Overview of 2016

During the year I continued to research several cases of cryptologic history. I got material from the US, British, German and Czech archives, I helped a lot of researchers by giving them information/files and I’ve also received some interesting material from my friends.

In January I had a look at some Unanswered questions of WWII cryptology and I presented information on the Compromise of a US cipher teleprinter in 1944.

In February I wrote about the German signals intelligence files in the Russian national archives and I added material on the compromise of OSS codes in WWII.

In March I presented more information on the possible exploitation of the Japanese PURPLE cipher by the German codebreakers. I also gave an overview of reports on the compromise of Allied communications in WWII.

In April I covered The ciphers of Czechoslovakia’s government in exile.

In May I added information in my essay on Case Wicher, I presented detailed information on the use of the M-138-A cipher by the US State Department and I posted Erich Hüttenhain’s statements on the solution of the M-138-A cipher from his unpublished manuscript ‘Einzeldarstellungen aus dem Gebiet der Kryptologie’.

In June I uploaded 3 missing pages from TICOM report I-22 and also the finding aid for the National Cryptologic Museum Library.

In July I looked back at all the information that I’ve uncovered these past few years in my essay July 2011 to July 2016 - 5 years of Christos military and intelligence corner and I wrote a review of ‘Code Warriors: NSA's Codebreakers and the Secret Intelligence War Against the Soviet Union’.

In August I added information on the US military attaché emergency double transposition cipher, I copied material from the British report FO 850/171 ‘Preparation of telegrams: use of code words: cypher machines and traffic: teleprinter services: en clair messages. Code 651 file 1 (to paper 4968)’ and added parts in my Typex essay and I uploaded Special Research History SRH-368 ‘Evaluation of the Role of Decryption Intelligence in the Operational Phase of the Battle of the Atlantic, U.S. Navy OEG Report #68’.

In September I gave an overview of the status of my recent FOIA cases, I added information on the Soviet analysis of the Enigma cipher machine and I located a NATO report critical of Hagelin C-type crypto machines.

In October I linked to two Australian reports detailing Japanese diplomatic and military codes of WWII. After receiving the book ‘KODY WOJNY. Niemiecki wywiad elektroniczny w latach 1907–1945’ I added some information from it in my essays on the German exploitation of Polish codes. Also during the month I uploaded the finding aid to the TICOM collection in the German Foreign Ministry’s Political Archive.

In November I added information on the history of US ciphers from the book ‘The history of codes and ciphers in the United States during the period between the world wars part ii. 1930-1939’ , I added information from the War Diary of Inspectorate 7/VI on the German analysis of Soviet cipher teleprinters of WWII and I uploaded several decoded Irish diplomatic telegrams from 1944.

In December I added information from the report ‘Dopady lúštenia šifrovacieho systému čs. londýnskeho MNO z rokov 1940-1945 na domáci odboj’ in my essay on The ciphers of Czechoslovakia’s government in exile.

Hopefully in 2017 I will be able to cover the few remaining cases of cryptologic history that interest me.