Arthur C. Lundahl
Encyclopedia
Arthur Charles Lundahl (1915 – June 22, 1992) was the key organizer of the US post-World War II imagery intelligence (IMINT
) an aerial-photography expert whose detection of missile installations in Cuba in 1962 led to the Cuban missile crisis
.
He founded the Central Intelligence Agency's National Photographic Interpretation Center, now part of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
.
Analyzing reconnaissance films, he briefed Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy as well as the nation's top military and diplomatic officials. Mr. Lundahl provided critical intelligence on the arms race and many other international crises, including those involving the Suez Canal; Quemoy and Matsu, islands controlled by Taiwan; Tibet; Lebanon, and Laos. Geology and Photography
, he trained in geology at the University of Chicago
, obtaining a bachelor's degree and 1939 and a master's degree there in 1942.
Early in his career, he combined his academic training as a geologist with his hobby as a photographer,and became expert in interpreting details of pictures and distinguishing natural features from manmade construction. He developed his new skills during World War II while serving in the Navy, studying aerial photographs of targets in Japan and the Aleutian and Kurile islands.
, to lead the "Photographic Interpretation Division (PID), manage both general photointerpretation and then the products, in the late fifties, of the U-2
program. In 1954 he served as President of the American Society of Photogrammetry (ASP).
, on July 4, 1956 using the U-2 aircraft, and within two months, the NPIC could put to rest the political accusation of a "bomber gap".
Next, the U-2 was used tactically to keep US policymakers informed on the Suez Crisis of 1956. Other U-2 missions analyzed by NPIC included flyovers of Tibet, the offshore islands of the PRC, and Lebanon. Overflights of the USSR continued until a U-2 was shot down in May 1960.
. Lundahl's first meeting with a study group was in 1967.
monitoring the problem, in coordination with ATIC. He also urged that CIA conceal its interest from the media and the public, "in view of their probable alarmist tendencies" to accept such interest as confirming the existence of
UFOs.
Upon receiving the report, Deputy Director for Intelligence (DDI) Robert Amory,
Jr. assigned responsibility for the UFO investigations to OSI's Physics and
Electronics Division, with A. Ray Gordon as the officer in charge. Each
branch in the division was to contribute to the investigation, and Gordon was to
coordinate closely with ATIC. Amory, who asked the group to focus on the
national security implications of UFOs, was relaying DCI Walter Bedell Smith
's
concerns. Smith wanted to know whether or not the Air Force investigation
of flying saucers was sufficiently objective and how much more money and
manpower would be necessary to determine the cause of the small percentage of
unexplained flying saucers. Smith believed "there was only one chance in 10,000
that the phenomenon posed a threat to the security of the country, but even that
chance could not be taken." According to Smith, it was CIA's responsibility by
statute to coordinate the intelligence effort required to solve the problem.
Smith also wanted to know what use could be made of the UFO phenomenon in
connection with US psychological warfare efforts.
"On 20 February 1967 at 0915 Dr. Condon and four members of his investigative team visited NPIC. With Dr. Condon were Dr. Richard Love, University of Colorado, Dr. David Saunders, University of Colorado, Dr. William Price, Executive Director of APRST, and Dr. Rachford, USAF. The purpose of this visit was
to familiarize Dr. Condon and members of his team with selected photogrammetric and photographic analysis capabilities of NPIC. Lundahl met with investigators of UFO reports
."
The meeting was allowed to discuss classified material through the SECRET level. NPIC established ground rules:
In summary, "At about 1235 the group adjourned to lunch and following lunch they left NPIC for a meeting with Brig.Gen Gillers at the Pentagon.
Condon and the same group met again in May 1967 at NPIC to hear an analysis of UFO photographs taken at Zanesville, Ohio. The analysis debunked that sighting. The committee was again impressed with the technical work performed, and Condon remarked that for the first time a scientific analysis of a UFO would stand up to investigation.
high-altitude photographic aircraft, the new one had eight broad swaths running north to south across the USSR and Eastern Europe, covering over one-fifth of their total area. They represented the regions that this single mission had photographed, and people broke out in cheers. Some photos were fogged by electrostatic discharges, but the resolution was 20 to 30 feet, which analysts described as "good to very good.
"
photographs taken on
October 14, 1962, in which analysts, under Lundahl's direction, found visual evidence of the placement of Soviet SS-4 Medium Range Ballistic Missiles (MRBM)
, capable of hitting targets, in the continental United States, with nuclear warheads. This triggered the Cuban Missile Crisis
, sending the US intelligence community into maximum effort and triggering an unprecedented military alert.
His briefing of John F. Kennedy, on October 16, confirmed the Soviet weapons' presence, which had not been expected by the intelligence community or military
.
Lundahl began the briefing, with assistance from Acting Director of Central Intelligence
whose voice is low and often difficult to hear. Lundahl introduced the technical expert on Soviet missiles, Sidney Graybeal ("our missile man"). Obviously concerned, the president then asks Graybeal when the missiles will be ready to fire.
In the oral history interview
,
Brugioni said that since intelligence tended to be staid, Lundahl encouraged Brugioni, if there was anything at all funny, to put it into the briefing package, so Lundahl could leave Kennedy smiling. Kennedy was known to dislike military jargon, and became annoyed with being told "the number of sites that were occupied, meaning each MRBM site had four pads and if there was a launcher on the pad, we'd say that that pad was occupied, meaning that a missile could be fired from that particular pad within four to six hours." He detested that and he got after McCone and he said, there ought to be a better way of telling me this. So, the crisis was over... the day after the crisis was over, one of our low altitude planes happened to fly over a military latrine and the military latrines are open at the top and... so I made the briefing broad and Mr. Lundahl gave it to Mr. McCone. By this time, now Kennedy was four... he knew that four pads and Mr. McCone said, Mr. President, he said, we have a new site in Cuba with three positions, with one position occupied and the President's jaw dropped and he looked at the photograph and of course, having served in the Pacific, and he saw what the site was. And he started laughing and he said, now I understand what occupied, unoccupied is, why didn't I have this primer earlier? So that even in the crisis period, there were humorous things.
"And one of the things that was very impressive to me was that the photography was driving the crisis. In fact policy papers that were told to be prepared, were coming maybe one day or two days later and by that time, the situation had completely changed. So... the photography was creating a climate that was demanding that policy stay right with the photography. Now keep in mind, we were on two twelve hour shifts, but the policy-makers were only working eight to ten hours a day. So Lundahl raised the issue, maybe the policy-maker ought to be going into twelve hour shifts and then stay right with us at the centre as we were looking at the photography. Now that never occurred, but Lundahl raised the issue and later that would come up several times in crises in the future in which people did move into the centre."
Principally as a result of the photographic information and the diplomatic discussions that resulted from the knowledge, Kennedy pressured the Soviets to take back the missiles. Lundahl received a personal commendation from President Kennedy and NPIC received a Presidential Unit Citation.
, Edwin Land, and NPIC director Arthur Lundahl, the CIA Directorate of Science and Technology directed Itek Corporation to stop work on the M-2 followon to the CORONA
satellite and concentrate on improving CORONA.
During those committee briefings, Lundahl covered the relationship betweenthe resolution of an image and a photo interpreter's ability to extract intelligence from the photo. There was no difference, the CIA's chief photo interpreter told them, in the intelligence that could be derived from photographs with 10-foot resolution than those with 5-foot resolution. The Purcell group concluded that development of a new search system, with resolution between 4 and 6 feet was not justified.
He also received the CIA's Distinguished Intelligence Medal, and the DIA Director's Award for Exceptional Civilian Service. He was inducted into the Order of the British Empire, with rank of Honorary Knight Commander, on 17 December 1974. He was also a past president of the American Society of Photogrammetry.
Lundahl died at the Suburban Hospital in Bethesda, Maryland
on June 22, 1992, at the age of 77. He reportedly died of respiratory failure.
IMINT
Imagery Intelligence , is an intelligence gathering discipline which collects information via satellite and aerial photography. As a means of collecting intelligence, IMINT is a subset of intelligence collection management, which, in turn, is a subset of intelligence cycle management...
) an aerial-photography expert whose detection of missile installations in Cuba in 1962 led to the Cuban missile crisis
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a confrontation among the Soviet Union, Cuba and the United States in October 1962, during the Cold War...
.
He founded the Central Intelligence Agency's National Photographic Interpretation Center, now part of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency is an agency of the federal government of the United States with the primary mission of collecting, analyzing and distributing geospatial intelligence in support of national security. NGA was formerly known as the National Imagery and Mapping Agency ...
.
Analyzing reconnaissance films, he briefed Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy as well as the nation's top military and diplomatic officials. Mr. Lundahl provided critical intelligence on the arms race and many other international crises, including those involving the Suez Canal; Quemoy and Matsu, islands controlled by Taiwan; Tibet; Lebanon, and Laos. Geology and Photography
Early career
Born in ChicagoChicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, he trained in geology at the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
, obtaining a bachelor's degree and 1939 and a master's degree there in 1942.
Early in his career, he combined his academic training as a geologist with his hobby as a photographer,and became expert in interpreting details of pictures and distinguishing natural features from manmade construction. He developed his new skills during World War II while serving in the Navy, studying aerial photographs of targets in Japan and the Aleutian and Kurile islands.
Activities after WWII
After the war ended, he became "Chief Engineer" of the Photogrammetry Division of the Naval Photographic Interpretation Center (the original NPIC, which subsequently became known as the Naval Reconnaissance Technical Support Center - NRTSC). In 1953, he moved to the CIACentral Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
, to lead the "Photographic Interpretation Division (PID), manage both general photointerpretation and then the products, in the late fifties, of the U-2
Lockheed U-2
The Lockheed U-2, nicknamed "Dragon Lady", is a single-engine, very high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft operated by the United States Air Force and previously flown by the Central Intelligence Agency . It provides day and night, very high-altitude , all-weather intelligence gathering...
program. In 1954 he served as President of the American Society of Photogrammetry (ASP).
NPIC and the U-2
In that effort, he combined photo interpretation, automatic data processing, photogrammetry, graphic arts, communications, collateral research, and technical analysis into the NPIC. According to his associate, Dino BrugioniDino Brugioni
Dino A. Brugioni is a former senior official at the CIA's National Photographic Interpretation Center . He was an imagery analyst and also served as NPIC's Chief of Information. During his 35-year career, Brugioni helped establish imagery intelligence as a national asset to solve intelligence...
, on July 4, 1956 using the U-2 aircraft, and within two months, the NPIC could put to rest the political accusation of a "bomber gap".
Next, the U-2 was used tactically to keep US policymakers informed on the Suez Crisis of 1956. Other U-2 missions analyzed by NPIC included flyovers of Tibet, the offshore islands of the PRC, and Lebanon. Overflights of the USSR continued until a U-2 was shot down in May 1960.
Unidentified Flying Objects
CIA documents indicate that the agency monitoried the UFO situation starting in 1952. Prior to Lundahl's first meeting in 1967, CIA. Lundahl's first meeting with a study group was in 1967.
Early CIA Interest
Although it had monitored UFO reports for at least three years, CIA reacted to the new rash of sightings by forming a special study group within the Office of Scientific Intelligence (OSI) and the Office of Current Intelligence (OCI) to review the situation. Edward Tauss, acting chief of OSI's Weapons and Equipment Division, reported for the group that most UFO sightings could be easily explained. Nevertheless, he recommended that the Agency continuemonitoring the problem, in coordination with ATIC. He also urged that CIA conceal its interest from the media and the public, "in view of their probable alarmist tendencies" to accept such interest as confirming the existence of
UFOs.
Upon receiving the report, Deputy Director for Intelligence (DDI) Robert Amory,
Jr. assigned responsibility for the UFO investigations to OSI's Physics and
Electronics Division, with A. Ray Gordon as the officer in charge. Each
branch in the division was to contribute to the investigation, and Gordon was to
coordinate closely with ATIC. Amory, who asked the group to focus on the
national security implications of UFOs, was relaying DCI Walter Bedell Smith
Walter Bedell Smith
Walter Bedell "Beetle" Smith was a senior United States Army general who served as General Dwight D. Eisenhower's chief of staff at Allied Forces Headquarters during the Tunisia Campaign and the Allied invasion of Italy...
's
concerns. Smith wanted to know whether or not the Air Force investigation
of flying saucers was sufficiently objective and how much more money and
manpower would be necessary to determine the cause of the small percentage of
unexplained flying saucers. Smith believed "there was only one chance in 10,000
that the phenomenon posed a threat to the security of the country, but even that
chance could not be taken." According to Smith, it was CIA's responsibility by
statute to coordinate the intelligence effort required to solve the problem.
Smith also wanted to know what use could be made of the UFO phenomenon in
connection with US psychological warfare efforts.
Lundahl meets with Air Force contract team
In 1967, the Air Force issued a contract, to the University of Colorado, for the study of unidentified flying objects. BG Edward B. Gillers, USAF, was the contract monitor, Dr. Thomas Rachford was thesenior Air Force Scientist on the project, and the principal investigator from the University was Dr. E.U. Condon."On 20 February 1967 at 0915 Dr. Condon and four members of his investigative team visited NPIC. With Dr. Condon were Dr. Richard Love, University of Colorado, Dr. David Saunders, University of Colorado, Dr. William Price, Executive Director of APRST, and Dr. Rachford, USAF. The purpose of this visit was
to familiarize Dr. Condon and members of his team with selected photogrammetric and photographic analysis capabilities of NPIC. Lundahl met with investigators of UFO reports
."
The meeting was allowed to discuss classified material through the SECRET level. NPIC established ground rules:
- "Any work performed by NPIC to assist Dr. Condon in his investigation will not be identified as work accomplished by CIA. Dr. Condon was advised by Mr. Lundahl to make no reference to CIA in regard to this work effort. Dr. Condon stated that if he felt it necessary to obtain an official CIA comment he would make a separate distinct entry into CIA not related to contacts he has with NPIC.
- "NPIC will not prepare any written comments, will not analyze information with the intent of drawing a conclusion, nor prepare written reports. NPIC personnel will be available to assist Dr. Condon by performing work of photogrammetric nature, such as attempting to measure objects imaged on photographs that may be part of Dr. Condon's analysis. Work performed by NPIC will be strictly of a technical nature using services and equipment generally not available elsewhere."
In summary, "At about 1235 the group adjourned to lunch and following lunch they left NPIC for a meeting with Brig.Gen Gillers at the Pentagon.
- "Most all the discussion during the morning was of an unclassified nature dealing with primary basic fundamentals of photogrammetry, photographic analysis and problems related to the acquiring of enough information to conduct meaningful analyses."
Condon and the same group met again in May 1967 at NPIC to hear an analysis of UFO photographs taken at Zanesville, Ohio. The analysis debunked that sighting. The committee was again impressed with the technical work performed, and Condon remarked that for the first time a scientific analysis of a UFO would stand up to investigation.
The Beginnings of Space-Based Photoreconnaissance
Lundahl gathered the NPIC staff on August 19, 1960, to show them the images from the first photoreconnaissance satellite, Discoverer 14, to fly with its camera. Introducing "something new and great we've got here." First showing a map of the Eastern Europe USSR, which previously had had a narrow line of photography from a U-2Lockheed U-2
The Lockheed U-2, nicknamed "Dragon Lady", is a single-engine, very high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft operated by the United States Air Force and previously flown by the Central Intelligence Agency . It provides day and night, very high-altitude , all-weather intelligence gathering...
high-altitude photographic aircraft, the new one had eight broad swaths running north to south across the USSR and Eastern Europe, covering over one-fifth of their total area. They represented the regions that this single mission had photographed, and people broke out in cheers. Some photos were fogged by electrostatic discharges, but the resolution was 20 to 30 feet, which analysts described as "good to very good.
"
Cuban Missile Crisis
U-2Lockheed U-2
The Lockheed U-2, nicknamed "Dragon Lady", is a single-engine, very high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft operated by the United States Air Force and previously flown by the Central Intelligence Agency . It provides day and night, very high-altitude , all-weather intelligence gathering...
photographs taken on
October 14, 1962, in which analysts, under Lundahl's direction, found visual evidence of the placement of Soviet SS-4 Medium Range Ballistic Missiles (MRBM)
Medium-range ballistic missile
A medium-range ballistic missile , is a type of ballistic missile with medium range, this last classification depending on the standards of certain organizations. Within the U.S. Department of Defense, a medium range missile is defined by having a maximum range of between 1,000 and 3,000 km1...
, capable of hitting targets, in the continental United States, with nuclear warheads. This triggered the Cuban Missile Crisis
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a confrontation among the Soviet Union, Cuba and the United States in October 1962, during the Cold War...
, sending the US intelligence community into maximum effort and triggering an unprecedented military alert.
His briefing of John F. Kennedy, on October 16, confirmed the Soviet weapons' presence, which had not been expected by the intelligence community or military
.
Lundahl began the briefing, with assistance from Acting Director of Central Intelligence
Director of Central Intelligence
The Office of United States Director of Central Intelligence was the head of the United States Central Intelligence Agency, the principal intelligence advisor to the President and the National Security Council, and the coordinator of intelligence activities among and between the various United...
whose voice is low and often difficult to hear. Lundahl introduced the technical expert on Soviet missiles, Sidney Graybeal ("our missile man"). Obviously concerned, the president then asks Graybeal when the missiles will be ready to fire.
In the oral history interview
,
Brugioni said that since intelligence tended to be staid, Lundahl encouraged Brugioni, if there was anything at all funny, to put it into the briefing package, so Lundahl could leave Kennedy smiling. Kennedy was known to dislike military jargon, and became annoyed with being told "the number of sites that were occupied, meaning each MRBM site had four pads and if there was a launcher on the pad, we'd say that that pad was occupied, meaning that a missile could be fired from that particular pad within four to six hours." He detested that and he got after McCone and he said, there ought to be a better way of telling me this. So, the crisis was over... the day after the crisis was over, one of our low altitude planes happened to fly over a military latrine and the military latrines are open at the top and... so I made the briefing broad and Mr. Lundahl gave it to Mr. McCone. By this time, now Kennedy was four... he knew that four pads and Mr. McCone said, Mr. President, he said, we have a new site in Cuba with three positions, with one position occupied and the President's jaw dropped and he looked at the photograph and of course, having served in the Pacific, and he saw what the site was. And he started laughing and he said, now I understand what occupied, unoccupied is, why didn't I have this primer earlier? So that even in the crisis period, there were humorous things.
"And one of the things that was very impressive to me was that the photography was driving the crisis. In fact policy papers that were told to be prepared, were coming maybe one day or two days later and by that time, the situation had completely changed. So... the photography was creating a climate that was demanding that policy stay right with the photography. Now keep in mind, we were on two twelve hour shifts, but the policy-makers were only working eight to ten hours a day. So Lundahl raised the issue, maybe the policy-maker ought to be going into twelve hour shifts and then stay right with us at the centre as we were looking at the photography. Now that never occurred, but Lundahl raised the issue and later that would come up several times in crises in the future in which people did move into the centre."
Principally as a result of the photographic information and the diplomatic discussions that resulted from the knowledge, Kennedy pressured the Soviets to take back the missiles. Lundahl received a personal commendation from President Kennedy and NPIC received a Presidential Unit Citation.
Continued Development of Satellite Photography
After receiving a report from the Panel for Future Satellite Reconnaissance Operations, whose members included Edward Purcell, the chairman, Richard GarwinRichard Garwin
Richard Lawrence Garwin , is an American physicist. He received his bachelor's degree from the Case Institute of Technology in 1947 and obtained his Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Chicago in 1949, where he worked in the lab of Enrico Fermi.Garwin is IBM Fellow Emeritus at the Thomas J...
, Edwin Land, and NPIC director Arthur Lundahl, the CIA Directorate of Science and Technology directed Itek Corporation to stop work on the M-2 followon to the CORONA
Corona
A corona is a type of plasma "atmosphere" of the Sun or other celestial body, extending millions of kilometers into space, most easily seen during a total solar eclipse, but also observable in a coronagraph...
satellite and concentrate on improving CORONA.
During those committee briefings, Lundahl covered the relationship betweenthe resolution of an image and a photo interpreter's ability to extract intelligence from the photo. There was no difference, the CIA's chief photo interpreter told them, in the intelligence that could be derived from photographs with 10-foot resolution than those with 5-foot resolution. The Purcell group concluded that development of a new search system, with resolution between 4 and 6 feet was not justified.
Retirement and Afterwards
On the occasion of his retirement in June 1973 he received the National Security Medal, the highest honor of the US intelligence community, authorized by the President for "distinguished achievement or outstanding contribution in the field of intelligence relating to the national security."He also received the CIA's Distinguished Intelligence Medal, and the DIA Director's Award for Exceptional Civilian Service. He was inducted into the Order of the British Empire, with rank of Honorary Knight Commander, on 17 December 1974. He was also a past president of the American Society of Photogrammetry.
Lundahl died at the Suburban Hospital in Bethesda, Maryland
Bethesda, Maryland
Bethesda is a census designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, just northwest of Washington, D.C. It takes its name from a local church, the Bethesda Meeting House , which in turn took its name from Jerusalem's Pool of Bethesda...
on June 22, 1992, at the age of 77. He reportedly died of respiratory failure.