Corregidor and Communications Intelligence
Apr 6, 2021 7:06:08 GMT 8
chadhill, wwalker, and 1 more like this
Post by EXO on Apr 6, 2021 7:06:08 GMT 8
We often refer to it as the Navy Intercept Tunnel, or The Tunnel at Monkey Point, but it was far more than that. There is no simple answer immediately available for the communications neophyte, and an understanding of its significance comes only after some extensive reading. What better to start with than "A Brief History of Communications Intelligence in the United States" by Capt. Laurance Safford, USN (Ret'd). Capt. Laurance F. Safford, the "father of U.S. Navy cryptology," established the Naval cryptologic organization after World War I, and headed the effort more or less constantly until shortly after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. His identification with the Naval effort was so close that he was the Friedman of the Navy. He was the first to begin organizing the worldwide Naval collection and direction finding effort, so that when the United States entered World War II it already had a system of intercept stations. He recognized the signs of war that appeared in the diplomatic traffic, and tried to get a warning message to Pearl Harbor several days before the attack, but was rebuffed by Admiral Noyes, the director of Naval communication. Organizationally, he promoted a decentralized system with Naval COMINT sections in Washington, Hawaii and Manila. He gave the chief Japanese naval code problem to the organization in Hawaii, and named the brilliant Joseph Rochefort to head the effort. (He also gave Rochefort a blank check to obtain the very best Navy cryptanalysts.) This paid off in the spring of 1942 when Rochefort's team broke JN-25, the main Japanese naval operational code, in time to win the battle of Midway. But disputes over organization eventually led to Safford's ouster, and he was shunted to the side for the remainder of the war. He retired from active duty in 1953 and died in May 1973.
It was in 1952 that Safford wrote the "Brief History" and an understanding of the deeper issues of JN-25 needs to be based on more than just a passing familiarity with it. I commend it for close study. The "Brief History" was classified TOP SECRET SUEDE. (Communications Intelligence, known as COMINT, is a subset of SIGINT.) All COMINT documents are all labeled “Top Secret,” with additional compartmented code words, such as SUEDE or CANOE, for more restricted intelligence circulation, and as a designator of higher reliability of source. Among COMINT producers and customers, these documents were considered “Special Intelligence,” so secret and restricted even their code words were classified. "Brief History" remained classified until 2005, and even then it was declassified with extensive redactions. It was not until 2009 that the redactions were reviewed and the information that they contained was released in full. The redactions masked, among other things, some prickly issues involving the relationship with the British.
In the weeks ahead, I will be working on re-publishing some further articles which reference Safford's "Brief History" and build on it.
It was in 1952 that Safford wrote the "Brief History" and an understanding of the deeper issues of JN-25 needs to be based on more than just a passing familiarity with it. I commend it for close study. The "Brief History" was classified TOP SECRET SUEDE. (Communications Intelligence, known as COMINT, is a subset of SIGINT.) All COMINT documents are all labeled “Top Secret,” with additional compartmented code words, such as SUEDE or CANOE, for more restricted intelligence circulation, and as a designator of higher reliability of source. Among COMINT producers and customers, these documents were considered “Special Intelligence,” so secret and restricted even their code words were classified. "Brief History" remained classified until 2005, and even then it was declassified with extensive redactions. It was not until 2009 that the redactions were reviewed and the information that they contained was released in full. The redactions masked, among other things, some prickly issues involving the relationship with the British.
In the weeks ahead, I will be working on re-publishing some further articles which reference Safford's "Brief History" and build on it.