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

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Sceret NOFORN
Chapter 3
126
Although the U-2 overflights of Eastern Europe in late 1956
caused renewed Soviet protests, the sharpest protest came on 15
December 1956, after three specially modified USAF RB-57D bomb­
ers photographed the city of Vladivostok in a high-speed dash over
the Far Eastern coast of the Soviet Union (as part of the Air Force's
Operation BLACK KNIGHT). President Eisenhower had approved
the mission after being told by the Air Force that the high-speed
RB-57Ds would probably not be detected. 66
Reacting strongly to the Soviet protest. the President told
Secretary of State Dulles on 18 December that he was going to "order
complete stoppage of this entire business." As for a reply to the
Soviet protest, Dulles said, "I think we will have to admit this was
done and say we are sorry. We cannot deny it." Dulles noted that
"our relations with Russia are pretty tense at the moment."
Eisenhower agreed, noting that this was no time to be provocative. He
then instructed Colonel Goodpaster to call Secretary of Defense
Wilson, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Radford, and DCI Dulles to
order: "Effective immediately, there are to be no flights by US recon­
naissance aircraft over Iron Curtain countries." 67
Flights along the borders of Iron Curtain countries continued,
however, and, on 22 December 1956, Detachment B flew the first
mission (4019) by a U-2 equipped for electronic intercept. The elec­
tronic-detection equipment known as the System-V unit (see appendix
C) was installed in the bay normally used by the main camera, and the
plane flew along the Soviet border from the Black Sea to the Caspian
Sea and on to Afghanistan. The System-V unit worked well. 68
Early in 1957, a mission along the Soviet border accidentally
turned into an overflight. On 18 March 1957, a U-2 collecting elec­
tronic intelligence along the Soviet southern border entered Soviet
•~ Goodpaster interview (S).
'' Telephone calls 18 December 1956. DDE Diary. DDEL. (U); Andrew J. Goodpaster.
Memorandum for the Record, 18 December l956. WHOSS. Alpha. DDEL (TS. down­
graded to S); the Soviet protest note of 15 December 1956 and the U.S. reply of I I
January 1957 are contained in .. Alleged Overflight of Soviet Area by American Planes ...
US Department of Stare Bulletin. vol. 36. 28 January l 957. p. 135. Although Dulles"s ini­
tial inclination had been to offer an apology. the U.S. reply stated that the "only autho­
rized United States Air Force flights in the general area of the Sea of Japan were normal
training activities."
.. Mission folder 4019 (22 December 1956). OSA records. job 67-B-972, box 7 (TS
Codeword).
Sec,et