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

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Seuet NOFORP•
Chapter 3
in the Far East were less risky than those conducted by Detachment
A. Finally, the main target of U-2 photography after the bomber issue
receded was Soviet missile and nuclear progress. The testing areas for
these weapons were located in the vast open spaces of the south-cen­
tral and eastern portions of the Soviet Union, which lay beyond the
range of Detachment A's aircraft.
The decline in importance of Detachment A had begun with the
President's standdown order of IO July I 956. During the next three
months, the detachment conducted only 11 missions, all over the
Mediterranean region rather than the original target of the Soviet
Union, and the slow pace of activity and change in mission adversely
affected pilot morale. One of the detachment's aircraft was lost in a
crash on 17 September, killing pilot Howard Carey and garnering un­
wanted publicity. Conditions improved when the detachment moved
to the newly renovated facility at Giebelstadt in early October 1956,
but security now became a problem there. Detachment A personnel
discovered that a long, black Soviet-Bloc limousine was parked at the
end of the Giebelstadt runway whenever the U-2s took off.:s,s
During the next year, Detachment A mounted only four over­
flights. The first two were over Eastern Europe: one over Bulgaria on
10 December 1956 and the other over Albania on 25 April 1957.
Then a long period of inactivity folllowed, ending with a third mission
on 11 October 1957, which conducted electronic surveillance of
Soviet naval maneuvers in the Barents Sea. The final overflight of
Detachment A, mission 2040 on l 3 October 1957, flew north over
Norway to the Bering Sea, turned southeast to overfly Murmansk, and
then exited to the north, returning to Germany via Norway.
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Although the final missions of Detachment A achieved excellent
results. project headquarters had already decided that Western Europe
was not a satisfactory location for overflights of the Soviet Union and
had notified Detachment A on 20 September 1957 that its operations
would cease in November. By 15 November 1957. all of the detach­
ment's personnel and aircraft had returned to the United States.
During Detachment A's 17-month period of operations, seven pilots
"" OSA History. chap. 11, pp. -U-42 (TS Codeword).
"" Mission folder.; 40 18 (JO December 1956). 2036 (25 April 1957). 2037 ( II October
1957). 2040 (13 October 1957). OSA records. job 67-8-972. boll 7, and job 67-8-328, box
6 {TS Codeword).
--sec,et -­