American Cryptology during the Cold War - The Black Vault
American Cryptology during the Cold War - The Black Vault
American Cryptology during the Cold War - The Black Vault
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
--------------~ - - - -- - -<br />
TOp Si'AET tJMBRA<br />
Chapter 1<br />
Cryptologic Triumph and Reorganization,<br />
1941-1949<br />
<strong>The</strong> combined U.S.-U.K. COMINT operation of World <strong>War</strong> II was perhaps <strong>the</strong> most successful<br />
large-scale intelligence operation in history.<br />
'--<br />
---JPIA,1971<br />
Ib) (1)<br />
Ib) (3)<br />
OGA<br />
WORLD WAR II AND THE INTELLIGENCE REVOLUTION<br />
<strong>The</strong> Second World <strong>War</strong> began a true "revolution" in intelligence. <strong>The</strong> impact of<br />
intelligence on <strong>the</strong> strategy and tactics of <strong>the</strong> Allies (and to a somewhat lesser extent on<br />
<strong>the</strong> Germans and Japanese) was truly revolutionary, and it is just now coming to be<br />
recognized for what it was. Through <strong>the</strong> publication of books like Frederick<br />
Winterbotham's Th€ Ultra Secret and John Masterman's <strong>The</strong> Double Cross System and by<br />
<strong>the</strong> massive declassification of war records begun by <strong>the</strong> British and <strong>American</strong>s in 1977,<br />
<strong>the</strong> true extent ofthis influence is now emerging.<br />
No o<strong>the</strong>r intelligence source had <strong>the</strong> revolutionary impact of SIGINT. World <strong>War</strong> II<br />
was, in <strong>the</strong> words ofhistorian Walter Laqueur, "a SIGINT war." <strong>The</strong> influence ofSIGINT was<br />
so pervasive that it is now hard to imagine how we might have fought <strong>the</strong> war without it.<br />
Even prior to <strong>the</strong> direct engagement of<strong>American</strong> and British forces against <strong>the</strong> Germans<br />
and Japanese, two of <strong>the</strong>ir most complex ciphers were broken. <strong>The</strong> British effort at<br />
Bletchley Park first produced plaintext reports from <strong>the</strong> German ENIGMA system in<br />
September 1940, <strong>the</strong> same month that a small Army team under William F. Friedman<br />
broke <strong>the</strong> Japanese diplomatic cipher machine called PURPLE. By February of 1942 <strong>the</strong><br />
Navy had broken <strong>the</strong> Japanese Fleet Operational Code, called JN25. In 1943 <strong>the</strong> Army<br />
broke <strong>the</strong> Water Transport Code, while in 1944 a lucky battlefield retrieval of cipher<br />
material allowed <strong>the</strong> Army to read <strong>the</strong> Japanese Army codes. When combined with<br />
successes in direction finding, traffic analysis, and <strong>the</strong> exploitation of plaintext<br />
communications, SIGINT yielded a torrent ofuseful information.<br />
British achievements have come in for <strong>the</strong> most scrutiny (and praise), We know that<br />
Churchill "revelled" in his ability to read Hitler's mail and spent hours pondering on Nazi<br />
strategy as revealed in <strong>the</strong> decrypted messages. <strong>The</strong> -British set up a very efficient and<br />
secure system for disseminating SIGINT, <strong>the</strong> precursor ofour SSO (Special Security Officer)<br />
system. Always wary of <strong>the</strong> "blabbermouth" <strong>American</strong>s, <strong>the</strong>y insisted that we adopt <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
system before <strong>the</strong>y would share everything in <strong>the</strong> SIGINT larder with us. As <strong>the</strong> Combined<br />
Chiefs prepared for Overlord, <strong>the</strong>y knew precisely how <strong>the</strong> Germans were reacting to <strong>the</strong><br />
invasion plans and where <strong>the</strong>y were positioning <strong>the</strong>ir units for <strong>the</strong> expected blow.<br />
HANDLE VIA TALENT KEYHOLE COMINT<br />
MSJOINTLY<br />
N<br />
TO FOREIGN NATIONALS<br />
1<br />
-- - ~-------------