The German intelligence effort was far from monolithic. It was traditional for each of the German services to maintain control their own intelligence units and emphasize tactical intelligence, which could be of benefit to their own immediate operations. It was also Hitler’s style to set up competing organizations within the regime to prevent the accumulation of too much power by any of his subservients. The German SIGINT services fell within this pattern with many different organizations having involvement with communications intelligence, some of it quite marginal, such as the Post Office’s Forschungstalt, which intercepted transatlantic phone calls, to the RSHA’s small group of Hungarian mercenary cryptanalysis.
TICOM however was tasked to concentrate on investigating the six major German Cryptologic agencies: · OKW/Chi (Oberkommando der Wehrmacht Chiffrieerabteilung) - the Cryptologic Agency of the Armed Forces Supreme Command · OKH/GdNA (Oberkommando des Heeres/ General der Nachrichten Aufklaerung) –the Army’s signal intelligence service · Chi Stelle (Chiffrier Stelle, Oberbefehlshaber der Luftwaffe) – the German Air Force Signal Intelligence Service · B-Dienst (Beobachtungsdienst, known officially as OKM 4/SKL III) – the German Navy’s cryptanalytic department · Pers Z S (Personal Z Sonderdienst ) – the Foreign Office Cryptanalytic Section · The FA (Forschungsamt), better known as Goering’s Research Bureau, the Nazi Party’s in-house cryptologic service. Allied intelligence knew of the existence of most of these signal intelligence agencies from Ultra intercepts, however, little of their structure, operations, or successes were known.
Documents:
TICOM I-10 "TICOM Personnel Lists"
TICOM I-198 "Short Brown List", July 1946. TICOM I-47 "P/W Situation Report"
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