Central Bureau
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Central Bureau was one of two Allied Sigint organisations in the South West Pacific area (SWPA). Central Bureau was attached to the HQ of the Allied Commander of the South West Pacific area. The other unit was the joint RAN/USN Fleet Radio Unit, Melbourne (FRUMEL), which was subordinate to the Commander of the USN 7th Fleet. Central Bureau's role was to research and decode arm and air intercept traffic and work in close co-operation with other Sigint centres in the USA, United Kingdom and India
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[edit] Background
General Douglas MacArthur had his own signals intelligence unit, Station 6, while he was in the Philippines and was not fully dependent on the U.S. Navy for that type of information. However, most of the signal intelligence he received was from the Navy unit on Corregidor. Prior to the war, it had to be sent by water courier, which caused some delay.
General Douglas MacArthur escaped from Corregidor in the Philippines in a PT boat to Mindanao and flew to Australia from Del Monte on a B-17 Flying Fortress. He made his way to Melbourne, arriving there on 22 March 1942.
The Signals Intelligence units operating in Australia at the time of MacArthur's arrival in Melbourne were as follows:-
- No. 4 Australian Special Wireless Section at Park Orchards near Ringwood in Melbourne
- a small Diplomatic and Press intercept section at Park Orchards
- A Diplomatic cryptographic and intelligence section at Victoria Barracks, Melbourne
- Some British Army Signals personnel from the Far East Combined Bureau who had escaped from Java
- a small RAAF Intercept section in Darwin
- a small RAN intercept and Direction Finding (D/F) organisation
- a small RAN cryptographic and intelligence section at the Navy Office in Melbourne
- US Navy Sigint group who had escaped from Corregidor by Submarine
One of his first decisions when he arrived in Melbourne was to expand the Sigint operations that already existed in Australia. The United States Navy crypto group that had been evacuated from Manila in early January 1942 was operating in Melbourne. They were responsible for channelling all Sigint information to US Navy headquarters in Washington.
MacArthur was not happy to depend on the Navy's discretion to handle his Sigint requirements. He had experienced problems with such an arrangement when he was in Manilla. MacArthur's Intelligence Officer (G-2) was Major General Charles A. Willoughby.
Brigadier-General S. B. Akin, MacArthur's Chief Signals Officer held discussions with Major-General Colin Simpson. They agreed that a Research and Control Centre to handle Signals Intelligence (Sigint) needed to be established. MacArthur subsequently released orders for the formation of two complementary groups:-
- An Intercept Organisation known initially as No. 5 Wireless Section
- A Research and Control Centre known as Central Bureau.
[edit] Establishment of Central Bureau
Central Bureau was a joint American-Australian Sigint organisation which was established on 15 April 1942 under the command of Major General S. B. Akin with its headquarters based in Melbourne.
General MacArthur advised Washington of his decision in a despatch on 1 April 1942. He described the role of the group as "the interception and cryptanalyzing of Japanese intelligence".
A small group from Australian naval intelligence, led by Paymaster Commander R.E. Eric Nave and Professor A.D. Dale Trendall also became party of the secret new unit. They had been working on Japanese diplomatic codes.
Central Bureau was established in a gabled, ivy-clad mansion called "Cranleigh" in Domain Road, at South Yarra, Melbourne.
Central Bureau's role was to research and decode arm and air intercept traffic and work in close co-operation with other Sigint centres in the USA, United Kingdom and India. Mic Sandford was appointed AIF Commanding Officer at Central Bureau.
Major Abraham "Abe" Sinkov, a mathematician, was appointed Assistant Director of Central Bureau. Sinkov had previously joined in the Signals Intelligence Service which had been founded by cryptanalyst William J. Friedmann. Sinkov had previously been in charge of an intercept station in Panama. He had visited Britain in 1941 to facilitate the exchange of wireless information.
The existing experienced RAAF intercept Kana operators at Townsville were integrated into the new Central Bureau. The RAAF at the time had a number of Kana operators being trained and were about to train a further 13 WAAAF personnel. "Kata Kana" was a form of Japanese written and spoken language.
It is thought that Major General Akin bought the American interceptors who had survived the Malinta Tunnel at Corregidor back to Australia by submarine. Another source indicated that they may have been evacuated by air transportation means.
They were used to assist the Australian Wireless Group units. A group of cryptographic, cryptanalytic and translator personnel from the Japanese section of the Washington Signal Intelligence Service were also moved to Australia. More Australians were also recruited to Central Bureau after its initial establishment.
[edit] Structure
Central Bureau comprised:-
- administrative personnel
- supply personnel
- cryptographic personnel
- cryptanalytic personnel
- interpreters
- translators
- a field section which included the intercept and communications personnel
Major General Akin's Executive Officer, Joe R. Sherr had been evacuated from the Philippines and was responsible for arranging for the first group of US "Sigint" personnel to come to Australia.
Initially Central Bureau was made up of 50% American, 25% Australian Army and 25% RAAF personnel.
On 25 April 1942 the small RAAF Intercept Station operating in two back to back houses at 21 Sycamore Street and 24 French Street in the suburb of Pimlico in Townsville was given its new name of No. 1 Wireless Unit and became part of Central Bureau.
The newly named Unit comprised 7 RAAF, 1 AMF and 4 United States Army personnel in No. 1 Wireless Unit at Townsville. This RAAF Unit had started earlier in March 1942 as a small intercept station located in the initial two houses at Pimlico under Wing Commander Booth.
Commander Nave moved to Central Bureau in mid-1942 from the combined Australian Navy/U.S. Navy operation in Melbourne known as FRUMEL, which was put under U.S. Navy control in mid-1942. Although he headed up the “Solutions” division there, most records indicate he only dealt with minor Japanese naval codes and simple substitution ciphers in spite of his Japanese language capability and long history with Japanese codes. Colonel Sinkov and his American staff worked on the high-level Japanese Army codes.
Central Bureau did not break any high level Japanese Army codes until mid-1943 with the Water Transport code. Later that year, one main line Japanese Army code was broken.
By 6 July 1942 the intercept operator numbers at Central Bureau had increased from six to twenty nine.
On 20 July 1942, General MacArthur moved his Headquarters to Brisbane. Central Bureau immediately relocated to Brisbane, establishing its headquarters in "Nyrambla", a huge house at 21 Henry Street, high on a hill in the suburb of Ascot, not far from the new American airfield at Eagle Farm. Another source indicated that CBI's Headquarters were at Ascot Park at Hamilton.
Another separate Intelligence operation was located in the same general area in a building called "Palma Rosa" at 9 Queens Road, Hamilton. "Palma Rosa" was commandeered by the Counter Intelligence Corps, G-2 Section, Headquarters U.S. Army Forces in the Far East (U.S.A.F.F.E.).
Central Bureau had banks of IBM Tabulators, the forerunner of computers, which were used by the cryptanalysts to sort and strip away ciphers which concealed the original text. They were located in the garage at the rear of 21 Henry Street
The IBM machines were later moved from the garage at 21 Henry Street to the Fire Station at Ascot Park. After the IBM machines were removed from 21 Henry Street the garage was occupied by No. 11 Australian Cypher Section. The garage was filled with Typex machines which were operated by some Australian Women's Army Service (AWAS) personnel.
Beginning in January 1942, U.S. Navy stations in Hawaii (Hypo), Corregidor (Cast) and OP-20-G (Washington) began issuing formal intelligence decrypts far in advance of the U.S. Army or Central Bureau. FRUMEL in Australia obtained IBM equipment in 1942 to replace that which was left behind on Corregidor and employed it throughout their tenure there in Melbourne.
Central Bureau moved to a new location at 45 Eldernall Avenue, Hamilton on an unknown date.
Japanese POW's were interrogated at a house called "Tighnabruaich" at Indooroopilly in Brisbane.
Central Bureau at 21 Henry Street, Ascot in Brisbane decrypted a Japanese Army Air/Ground signal intercepted by 51 Wireless Section in Darwin that contained Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto's itinerary for his trip to Rabaul. Admiral Yamamoto, was the Commander in Chief of the Combined Japanese Fleet, the architect of the attack on Pearl Harbour. Central Bureau reportedly sent the decrypted message to FRUMEL where it was reportedly translated by a U.S. Navy linguist.
Although Central Bureau may have decrypted this message, the interception of his flight was based on decrypts of Japanese naval messages by FRUPAC in Hawaii, FRUMEL, OP-20-G in Washington and Station AL on Guadalcanal. Major Lasswell USMC in Hawaii decrypted the Japanese Naval message first and Captain Layton gave it to Admiral Nimitz who authorized the shootdown attempt after determining from ComNavAirSoPac that it could be done with by one of his Army Air Corp units on Guadalcanal.
Central Bureau is probably the precursor to the Defence Signals Directorate.
