What did the declassified documents reveal?

This is a declassified United States intelligence record titled “Resume of Mission C287C,” a memorandum for record dated September twelfth, nineteen sixty‑seven. The document details a round‑robin reconnaissance flight over the People’s Republic of China and records observed air‑defense activity. It is hosted on the public archive at archive.org and was released through The Black Vault. The memorandum was made public on June thirteenth, two thousand two, after a Freedom of Information Act request was processed under declassification authority IDEA 0359‑67. The release is listed in the Black Vault’s collection of United States intelligence on China, catalog identifier CI01831. No additional redactions were applied beyond those already present in the original file. Resume of Mission C287C Memorandum for the Record Subject: Resume of Mission C287C General: Mission C287C was alerted on twenty‑nine August nineteen sixty‑seven and was flown on thirty‑thirty‑first August as a round‑robin mission from aircraft designated 25X1. Preplanned Mission Data: Distance – three thousand two hundred ninety‑five nautical miles. Time to Landing – eight thousand four hundred forty‑five hours. Mission Profile – Maximum range sixty‑five thousand to sixty‑eight thousand nautical miles. Take‑off Fuel – one thousand five hundred twenty gallons. Fuel Reserve at High Cone – one hundred ten gallons. Actual Mission Data: Scheduled take‑off on twenty‑five X‑one D thirty August was made good. Mission aircraft landed on thirty‑first August for a mission duration of nine hours and six minutes. No tracker readout of the route was possible due to cloud coverage plus overexposure and fogging of the film. Deviation from track was made when evasive action was taken after missile firing occurred prior to reaching the target area. Weather: Category four and five weather was prevalent throughout the flight with the exception of the target area, which was Category three. Air Defense Reactions (ChiCom): Fighter Reaction – None was observed or reported by the mission pilot. Missile Activity – At twenty‑three thousand two hundred seconds, missile activity was experienced. Approximate position was four north, ninety‑four degrees east near Ka Erh Mu Airfield, three hundred nautical miles southeast of Lop Nor. Oscar Sierra activity followed shortly after the pilot initiated evasive action. Twenty to thirty seconds later, two explosions were observed. One missile exploded two thousand to three thousand feet below and three thousand to four thousand feet ahead at the ten‑thirty position. The other burst was at the four‑o’clock position below two thousand to three thousand feet and aft three thousand to four thousand feet. The pilot was of the opinion that a total of four missiles were fired. Photo Analysis: No camera other than the tracker was carried. Excessive cloud cover plus poor contrast and exposure with fair medium tonality and focus made readout practically impossible. Maintenance…

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.

Resume Of Mission C287c

◆ BLUF — The short version

This is a declassified United States intelligence record titled “Resume of Mission C287C,” a memorandum for record dated September twelfth, nineteen sixty‑seven. The document details a round‑robin reconnaissance flight over the People’s Republic of China and records observed air‑defense activity.

Date: AUG 14 · 2026
Release: Declassified · U.S. public record (FOIA)
Source document: View the primary source document

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What was Resume Of Mission C287c about?: This is a declassified United States intelligence record titled “Resume of Mission C287C,” a memorandum for record dated September twelfth, nineteen sixty‑seven. The document details a round‑robin reconnaissance flight over the People’s Republic of China and records observed air‑defense activity.
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.

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Resume Of Mission C287c

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