Central Bureau - Structure

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 included 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 personally 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. In January 1944, one main line Japanese Army code was broken with help from a buried trunk found at Sio, New Guinea, left by retreating Japanese Army troops.

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 Airport. Another source indicated that CB'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 punched card equipment, which were used by the cryptanalysts to help analyze intercepted cyphertext. 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 mostly by Australian Women's Army Service (AWAS) personnel.

Beginning in January 1942, U.S. Navy stations in Hawaii (Station HYPO), Cavite/Corregidor (Station CAST) and OP-20-G (Station NEGAT, at 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 had been left behind in Manila Bay on leaving Corregidor and employed it throughout their tenure in Melbourne.

Central Bureau moved to a new location at 45 Eldernall Avenue, Hamilton, sometime later.

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 an upcoming trip to Rabaul. Admiral Yamamoto, was the Commander in Chief of the Combined Japanese Fleet, the architect of the attack on Pearl Harbor. 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 the message, the interception of his flight was based on decrypts of Japanese naval messages by FRUPAC/Station HYPO 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 (Pacific Fleet Intelligence in Hawaii) gave it to Admiral Nimitz who authorized a 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.