The Central Intelligence Agency and Overhead Reconnaissance; The U-2 and OXCART Programs, 1954-1974

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Soviet Air Forces. 12 Early in 1956, concern about a possible Soviet
advantage in long-range bombers grew as Air Force Chief of Staff
Twining informed the Senate Armed Services Committee that the
Soviet Union already had more Bisons than the United States had
B-52s and that the Soviets would be able to "maintain this advantage
for some time if they keep on the production curve we are now pre­
dicting." 13 By May 1956, reporting on the growing Soviet air
strength was no longer confined to aviation journals; U.S. News and
World Report, for example, featured articles headlined "Can Soviets
Take the Air Lead?" and "Is U.S. Really Losing in the Air?" 1"'
Alongside fear of possible Soviet superiority in long-range
bombers came a new potential threat: Soviet progress in guided mis­
sile research. Trevor Gardner, Air Force Assistant Secretary for
Research and Development, warned in September 1955 that "the
most complex and baffling technological mystery today is not the
Russian capability in aircraft and nuclear weapons but rather what the
Soviet progress has been in the field of guided missiles." 15 On 30
January 1956, Time magazine made the guided missile its cover story .
. The article began by describing a hypothetical crisis set in 1962 in
which the United States suffered a humiliating defeat because it had
lagged behind the Soviet Union in guided missile development. 16 Just
two weeks after this story appeared, the Soviets successfully tested a
missile with a range of 900 miles, and President Eisenhower admitted
at a press conference that the Soviet Union might be ahead of the
United States in some areas of the missile field. Administration critic
Senator Stuart Symington then claimed, "The facts are that our missile
development may be ahead in the short-range area, but their mis­
sile development is ahead in the area that counts by far the most-the
" Robert Hotz. "Russian Jet Airpower Gains Fast on US," Aviation Week, 23 May 1955,
pp. I 2-15; "Aviation Week Story Spurs Debate on US, Red Airpower Positions," Aviation
Week. 30 May 1955. pp. 13-14.
'' Claude Witze. "Russians Outpacing US in Air Quality, Twining Warns Congress."
Aviation Week, 27 February 1956. pp. 26-28; Robert Hotz, "Russian Air Force Now
Gaining in Quality," Aviation Week. 12 March I 956, p. 286.
" "Can Soviets Take the Air Lead? What LeMay, Wilson, Ike Say,"' US News and World
Report. 11 May 1956, pp. 108-114; "ls U.S. Really Losing in the Air?" US News and
World Report. I 8 May I 956. pp. 25-27.
" William Coughlin. "Gardner Defends Greater R&D Spending," Aviation Week. 26
September 1955, p. 14.
" "Missiles Away," Time. 30 January 1956, pp. 52-55.
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Chapter 3
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