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

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13
Sect et NOFORN
Chapter 1
World War II in multiengine bombers. In addition, aerial photography
experts in the late 1940s and early 1950s emphasized focal length as
the primary factor in reconnaissance photography and, therefore, pre­
ferred large aircraft capable of accommodating long focal-length
cameras. This preference reached an extreme in the early 1950s with
the development of the cumbersome 240-inch Boston camera, a de­
vice so large that the YC-97 Boeing Stratocruiser that carried it had to
be partially disassembled before the camera could be installed.
Finally, there was the feeling shared by many Air Force officers that
two engines are always better than one because, if one fails, there is a
spare to get the aircraft back to base. In reality, however, aviation re­
cords show that single-engine aircraft have always been more reliable
than multiengine planes. Furthermore, a high-altitude reconnaissance
aircraft deep in enemy territory would have little chance of returning
if one of the engines failed, forcing the aircraft to descend. 19
On 7 June 1954, Kelly Johnson received a letter from the Air
Force rejecting the CL-282 proposal because it had only one engine
and was too unusual and because the Air Force was already commit­
ted to the modification of the Martin B-57.w By this time, the Air
Force had also selected the Bell X-16; the formal contract calling for
28 aircraft was signed in September. Despite the Air Force's selection
of the X-16, Lockheed continued to work on the CL-282 and began
seeking new sources of support for the aircraft.
Lockheed CL-282 Supporters and the CIA
Although the Air Force's uniformed hierarchy had decided in favor of
the Bell and Martin aircraft, some high-level civilian officials contin­
ued to favor the Lockheed design. The most prominent proponent of
the Lockheed proposal was Trevor Gardner, Special Assistant for
Research and Development to Air Force Secretary Harold E. Talbott.
Gardner had many contacts in west coast aeronautical circles because
before coming
to
Washington
he
had headed the
Hycon
Manufacturing Company, which made aerial cameras in Pasadena,
California. He had been present at Kelly Johnson's presentation on
the CL-282 at the Pentagon in early April 1954 and believed that this
'" Allen F. Donovan, interview by Donald E. Welzenbach, Corona del Mar, California,
20 May 1985 (S).
'" Johnson, "Log for Project X," 7 June 1954.
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