What did the declassified documents reveal?

Resume of Mission C278C – CIA memorandum for the record, dated December twenty‑six, nineteen sixty‑eight. This after‑action report details a photographic reconnaissance sortie over the Chinese coastline, providing the United States intelligence community with data on airfield, naval and coastal‑defence installations during a period of heightened tension. The document is hosted on The Black Vault, a public archive of declassified United States government records. The memorandum was declassified by the Central Intelligence Agency and approved for public release on July twenty‑six, two thousand one. It appears in the CIA’s historical collection of China‑related intelligence, and was made available through a Freedom of Information Act request filed with the agency. The full text can be accessed at the Black Vault URL https://archive.org/download/us-china-intel-CI01902/CI01902djvu.txt. Memorandum for the Record Subject: Resume of Mission C278C General: Idealist/Tackle Mission C278C was alerted on December seventeenth, nineteen sixty‑eight. The mission was a round‑robin flight launched from the aircraft designated 25X1A, intended to remain approximately twenty miles offshore. Launch of 25X1A occurred on December nineteenth, nineteen sixty‑eight. The pilot was on his first operational mission. Pre‑planned Mission Data: Distance – one thousand one hundred six nautical miles. Time to landing – three hours and fifteen minutes. Maximum altitude – not specified. Take‑off fuel – three thousand eight hundred ninety‑five gallons. Fuel reserve at high‑cone – two hundred fifty gallons. Targets – the mission was programmed for use of the “H” camera configuration to obtain photographic coverage of twenty‑two COMIREX targets. The route was planned to photograph coastal targets from Shanghai southward along the coast. Actual Mission Data: Target Coverage: (1) Of the twenty‑two programmed COMIREX targets, eleven were covered with photo interpretability ranging from poor to fair. (2) Eighteen bonus COMIREX targets were photographed on this mission. (3) Fourteen bonus non‑COMIREX targets were also photographed. Weather: The weather along the route was as follows. The first leg was Category I and II, with zero to two‑eighths cloud cover. Legs two and three were clear. Legs four and five were Category III and IV, with three‑eighths to seven‑eighths cloud cover. The final leg was Category II and III, with two‑eighths to four‑eighths cloud cover. The first half of the mission experienced slightly better conditions than briefed, while the latter half had marginally greater cloud coverage. Light haze was present throughout the entire mission. Radar Tracking: CHICOM tracking did not begin plotting the mission aircraft until zero two four four seven Zulu, approximately twenty‑nine minutes after take‑off. During that interval the 25X1

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 C278c – CIA Memorandum For The Record, Dated December

◆ BLUF — The short version

Resume of Mission C278C – CIA memorandum for the record, dated December twenty‑six, nineteen sixty‑eight. This after‑action report details a photographic reconnaissance sortie over the Chinese coastline, providing the United States intelligence community with data on airfield, naval and coastal‑defence installations during a period of heightened tension.

Date: AUG 7 · 2026
Release: Declassified · U.S. public record (FOIA)
Source document: View the primary source document

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What was Resume Of Mission C278c – CIA Memorandum For The Record, Dated December about?: Resume of Mission C278C – CIA memorandum for the record, dated December twenty‑six, nineteen sixty‑eight. This after‑action report details a photographic reconnaissance sortie over the Chinese coastline, providing the United States intelligence community with data on airfield, naval and coastal‑defence installations during a period of heightened tension.
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 C278c – CIA Memorandum For The Record, Dated December

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