What did the declassified documents reveal?

A declassified C.I.A. Photographic Intelligence Report from June nineteen-sixty-four details a search for possible guided missile related activity in the Wu-wei area of China. This document, available at The Black Vault dot com, represents a routine intelligence gathering effort during the Cold War. This record was declassified under the Automatic Declassification Review program in two-thousand-three and subsequently released to the public. The original classification was Top Secret, Code Word Excised. The C.I.A. released this document under the reference C.I.A. slash P.I.R. dash sixteen slash sixty-four. The document is titled, Photographic Intelligence Report, Wu-wei Area, China: Search for Possible Guided Missile Related Activity. It states: "This report is in response to requirement C-S14-81,053 dated 4 February 1964 requesting a search of photography within a twenty-five nautical-mile radius of Wu-wei, in an attempt to determine whether a relation exists between the subject area and the Shuang-cheng-tzu Missile Test Range. The wall-enclosed city of Wu-wei is located near the trans-Sinkiang rail line in the province of Kan-su, approximately one hundred and twenty-five nautical miles north-northwest of Lan-chou. With its estimated population of forty-thousand, January nineteen-sixty, it is the local center of commerce in a predominately agrarian economy. Good-quality, cloud-free photography provided information on the following areas of interest: One. Wu-wei Airfield, approximately seven point five nautical miles northwest of Wu-wei. This installation has two parallel, offset north-northwest slash south-southeast concrete runways connected by two concrete crossover links. The north runway measures six-thousand two-hundred and fifty by one-hundred and ninety-five feet. The south runway measures five-thousand eight-hundred by one-hundred and ninety feet. A large housing and support area containing approximately sixty buildings is located west of the south runway, and a probable P.O.L. storage area is located north-northwest of the housing and support area, west of the runway crossover links. Both facilities are served by a spur from the trans-Sinkiang rail line. Two. Railroad Junction, approximately ten nautical miles southeast of Wu-wei. This site, situated on the Lan-chou rail line to Ti-hua, consists of a holding yard, a wye, a coal refueling yard, warehousing facilities, and a fence-secured compound of unknown function. Three. Military Barracks Area, approximately fifteen nautical miles southeast of Wu-wei. This facility, located adjacent to the Lan-chou rail line near Ching-pien-i, contains two barracks areas with a total of approximately fifty-five barracks-type buildings, a possible school consisting of seventeen buildings, and several groups of storage-type buildings. A rail spur and a fence-secured compound are also present. Four. Wu-wei Probable Military School, approximately three point five nautical miles northeast of Wu-wei. This…

Why was this case declassified?

This material entered the public record through the U.S. declassification and Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) process. The originating source document is linked on this page so the citation chain is auditable.

CIA A Declassified CIA

◆ BLUF — The short version

A. Photographic Intelligence Report from June nineteen-sixty-four details a search for possible guided missile related activity in the Wu-wei area of China. This document, available at The Black Vault dot com, represents a routine intelligence gathering effort during the Cold War.

Date: SEP 4 · 2026
Release: Declassified · U.S. public record (FOIA)
Source document: View the primary source document

↯ Dispatch — press play1:00

0:001:00

↯ Share

X in r/

Episode notes

A declassified C.I.A. Photographic Intelligence Report from June nineteen-sixty-four details a search for possible guided missile related activity in the Wu-wei area of China. This document, available at The Black Vault dot com, represents a routine intelligence gathering effort during the Cold…

View the primary source document

Questions about this case

What was CIA A Declassified CIA about?: A. Photographic Intelligence Report from June nineteen-sixty-four details a search for possible guided missile related activity in the Wu-wei area of China. This document, available at The Black Vault dot com, represents a routine intelligence gathering effort during the Cold War.
Why was this case declassified?: This material entered the public record through the U.S. declassification and Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) process. Storyflo narrates it directly from the public release.

intelligence-vault

Related cases

✉ Dispatches

A short dispatch when a new file is released — narrated, answer-first, and linked straight to the primary source. No spam; unsubscribe anytime.

↯ Subscribe to the feed

RSS feed Browse all cases

CIA A Declassified CIA

Questions about this case

Related cases

Central Intelligence Agency Memorandum On Pending Issues

FBI This Declassified Episode Presents A United States Department Of State Airgram

CIA From The Declassified Archives, This Is A Declassified Central Intelligence

Today, A Declassified CIA

This Declassified Briefing Presents A Memorandum From The Director

Questions about this case

Related cases

Central Intelligence Agency Memorandum On Pending Issues

FBI This Declassified Episode Presents A United States Department Of State Airgram

CIA From The Declassified Archives, This Is A Declassified Central Intelligence

Today, A Declassified CIA

This Declassified Briefing Presents A Memorandum From The Director

Get the next declassified case in your inbox