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. e REF ~~.:A671~6 .. e 

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REPORT 'l'O TH!!: BRI'l'ISH AND Us OHI~S OF STAFF . . . 

Br THE BRITISH/US COMMUNICATION SECURITY EXPLORA':t'ORY CONFER.ENC~ 

SEPTElmER 1950 

Initial exchange ot.Cr1Rto5raph1a ~ntormat1on· under 

the ~ollowing ~tam beadings: 

(a)· tow Eo~elon (1noluding Minor \V~r Vessels) Telegraphic 

Systems . . . 1nclud1.ns Combined Assault Codee and tactl~al 

syst•ms · tor all m!.-11 te.ry purposes; · 

(b) ~erohant Sh~ps Telegraphic Systems~ 

(o) Meteorological Security ~ystems . including ,facs1m1le 1. 

·Teleprinte~ and Telegrapho 

(d) Vo1~e security Systems for Tactical Purposeso 

(e) T.elepr1nt•r. s1stema t~r the exchang• ot Commwi1cat1on 

Intelligence .materialJ 

* * 

.1~ . As agreed by the British and the US Ch1ets ot Stutt 0 * a 

British/US Conference to ·consider tbe above eubJeots was opened 

:in \Vash1ngton on the 21st September 19~0o 

:2,., .. Summaries ot the proceedings at the meeting which .. followed 

have been prepared and. th~se are beld bOth by the Direotorp . . 

Armed Forces Security Agencyp Wash1ngtonp and the SeoretarJ 9 

Cypher Policy Bcard9 Londono In our estimation this conference 

has been ot .unqaest1.a'lea value not only in the field or Combined 

Communioatlons Security but also 1n the field ot US and British 

*US Reference: .JCS 2074/2 • 27 Deoem.ber·l949v · ·British .Reterenoe: OOS.h\')831 - 26 JulJr 19SOa 

Declassified and approved for release by NSA on 05-20-2014 pursuantto E .0. 1352a _ 
- - - - - r- --. 1 

. -- REF I~:A67186· a 

.. ·•TOP SECRET • . . . 

Intra-CommWi~cations Securityb 

]o I~. is recommended: 

.(a) That immediately and on a continuing bas1s 8 there 

bo complete ·interchange or·. the. teohnloal details ot . . . 

the s1st•s diecnu~sed in this con1"erence 9 

This should i'nolude teohnloal v1a1tso · 

(b) That discussion and interchange ot technical information on certain other 1t·ems of combined interest 11 

such as the ·security aspects ot IJ.i'F and.authont1cat1on 

systems,. be authorizedo 

(c) ·Tb.at security evaluatio1,1s be made and exchanged on all 

items discussedo . . 

(d) That the U~So-UdKo JCEC oons!dflr and re$olve as a. mat·-.· 

ter of urgency the operat1.onal requirements in all·· 

tields o~ Combined Cryptographic Communicationso. 

(e) · That there be annual c~nferences on these subjects tor 

the next four yea~s 8 to be held alternately in London 

and in Wash1ngton9 the first ot these to take place in 

London in approximately nine months timeo 

4·~ The r,eneral recommendations in paragraph 3 above together 

.. with the detailed conclusions ot t~e Conference whioh are at~ 

tached as Appendix A to this report are aublU1tted tor the app.roval of' the British and U. So Chiefs or· St~f't o 

2 

T()P SECRET 0 
• 

,. . .... .. -

APPENDIX A-· 

CONCf,USIONS 

Ao Low ·~ahelon · (-including Minor Wai:'· V:es·aels) Tele~l"~hic 

Syatems 1ncludinP.; Combined As:;a.!!_l! Codes and Tactical 

Sls~ems f'or . .Jlll M.1.y~:rx · Sa:rv.!..caa 

( 1) No ms.chine ay:st,am !a li~ely to ba available f_or 

·general combined use be:fore 19540 

.(2)_ ·Ir combj..ned systems ara· required _f'or ~ of th_e 

foregoing purposes ln the int_eri.m period 9 some pcssl b.le 

systems ar~: 

Strip 

Lin ex 

CW'."sex 

T'laytex· 

Running Kay Cipher 

. ()) ·To meet the long term req~i~e~~nts to~ low echelon· 

combined systems selections should be mads within th.e next 

-JI.~ months'.¢ Soma possible devices are: 

Dl)P l 

aFSAM 1-

Concert 

Rollick. 

APPENDIX A 
.. .. • 

/ 

.: REF· ID :A67l86 

e TOP" SEC.RET e 

B •.. Uerohan' sMp i'e1agraph10 sj~t-a · 

A.maohlne 81Btea ot at least •qu!valent aeourit7 bat taster tb~.Curaex, whloh la·UDCler conel4erat~on,.8houl4 replaoa . . . . . 

it, wbu·aval~ble, and that Hob a ·91at• 8houl.4 be aeleotecl 

111tllln tile aat-12 iaontha. soln,.pOilalble dnloea are: 

c. lleteoziologloal Seour1tr S1~t8Jll8 8 Inalw:ling J'aoa1m1~e 9 

~eleprlater and Telegraph 

C l·t · Bo .ach1ne oi-1pto s7atem tor meteorologloal purposes . . 

18 ilkel.J· to be available tor general ooab1ne4 uee betore 1954. . . . 

(2). It oomb1ne4 qstems are req&i1N4 tor meteorologic•~ 

ptll'po ... a 1n t!&e interim. period, some posalbl~ devioea are: 

(a) A1~Gr0and - ASAD l 

0'1'tetoo 

.Alametoo 

(bl Telegzaph - OCM (mod1tle4 tor.weather enoipberment) Pana11· an4 paper.a1stem tor 

ve:ry low echelon purposes .•. · 

Co) Teleprinter - ASAl-! 2-1 

(4) Paoa1m1ie • None ~vallable 

()) 'l'o ••t tbe loq te~ requ1r .. nta tor enolphenaeiit 

ot •teorologioal data 1 &fl!ll•o,~on 8ho'1ld ~· •4• within the . . next 12 montbli."o . ·. SOae po a al~· cl891oea are; 

... 

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• 

.• 

- - ----;- - - -----:-

~ REF·ID:A67186 .. 

..,+OP SECRET • 

(a) Alr-Oroand ·- ABAD 1 

otaetcfo 

Alametoo 

A.Dl'.aTal~ble.olphoDJ .,..,_. 

(b) 'le~epQh • ·7 zt.oto:r :eaM wltb prov1_•1DA tor 

w•tha:r e.ao1pbel'llen' 

AJSA14 7 

S1n81et 

Pendragon·. 

DlJP l - 4ea1gna4 tor weather. 

enalpherment 

Penoll· and paper arateme. · 

( o) 'l'alopr1nt.er - APB.AM 9 . 

ASAV 2·1 

Conoen 

Roll.lok 

( 4 J· C.1tu • ASAX 2 

&L.Cltax 

llB'll'AX 

.HO'l'B: Sel,otlon 1n oategorJ (d) J1111¥ aot be poaaS.ble ant11 an 

agreement is reached ·1n the UK~US lOBC on.the i-equir..- · 

manta and oharaoterletica tor plain text; taoa1m11e 

equipment end associated ·t;ranmaiasl~n systems tar 

Dleteo:rologioal u,se o · · 

' APPBiPIX A 

. f·O.P SECRET .. 
·.~ 

... Do . Vo!oe Seour1tr Sratems tor 'faotloal Punosea . ; 

. . 

(1) Mo olpb~ system ls llkel1 to be available tor . . . . ;. . 

general omiablned uee.betora 19540 

(2) There are no poes1b111t~ea tor suitable devloea in 

the 1nter1~ per1odv 

. .. ( )) To .Jll&et the long term :requirements ·tor :·c~blned 

~1.pb.oDJF s1ateme seJ,eotio~ ahoulcl. be •4• w1.1ih~.n" .. the next U 

" -.. ·montha.o smae .poas1b18"-:'iiev1ces are·: i?. ~ ..... · . . '.· .... ·. ·:. : . 

. . . . ~;-." .:_ .. ~. . . 

\ .·· .. · .. 

(a) AsAY 4· · ... ·.·.:··· (primarily design~~· )is .. ~:/1ow eche.lon 

·(b.) ASAY 8 

: :·: · oiphony attachment; ::":c>:~.n .'be··::·~sed .only . .. . . .. . . 

. . ·. .. 

· (designed primarily .tor ·a~:rbe>rna use; 

. · p0ssibly suitable ·t'or ge~•ra,l .law 

echelon uae; oan be .uaetf.:.,;1t.b VHF 

transmlsslon onlT and le O.fi.llflble of· 

group. working) 

(o) Hallmark (pr1n.aar11T designed tor t~ot1oal point 

to point o1rou1ts. using vmr or wideband o1rou1ts& ooal4 be used to provide 

secure point to point ~ele~ype and 

taos1mf~e tranemis~!cna) 

(4) Sorcerer (primarily de•igned for point to point 

oiphon.y over long and short distance 

c1rou1ta ot norma~.band width) 

6 AWENDIX A 

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·•· 

'· ... · .··. 

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... 

A R:EF. ID:A67186 ·• 

•rep S·ECRET 

( e·) AN/'J!U. .l~ (11r1mar14' 4ea1gne4 tor. m1crowave point; . 

to point radio relq 1~.~, · carry1.ag 8 ... . . 

(t) 

'l'SS 

vo!oe channels; can handle teleprinter 

vitb tl'equ&DO~ mult1ple~J . . . . 

:CP1".1mar1ly clea1gned tor microwave point 

to point zad1Q relay.)lAlal, oarr11.ng 12 

voioe channels; oan .oar~. faoalm11e or 

.. . 

(primarii,· designed tor· ·a1r.;..to-air and ' . . . 

a1r-to•ground voloe pr.1vao7 ·&Jattm,a wltb 

~nimum seoU?titr ot 20 minutes~ ·Will 

~pe:nite·With an.r existing u.s. air- . 1. . 

cratt voice transmitter or.receiver, 

on fre1uenoies as low $8 175 KOS) 

&~ Teleprinter Sy~tems tor the Exohange·ot Communication 

Intelligence .Material 

(1) If there is to be· an immediate su.bst1tution. 1'or 

ROOICBX a seleo~!on can be made fr.om tbe toll~W!d.ng·maoh1nes: 

ASAM 2•1 

5 UoOoOo 

(2) Either machine is av-1lable in eutr1·01ent qu.antit1 

to meet ou.rrent requirements in tbe exchange ot intelligence 

materialo 

7 APPENDIX A 

TO.P SEC RE r· 

···:·:: 

.... 

·· .. ·.: ....... ! 

,·; 

·:··:· 

\~~­

.. . . ;~~ .. ·~:.~ .. ·.··. 

'·:{;-" 

.. ~: .•. 

·.·::··. 
·. . . . •roP sccr<·ET 9EF ID:A67186 

VI \C-; .. REPORT TO THii: llRI'rISH AND US CHIEFS OF STAFF 

. 19t-P I- D ~A-'i"'ll it-( ~ . BY THE BRITISH /US COMMUNICATIONS SECURITY!\CONFERENCJ!: ;~!, 

SEPTEMBER 1950 . ':rl' '( 4 · · 

Initial ~e&z'f:~n~ exchange of 

Cryptosraphio Information under the tollow;ne: item headi!lfjs: 

(a) Low Echelon (including Minor War Vessels) Telegraphic 

.systems including Combined Assault Codes and tactical 

systems for all military purposes. 

(b) Merchant Ships Telegraphic Systems. 

(c) Meteorological Security ~ystems, including Facsimile. 

Teleprinter and Telegraph. 

(d) 

(e) 

Voice Security Systems for Tactical Purposes~ 

~ 

, 

Teleprinter systems tor the exchange of Intelligence 

/\ material< 

* * * * * 

l, As agreed by the British and the us Chiefs of Starr.* a 

British/US Conference to consider the above subjects was opened 

in Washington on the 21st September 1950. 

2. Sumr.iaries of the proceedings at the meeting which followed 

have been prepared and thes~ are held both by the Director, 

Armed Forces Security Agency• l\fashington 1 and the Secretary• 

Cypher Policy Board, London .• 

~ In our estimc.tion this conference has been of outstanding 

value not only in the field of Combined Communic~ also 

I\. 

* US Reference: JCS 2074/2 - 27 D.ecember 1949. 

British Reference: COS(W) - 25 August 1950 •. 

!)::classified by NSA(CSS 

Deputr Asso·~;ite Director for Policy and Rec'*<) P S [ C R [ l' 

On ~OJ:?l>i1q by Rf:= · 
•·re· p~~~;...1\61)69 

in t~e. field of U~ ~--~_2-~~LI B. ritish Intra-Corimu.m1cat1on" 

~ 

&fti we:, 

~· ll.\ &a~~et. t('<:L:t--· ~ .. , 3 1 a'.Wotila make"'·tne-t'Oli-GW1ng general r.ecommendatt one;., 

(a) ·· ~mmediately a:nd on a continuing basis~ therE» 

be oomplete 1nte;rohange of the te·ohnical ds~ails or 

the systems discussed in this e~ploratpry aonferenoeo 

.·This should incl~de taohnioal vlsitso 

(b) ~/tdi~oussion ar_id interchange of teohnic~l infor~ 

mation on oertain other items of combined interestp 

k... .. ~.10- ~~ as ~he ae~e~te _or IFF and authentication 

"r-1 /Y'r ~ . syst~ ~ ~thorized . o ~ . . 

(o) ~t security evaluations be made ·and 6XQhangud. on all 

items c11scussed,, 

(d) ~--a=cD~1=zo~the-f~nal.-...1'epo~t-o~tbe-co~~~renoe-be ~ . 

, anbmi tted to_tha_tI~o.e.Uo.L~EC-and-th·a·t-t·he-U-;S":".:o U~ 

. - -- ~ ----- JCEC heJ&Veq_c~ consider and resolve as a matter ---- .. 

Of urgenoy the operational re1uirements in all fields 

ot Combined Cryptographic §ommunications. 

(e) That there be annual oonterences on these subjects for 

the next four years 51 to be held alternately in London 

and in Washington9 the first ct these to take plaoe in 

~. 

London in approxi~ately nine months time~ 

4o · The recommendations in paragraph 3 above together with the 

f\ 

detailed oonolus1ona ot the Conference which are attached a . ;~ 1;.;1.· "'f.9-til-"'-ll'V 

Appendix A to this report are submitted'Wili..vii,....U.ae.-1:'4!f64~~'18fl~~ea~ 

~ ~64ilmiCV8ed. by the. British and U o So Chiefs ot: Staffo 

2· 

TOP SECRET 
• T 0 ~ b-Ip.__;_&~1+• cc•~n: 1 

APPENDIX A 

CONCLUSIONS 

Ao Low Echelon (including Minor War Vessels) TelegraEhio 

JystGl'hs includ~ng ~ombiaed Assault Codes and Tactical 

Szstems tor all Military Services 

(l) No machine system is 'likely to be available for· 

gene~al -~.,o~bined __ us,~_~efore l~~:o . ~~ ~~ 

(2)_ 1J:.t comb1~~steme are require_~ .'tor _?DYA-_purp~ in 

the interim periodp ·pos·nble systems are: . (\ I. 

Strip 

Lin ex 

Curs ex 

Playtex· 

Running Key Cipher 

(3) To meet the long term requirements tor low echelon 

combined systems selections should be made wi~hin the next 

12 montlls, ~le devices are: . 

uUP l 

AFSaM 7 

"PCMtt 

AFSAM 9 

MCM 

Concert 

Rollick 

ll'f!dass.ifietl by NSAjL"'\S · 

~uty A.~o~atP. Director for Policy and R.eeonJ Q P . S [ ( R [ T 

On gtii 1@9 . . by~_£..._·-~ 

APPENDIX A 
• REF· ID:A671S.. 

TOP SECRET-.. 

Bo Merchant Ship Telegraphic Systems 

4 machine P.YB~em ot at least equivalent security but l~ '~~I ~~_J . 

taster than oursexi\should replace 1t 9 when availablep and 

that au~:tsm should be selected within the n@xt 12 

monthso /\Possible devices are: 

"PCM" 

Dtn> l 

.AFSAM 7 

MCM 

Co Meteorological Security Systems 8 Including Facs1m1le 9 

Teleprinter and Telegraph 

( l) · No machine orypto syst~ for meteorological purposes 

is likely to be available tor general combined use before 19540 

(2) It combined systems are 

~. 

required tor meteorological 

purposes in the interim period ~possible devices are: 

(a) Air=Ground = ASaD 1 

Otmetco 

.1uametoo 

. ( b) Telegraph ... COM (modified for weather encipher..-. 

ment) Pencil and paper system for 

very low echelon purposeso 

(o) Teleprinter ~ ASAM 2=1 

(d) Facsimile - None available 

(J) To meet the long term requirements tor encipherment 

of meteorological data 9 

~ 

selection should be made within the 

· next 12 monthso (\Possible devices are: 

4 !\PPENDIX A 

TOP SEC:RFT 
• T 0 p ~E gRt6T1

• 

(a) Air=Ground = I~ .l 

(b) 

Otmetco 

Alametao 

')~Re?-/ ~~~=.'.!~~~tem Teleg.J"Bph - B with provision tor weather 

enc1pherment 

AFSAM 7 

"Peli" 

Singlet 

Pendragon 

DUP l ~ dss!gned fer weather 

encipha:rment 

Pencil and paper systisms 

(c) Teleprinter = AFSAM 9 

ASAM 2=1 

Concert 

Rollick 

Mercury 

(d) Cifax = ASAX 2 

NRL C1fax 

METFAX 

NOTEg Selection in oategory (d) may not be possible until an 

agreement is reached in th13 UK=US J"CEC on the require= 

manta and characteristics tor plain text facsimile· 

equipment and associated transmission systems tor 

meteorological useo 

s APPlml>IX A 

TOP SECRET 
• 

Do Voice Seomrity Systems tor Tactical Purposes 

(1) No oiphony system is likely to be available tor 

general combined use before 19540 

(2) There are no possibilities tor suitable ·devices in 

the interim per1odn 

· · ()) To meet the long term requirements tor combined 

oiphony ~ systems selection should be·made within the next 12 

months .. A l>oss1 ble devices are: 

(a) .ASAY 4 (primarily designed as a low echelon 

(b) ASAY 8 

o1phony attachment; oan be llSed only 

over o1rcu1ts ct normal bandwidth) 

(designed primarily tor airborne use 0 

. possibly euitable tor g~nara1·1ow 

eo.helon use 0 oan be used with VHF 

transmission only and is capable of 

grotlp working) 

(c) Hallmark (primarily designed tor tactical point 

to point oirauits using VHF or wide-. 

band oircuits; could be usod to provide 

secure point to point teletype and 

taosimile transmissions) 

(d) Sorcerer (primarily designed for point to point 

oiphony over .long and short diatan~e 

circuits of norma.l band width) 

6 .APPElIDIX ·A 

TOP SECRET 
, 

.;:> 

A REF ID:A671B. 

~OP SECRET 

(e) AN/TB.A 16 (pr1mar11Jr designed for mi~rowave point 

to point radio relay links 9 .carrying S 

voice channels; can handle teleprinter 

with frequency nuiltlplex) 

{t) D-70 

(g) TSS 

(primar1lJ' design~ tor microwave point 

to point radio rel~ linksP. carrying 12 

voice channels 9 can carry ta.oe1m1le or 

teleprinter with frequency multiplex) 

(primarily designed tor a1r-~o-a1r and 

ail"='tO=ground voioe pr!vaoy system with . • 

minimum security or 20·minutes«. Will · 

operate with any existing UaSo air-.. 

craft voice transmitter or reoe1verp 

on trequenoies as low as 175 KCBu) 

7 Al'PENDXX A 

TOP SECRET