US cryptology during the Korean war

[2RHPZ]

PDF link @ www.foia.cia.gov (http://www.foia.cia.gov/KoreanWar/EstimatesMisc/CSI/2001-01-01.pdf)

Mapped also @ Cryptome (http://cryptome.org/crypto-korea.pdf)

[Mastermind]

Great Article! I urge anyone interested in the history of Intelligence to read it.

It is a sad state of affairs that such an important part of modern military science is left so fragmented even in the heat of combat because of inter-service rivalries. Men die as a result of these petty jealousies between the brass hats (Ass-hats!).

I read a very good book about early development of intelligence services, covering the period from WWI through to the start of WWII. A really painful growth and development of intel services grew until the men and women, often at the cost of their very lives, had developed a fantastically efficient organization that helped the allies win many battles. In the USA, it was utterly destroyed by the appointment of one bureaucrat who with the stroke of a pen, disbanded all US intelligence services...his reason was a classic example of hubris, stupidity, and abject naivety …he said, “Gentlemen do not read other gentlemen’s mail.” The US was left virtually blind as WWII began to spiral in on civilization.

[history nut]

Good read - thanks for sharing. My wife's grandfather was a US Army intelligence officer (1st Lt) in Korea/Japan duing the Korean War. His letters home to his wife do not delve into his service very much, but occastionally there are some references like "interrogated a N Korean last night, he's going to wish he was more honest with us..." "gave them a good working over..." "stuck in Japan due to weather..." kind of stuff. We're slowly transcribing the letters. He took a lot of photos in Occupied Japan and Korea as well that are neat. One in particular shows him in a field in Korea holding an M1 or M2 carbine in one hand and a dead bird - looks like a wild turkey - in the other. He was a country boy from southern Middle Tennessee and I guess they wanted to eat something special that night...

[Rudolph]

During WW1 the US Army used some of horror writer Edgar Allan Poe's cryptology. Already more than 60 years old techniques by then...

And:

Cryptography

Poe had a keen interest in cryptography (http://www.militaryphotos.net/wiki/Cryptography). He had placed a notice of his abilities in the Philadelphia (http://www.militaryphotos.net/wiki/Philadelphia,_Pennsylvania) paper Alexander's Weekly (Express) Messenger, inviting submissions of ciphers (http://www.militaryphotos.net/wiki/Cipher), which he proceeded to solve.[121] (http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/#cite_note-Silverman152-120) In July 1841, Poe had published an essay called "A Few Words on Secret Writing" in Graham's Magazine (http://www.militaryphotos.net/wiki/Graham%27s_Magazine). Realizing the public interest in the topic, he wrote "The Gold-Bug (http://www.militaryphotos.net/wiki/The_Gold-Bug)" incorporating ciphers as part of the story.[122] (http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/#cite_note-121) Poe's success in cryptography relied not so much on his knowledge of that field (his method was limited to the simple substitution cryptogram), as on his knowledge of the magazine and newspaper culture. His keen analytical abilities, which were so evident in his detective stories, allowed him to see that the general public was largely ignorant of the methods by which a simple substitution cryptogram (http://www.militaryphotos.net/wiki/Substitution_cipher) can be solved, and he used this to his advantage.[121] (http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/#cite_note-Silverman152-120) The sensation Poe created with his cryptography stunt played a major role in popularizing cryptograms in newspapers and magazines.[123] (http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/#cite_note-122)

Poe had an influence on cryptography beyond increasing public interest in his lifetime. William Friedman (http://www.militaryphotos.net/wiki/William_Friedman), America's foremost cryptologist, was heavily influenced by Poe.[124] (http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/#cite_note-123) Friedman's initial interest in cryptography came from reading "The Gold-Bug" as a child—interest he later put to use in deciphering Japan's PURPLE (http://www.militaryphotos.net/wiki/Purple_(cipher_machine)) code during World War II (http://www.militaryphotos.net/wiki/World_War_II).[125] (http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/#cite_note-124)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgar_allan_poe#Cryptography