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

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200
Secret NOfOflN
Chapter 5
In-flight refueling of a U-Z
NIMBUS. Most of the flights were s1taged from Laughlin AFB, Texas,
but three were flown from Edwards AFB, California, using in-flight
refueling to extend the range of the aircraft. By the spring of 1962,
having received reports of increased Soviet activity in Cuba. the CIA
requested permission for additional photographic coverage of the is­
land. The Special Group authorized increasing the number of Cuban
overflights to at least two per month, beginning in May 1962. At the
same time, the National Photographic Interpretation Center began
publishing a Photographic Evaluation ofInformation on Cuba series.
7
By early August 1962, CIA analysts had noted a substantial in­
crease in Soviet arms deliveries to Cuba during the preceding weeks.
The first U-2 overflight in August, mission 3086 on the 5th, flew too
soon to detect the Soviet construction program just getting under way
at various sites in Cuba. A second mission (3088) was originally set
for 8 August, but bad weather forced repeated postponements until 29
August. This mission's photography provided the first hard evidence
' Ibid .. pp. 19-20 (TS Codc:word).
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