Comprised Communications Part II

19 November 1942

British Operation Freshman, commando raid against heavy water plant in Norway. German 5th Air Force intercepts wireless signals from British aircraft. Chapter 6, Page 158-161, especially 161.(pg 169 of 397) Virus House (PDF).

January/February 1943.

German B-Dienst (a/k/a German B-Service) succeeded in breaking enemy (British) ciphers. German Admiral Doenitz received British U-boat Situation Reports (Jan/Feb 1943).

Early 1943 (before March 13th). Former member of German Abwehr and now employee of German Legation/Consulate in Zurich (Hans Bernd Gisevius) volunteers information to OSS Bern Station Chief Allen W. Dulles that German B-Dient Group has broken US Legation code system. Gisevius provides evidence to Dulles that the OSS/Bern OSS/Washington OSS/London code has been compromised. See "Allen Dulles in Wartime: The Exploits of Agent 110"
published on CIA.GOV website, document is V37i1a05p_0006.htm (see Page 30).

March 43

In March (16th) two British convoys (HX-229 and SC 122) were destroyed by German U-boats. These disasterous losses are attributed to broken British codes by the Germans in Paul Manning's "Martin Bormann: Nazi in Exile", page 108.
(Elements of 506th BS, 44th BG, 2nd AD were being transported from ZOI/CONUS to ETO/UK on TSS Chantilly which saled as part of SC-122.)

According to webpublished database "Ahoy - Mac's Web Log" (Mackenzie J. Gregory) "
Allied intelligence on the 12th. of March read a message from U-621, indicating he had sunk a straggler from Outward Bound North ( slow ) 169, the Baron Kinnard, SC122, was ordered to alter course southward to slip past the waiting Raubgraf wolf pack. This was successful, but the two other groups still lay in the path of SC122, with Sturmer with 18 boats, and south
of them Dranger, with their 11 boats. Danger was in the offing!

Intelligence blackout from 10th. to 19th. of March 1943. But because of the loss of Naval Enigma over the time frame of 10th. to 19th. of March in 1943, Allied Control was unaware of the other two wolf packs lying in wait for SC122."

"The 10 days when the Code breakers were bereft of the U-Boat signal traffic had proved very costly, 22 ships sunk, crewmen dying, and their precious cargoes destroyed. By the 20th. of March 1943, all the U-Boat traffic was again being read."

In National Archives Prologue Magazine Spring 2002, Vol. 34, No. 1, A Time to Act: The Beginning of the Fritz Kolbe Story, 1900 - 1943, Part 4 , By Greg Bradsher, Dulles and Kolbe meeting it is revealed that a meeting of Dulles and Fritz Kolbe took place. Bradsher says "He also discussed the fact that German cryptanalysts had broken many Allied codes and cited from
memory the substance of an OWI cable."

Bradsher relates another meeting with Kolbe and Mayer (an OSS associate) on August 19th (1943), presumably in Berne, Switzerland. " Kocherthaler and Kolbe showed up at Mayer's apartment on Thursday, August 19, at 10:30 A.M., where they remained until approximately 2.30 P.M.115 There appears to be no record of what took place. Later that day both Mayer and Dulles wrote up their recollections of the meeting while it was still fresh in their
minds.116 " Another meeting occurs on August 20th.

(According to Page 1 (also page 69) of previously Confidential document approved for release, CIA Historical Review Program, 22 September 1993 titled "Alias George Wood" by Anthony Quibble Fritz Kolbe first met Allen Dulles' associates on Tuesday, 17 August 1943.

The first meeting appears to have occurred on the evening of August 18th or early morning of the 19th of August, 1943.

Another Koble meeting took place in the morning of 20th August. Bradsher reports "Kolbe again warned that the Foreign Office constantly received deciphered code messages of American as well as British warships at sea and also messages originating in the Cairo and Moscow legations and consulates of the Allied nations."

Koble reports of additional codes compromised in this reference: War Report of the OSS, vol. 2, p. 279; Dulles, The Craft of Intelligence, p. 82.

Wikipedia article B-Dienst:

B-Dienst

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The B-Dienst (Beobachtungsdienst) was a German Naval codebreaking organisation. During World War II, B-Dienst solved British Naval Cypher No. 3, providing intelligence for the Battle of the Atlantic, until the British Admiralty introduced Naval Cypher No. 5 on 10 June 1943. B-Dienst also solved a number of merchant codes.

Compromised Communications Research

December 1941

According to Central Security Service, National Security Agency article "TheSigsaly" story by Patrick D. Weason, The Deutsche Reichpost had broken the only available secure communications technology in use in the United States, the AT&T A-3 scrambler system. The A-3 was used by then President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Spring 1942

Reich Post Minister Wilhlelm Karl Ohnesorge's experts unscramble America-British high level trans-atlantic radiotelephone link (Roosevelt/Churchill).

Portugal Time Line

Portugal TimeLine

02 July 1943 B-24-40783 lands in Portugal
30 July 1943 - Landing of B-24-40133 (MACR 2188) in Portugal
04 August 1943 - Stamos and crew departure from England, Landing in Lisbon
05 August 1943 - Citizen certificate issued by American Legation
20 August 1943 - 40772 lands in Portugal
20 August 1943 - 40937 lands in Portugal
28 September 1943 - 63803 lands in Portugal
20 Dcember 1943 - landing of 40454 in Portugal

May 24th Correspondence

In a May 24th email exchange with Annette it was suggested that:

"I looked at your blog. A possible source of information about Pons mightbe in RG 498. There's a group of files about the activities of MIS-X(which I think is Military Intelligence Section X) which dealt with Escapeand Evasions, Internees, and Helpers. I have looked at the Dutch andBelgian helper files, and there MAY be a Portugeese helper file. Pons maybe identified somewhere in that group...a slim chance, but if you've gotextra time while you're at the Archives it might be worth looking into.Annette"

Unfortunately, an examination of the RG 498 MIS-X file proved unsuccessful. The Portguese Helper file was not located. It may not exist.

Squadron Diaries

In reply to a query regarding what was contained in the NARA folders I received the following from Annette:

"Byron,

The folders only have missions and operations material. The Groupand Squadron diaries are at the Archives on microfilm, though. I can giveyou the finding aids, if you want. What are you hoping will be there? Annette"

Research into the "diaries" was conducted. It was learned that the "diaries" are actually on microfilm and the original archive for these was the Air Force Historical Library at Maxwell AFB. Prior to this trip I actually acquired the appropriate roll of film from Maxwell.

Helper Files

In trying to determine who Col. (Colonel) Pons* worked for Annette Tison recommended, that while I was at NARA-II, I should examine Record Group (RG) 322.2.2, Records of Headquarters, Military Intelligence Section X (MIS-X), Escape and Evasion Section Detachment. I was to look for the Portugese Helper file in the theory that information about Col. Pons would be located there.

Unfortunately, the above referenced box did NOT contain a Portugese file. I did not examine the other files in the box.

I speculate that Col. Pons either was employed by the Portugese military or the US Military. He is one of two named officers that interrogated the interned Stamos crew.

Into The Guns of Ploesti

Currently reading "Into The Guns of Ploesti" by 15th Army Air Force veteran-bombardier Tony Newby.

NASM History Card Requested

A request for the Aircraft History Card for B-24-42-40801 has been filed with the National Air and Space Museum (NASM). See here for more information.