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

Text

This text came with the file. It may have mistakes. When the text and the image disagree, the image is right.

Seeret NOFO"N
Chapter 5
226
1961 PFIAB recommended the initiation of a limited number of U-2
photographic missions over the Chinese mainland. The President ap­
proved the board's recommendation.
Because the US-Nationalist Chinese overflight program (Project
TACKLE) was a joint effort, both countries participated in the ap­
proval process and also shared in the results of the missions. The
USlB COMOR established the requirements for Detachment H's
overflights, which had to be approved by the NSC's Special Group
(5412 Committee) and the President. The Nationalist Chinese
Government also approved all missions flown by its pilots. Under the
terms of an agreement reached with the Nationalist Chinese
Government, film from the overflights of the mainland would be pro­
cessed in the United States, with a duplicate positive copy returned to
Nationalist China within IO days. NPIC was responsible for the initial
reporting on these missions.'"
Project TACKLE overflights began early in 1962. Following a 5
January Special Group decision to approve three missions, a
Detachment H U-2 with a Nationalist Chinese pilot flew its first mis­
sion over the PRC's missile-testing range at Shuangchengzi on 12
January 1962. Unfortunately, because of faulty navigation or faulty
maps, the aircraft was poorly positioned and obtained only oblique,
rather than vertical, photography of the range. En route to and from
Shuangchengzi, the U-2 overflew Fukien and Chekiang Provinces
looking for suspected deployed missiles, but none could be found in
the mission photography. 39
The second Project TACKLE mission took place on 23 February
1962, when a U-2 overflew the PRC's nuclear weapons establishment
at Lan-chou. Photography from this mission revealed that the installa­
tion was at least two years away from operational capacity. Two more
missions on 13 and 26 March flew over K'un-ming and central China
covering numerous airfields that had been discovered in satellite pho­
tography. The U-2 photographs showed more detail than the satellite
pictures, thereby, providing additional intelligence data, particularly
" OSA History, chap. 17, pp. 18-19, annex 107 (TS Codeword).
,., Ibid., chap. 17, p. 45 (TS Codeword); Mission folder GRC I 00 ( 12 January 1962), OSA
records.job 67-B-972, box 19 (TS Codeword). Note: The numbers for missions flown by
Nationalist Chinese pilots began with GRC (Government of the Republic of China).
~ecret