Allied Signal Intelligence Units and other secret units in Australia during WW2

ALLIED SIGNAL INTELLIGENCE UNITS AND OTHER SECRET UNITS
IN AUSTRALIA DURING WWII

"Not only do you not exist, you never will have existed. You will remain for always unknown and unacknowledged. There will be no awards, no glory. There will be no medals for this unit."

As told to a batch of recruits for the Australian Special Wireless Group, AIF.

"Sigint" is a code name for signal intelligence. Sigint operations were so secret that they were given their own special classification of "Ultra Secret". The word "Ultra" was used as a code name for intelligence derived from interception and decoding of Japanese military and naval messages.

Command Structure for Allied Intelligence Organisations
in SWPA, May 1943

UNITS / LOCATIONS

1 Australian Discrimination Unit	24 Australian Signals (at Indooroopilly)	41 Heavy Wireless Station Hay, NSW
51 Wireless Section Australian Special Wireless Group	52 Wireless Section Australian Special Wireless Group	126 Signal Radio Intelligence Company
978th Signal Services Company Filipino signal unit dropped behind Japanese lines by submarine	5217th Reconnaissance Battalion (Prov.) The "Mission Men" dropped behind Japanese lines by submarine	5218th Reconnaissance Company (Prov.) This unit trained the 978th Signal Services Company in jungle combat
Air Force Directorate of Intelligence	Air Industry Section AIRIND	Allied Geographic Section (AGS)
Allied Intelligence Bureau	Allied Translation & Interpretation Section (ATIS)	Area Combined Headquarters Townsville
Army Command and Administrative Network (ACAN)	Australian Air Investigation Intelligence Their role was to capture Australians spying for Japan and Germany	Australian Guerrillas 1942
Australian Army Cipher Production Unit	Australian Special Wireless Group	Brisbane WTO Brisbane Wireless Station, US Army
Central Bureau	Central War Room	Coastal Radio Service under RAN control
Coast Watchers	Combined Defence Headquarters Townsville	Combined Operational Intelligence Centre (COIC)
Commonwealth Security Service	Counter-Intelligence Corps, G-2 Section, HQ USAAFE 319th Military Intelligence Company, 441st Counter-Intelligence Corps Detachment	Directorate of Naval Communications
Far Eastern Liaison Office (FELO) Section D of AIB Military Propaganda Section	Fraser Commando School Training school for "Z" Special Unit Commandos	FRUMEL - Fleet Radio Unit Melbourne
Fleet Radio Unit Radio Station Adelaide River	Fleet Radio Unit Radio Station Townsville	Fleet Radio Unit Radio Station Cooktown
HMAS Coonawarra W/T and D/F Station Coonawarra (Darwin)	Intelligence Section, Home Forces	Inter Allied Services Department (IASD or ISD) cover name for SOA
Intercept Station - HMAS Harman (Canberra)	Intercept Station - HMAS Ringwood (Melbourne?)	HF/DF Station Garbutt Woolcock Street
"M" Special Operations	Melbourne W/T Shadow Signal Station (Wireless Telegraphy), "Frognall", 54 Mont Albert Road, Canterbury, VIC	MI6 Influence in Australia
No. 1 Special Wireless Group Canadian Military Unit	No. 4 Ship Signal Section, Royal Signals, British Army	No. 4 Australian Special Wireless Section
No. 1 Wireless Unit	No. 11 Australian Cypher Section	Netherlands East Indies Regional Section
Netherlands Forces Intelligence Section, Division III (NFIS III)	Observations Centres for Radio Security Organisation:- - Brisbane - Sydney - Melbourne - Adelaide - Perth	Office of War Information
Office of Strategic Services (OSS)	Philippine Regional Section	Radio Security Organisation
Radio Site near Archerfield Airfield	Radio Station Townsville WVJL part of ACAN	Radio Station Darwin WVJK part of ACAN
Radio Station Melbourne WTJJ part of ACAN	Radio Station Sydney WVJM part of ACAN	Royal Netherlands Navy Wireless Telegraphy Station, Batchelor, NT
Royal Netherlands Navy Wireless Telegraphy Station, Craigieburn, VIC	Secret Intelligence Australia (SIA)	Section 22
Section RO4, Directorate of Signals	Services Reconnaissance Department (SRD) cover name for SOA	SLU9 - Special Liaison Unit 9 RAF Detachment of Bletchley Park attached to Central Bureau
Special Intelligence Bureau Royal Australian Navy (RAN)	Special Intelligence Section Victoria Barracks, Melbourne	Special Operations Australia (SOA)
Special Operations Executive (SOE) British Secret Organisation	Spyron The Warehouse section of Philippine Regional Section	Townsville Radio Station part of Coastal Radio Service operated by RAN
US Army Signal Corps - Capalaba Radio Communications site (near Brisbane, QLD)	US Army Signal Corps - Redland Bay Golf Course Radio Communications site (near Brisbane, QLD)	US Army Signal Corps - Rocklea Transmitting and Receiving Station
US Navy Intercept and HFDF Station, Darwin	US Navy Intercept and HFDF Station, Townsville (Was this located on top of Mount Stuart?)	US Navy Intercept and HFDF Station, Cooktown
US Navy Intercept and HFDF Station, Exmouth Gulf	Wireless Intercept Station, Royal Netherlands Navy, Batchelor, NT	Women's Emergency Signalling Corps (WESC)
XE-craft midget submarine trials of the 14th Submarine Flotilla at Mon Repos, near Bundaberg, QLD	"Z" Special Unit

EQUIPMENT

AWA Receivers AWA Wireless Set 133 (WS133)	"Coral" Used by Japanese Naval Attaches	Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer (ENIAC)
Fullerphone Portable Telegraph Signalling Device (not a phone)	HROs	Hollerith machines at Victoria Barracks
IBM "Computers" at Ascot in Brisbane in 1942!!! How the first IBM's in Australia helped crack the Japanese Codes	"Jade" Used by Japanese Imperial Navy	Kingsley AR7 Intercept Radios
"Purple" Used by Japanese diplomats	SIGABA or ECM Mark II	"Sigsaly" A high security voice communications system
"Sigtot" A secure teletype conferencing system	Teleradio used by Coast Watchers	Typex Cipher machines
US Army Signal Corps BC-224 HF Receiver	US Army Signal Corps Field Telephone C-434/GRC	Wireless Set No. FS6 (AWA Field Set 6)
"X" machines Can anyone help me with details please?

Japanese Intelligence Units and other Secret Units
in Australia during WW2

REFERENCES

Spies for Nimitz - Joint Military Intelligence in the Pacific War
by Jeffrey M. Moore

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I'd like to thank Pic Berthier for his assistance with this web page.

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"Australia @ War" WWII Research Products

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This page first produced 14 November 2000

This page last updated 23 March 2021