensive, and authoritative history of this manned overhead reconnaissance program. Long classified, it describes not only the program's technological and bureaucratic aspects, but also its political and international context. The book begins by carefully documenting the origins of the U-2, the top-secret testing of the plane, its specially designed high-altitude cameras and complex life-support systems, and even the suggested use of potassium cyanide capsules by the pilots if captured (it was up to each pilot to decide if he wanted to take one with him?some did, most did not). Once operational, its flight over the USSR in July 1956 immediately made the U-2 the most important source of intelligence on the Soviet Union, but its use against the Soviet target for which it was designed produced a persistent tension between its program managers and President Eisenhower, with the former much more eager to expand its use and the latter going along only reluctantly. After the 1960 U-2 incident and the capture of pilot Gary Francis Powers, the President forbade any further U-2 flights over the USSR. This was hardly the end of the U-2 s participation in the Cold War. From the Bay of Pigs and the Cuban missile crisis to the skies of Laos and North Vietnam, the U-2 provided the same top-secret intelligence data as it had in the 1950s on revolts in Indonesia and Tibet. Even after the end of the U-2 era, the CIA attempted to continue its work via the Oxcart project?the A-12 surveillance aircraft?until fiscal pressures and CIA-Air Force rivalry caused its demise. Based upon both full access to CIA records and extensive classified interviews of its participants, along with maps, drawings, and low-resolution photographs, this important study provides an engrossing and timely look into the development and implementation of a top-secret U.S. intelligence effort, its technological wizardry, notable accomplishments?and the worldwide negative repercussions when it was revealed. Both fascinating history and cautionary tale, The Central Intelligence Agency and Overhead Reconnaissance will be of immense interest to students of military aviation, intelligence operations, international relations, history of the Cold War."

The Central Intelligence Agency and Overhead Reconnaissance

The Central Intelligence Agency and Overhead Reconnaissance PDF Author: Gregory W. Pedlow
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781782664598
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 400

Get Book

Book Description


Spyplanes and National Reconnaissance in the 20th Century: the Amazing Story of the U-2 Program - Covering A-12 Oxcart, Francis Gary Powers, Cuba Missile Crisis, Aquatone and Genetrix Projects

Spyplanes and National Reconnaissance in the 20th Century: the Amazing Story of the U-2 Program - Covering A-12 Oxcart, Francis Gary Powers, Cuba Missile Crisis, Aquatone and Genetrix Projects PDF Author: National Reconnaissance Office (NRO)
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781973102175
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 142

Get Book

Book Description
This CIA History Staff Monograph offers a comprehensive and authoritative history of the CIA's manned overhead reconnaissance program, which from 1954 to 1974 developed and operated two extraordinary aircraft, the U-2 and the A-12 OXCART. It describes not only the program's technological and bureaucratic aspects, but also its political and international context. The manned reconnaissance program, along with other overhead systems that emerged from it, changed the CIA's work and structure in ways that were both revolutionary and permanent. The formation of the Directorate of Science and Technology in the 1960s, principally to develop and direct reconnaissance programs, is the most obvious legacy of the events recounted in this study.Topics covered include: the U-2 and A-12 Oxcart program; manned overhead reconnaissance; Project Aquatone; the role of U-2 flights in UFO sightings and Operation Bluebook; pilots, pilot training, and suicide pills; Project Genetrix balloons; the Francis Gary Powers downing in May 1960; overflights of the Soviet Union; and more. Contents: Chapter 1, Searching for a System * Chapter 2, Developing the U-2 * Chapter 3, U-2 Operations in the Soviet Bloc and Middle East, 1956-1968 * Chapter 4, The Final Overflights of the Soviet Union, 1959-1960 * Chapter 5, U-2 Operations After May 1960.The authors tell an engrossing story. The struggle between the CIA and the US Air Force lo control the U-2 and A-12 OXCART projects reveals how the manned reconnaissance program confronted problems that still beset successor programs today. The U-2 was an enormous technological success - its first flight over the USSR in July 1956 made it immediately the most important source of intelligence on the Soviet Union. Using it against the Soviet target it was designed for nevertheless produced a persistent tension between its program managers and the President. The program managers, eager for coverage, repeatedly urged the President to authorize frequent missions over the Soviet Union. President Eisenhower, from the outset doubtful of the prudence and propriety of invading Soviet airspace, only reluctantly allowed any overflights at all. After the Soviets shot down Francis Gary Powers' U-2 on 1 May 1960, President Eisenhower forbade any further U-2 flights over the USSR. Since the Agency must always assess a covert operation's potential payoff against the diplomatic or military cost if it fails, this account of the U-2's employment over the Soviet Union offers insights that go beyond overhead reconnaissance programs.Indeed, this study should be useful for a variety of purposes. It is the only history of this program based upon both full access to CIA records and extensive classified interviews of its participants The authors have found records that were nearly irretrievably lost and have interviewed participants whose personal recollections gave information available nowhere else. Although the story of the manned reconnaissance program offers no tidy model for imitation, it does reveal how resourceful managers coped with unprecedented technological challenges and their implications for intelligence and national policy. For this reason, the program's history provides profitable reading for intelligence professionals and policymakers today.