A WELL KEPT SECRET

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP83-01022R000100060009-9
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: November 17, 2016
• Document Release Date: July 21, 2000
• Sequence Number: 9
• Publication Date: March 7, 1962
• Content Type: TRANS

Approved For Release 2000/09/02 : CIA-RDP83-01022R000100060009-9
WRC - Radio sad
'arch 7,, 1962
the NBC Network
4:05 P.*.
Emphasis
Washington, D. C.
PT SECRET
PETER HACIMS: "This Is Fete Backs, Raopkasis, the Pentagon, If
It's worth being a secret, It's wortbiag keeping a secret. Some final
notes an the d-2 affair..
"At this point only a few details remain secret is the daring U.S.
spy operation, a -ich for nearly four yeari1 until gay Day,, 1960, save
as a phesosen*l took inside Ruslia--the flights of the U-2 planes. But
theea'ee was a time, of course* when the whole matter was eelesstfied 'Top
Secret,* And to a reporter, whose daily business requires him to be
a professional snooper, seecrets of this nature mast remain secret,
"book 14 the Fall of 1957,, this ?.porter began checking out a
ag story. It hod to do with on Air Force utility plane designated
I found it was a Coss** 5--10, twin eenginee., light plane which
rived five passengers, In the course of work on this story I became
.nested in the 0 designator for utility planes, The 0-1 I found
was a Csnedanlsn plane, the rugged Norseman, a single engiaee, six
passenger plane which carried 2,000 pounds of cargo. And U-4 I learned
was a designator for the Aero--Commaodes, the twin engine plane which
President t1seenhowaer used in flying back on# forth to Gettysburg on
weekeeeds, But my digging into the background of the U-2 led up a
blind allay, I found it was a high altitude research plans built
by Lockheed, that it was doing some weather reesearoh, and that was
As a conscientious reporter, I dug were deeply, to the point
where an Afar ;aRer a.,,aeva a atty i?i.,. ;would _too far, told me the full
s ;.. ..t Ale tberby, inctde*tallty, ended any hop+ .1.. ~i `ght are haat
i
ng tke V-2 story, I was told the alssits of the 0-2 planes, their
us
altitude and speeeda their method of operattea.wbo was flying thong how
many we were using, what kinds of information they were picking up over
Russia,, *ad the fact than the space age*cy, N.A.S.A. was the cover--that
the pilots were to say they were with NASA weather researchers. I was
told further that if over a shred of the story appeeared* traceable to so
there would be a strong denial, *ad that my welcome as a reporter to
the Pentagon might come to on abrupt eend
e time later I found from my same source that another reporter
on A.F. man had also stumbled auto the U-2 story. Rerbeaber, this was
three years before the story broke, A guarded check with him co `irm d
his knowledge, and we both decided then to destroy our notes.
Approved For Release 2000/09/02 : CIA-RDP83-01022R000100060009-9
 Approved For Release 2000/09/02 : CIA-RDP83-0102R000100060009-9
.. 2 -
eaars we le*reed that as easy as sin or semen
? v er the next three y
s
sane story From time to time
th
e
had stumbled onto
eared
reporters
people aessed at parts of the story# and a few articles even app
hare and there, none of them fully&*earet** ~Then~came May paw Sunday#
h time compiling
of ,wows At se - wire item struck my eyes at NASA high altitude weather research plane was
down, haying left a base in Turkey.
d the NASA pross chief. he shocked the story
il
e
ediatoly I ex
iesw+ and confirmed it. Se said that was all he kaswo We found out later
that he was tolling the truth, that even he was never told the 1-
story is advances Slowly thereafter# of coarse, one of the best kept
adventures in modern espionage was over, and the U-2 wret was oat,
Peter 9aokese NBC News, Washington,"
Approved For Release 2000/09/02 : CIA-RDP83-01022R000100060009-9