REF ID:A522712 

Mruo ROUTING SLIP I -~EVER USE FOR APPROVALS, DISAPPROVALS, ~RI CONCURRENCES, OR SIMILAR ACTIONS 

l NAME OR TITLE 

··-

2 

3 

4 

FROM NAME OR TITLE 

ORGANIZATION AND LOCATION 

NM E FOIM NO 9 5 ReplBCes DA AGO Form 895, I OCT 48 1 A.pr 48, wblch may be used. 

INITIALS CIRCULllTE 

COORDIMATION 

FILE 

INFORMATION 

NECESSARY 

ACTION 

NOTE ANO 

RETURN 

SEE ME 

SIGNATURE 

16--48<$7-3 "If GPO 

Declassified and approved for release by NSA on 06-05-2014 pursuantto E.O. 1352a 
-

cO~'i. 

1C 3ll·5 

REF ID:A522712 

SECRET 

.JOD! ABmA1 mmn DYliCitt aaxJP, WPI 

.......... 

UllDfW, •• 1. 

9 Peb 1951 

IU&Jlml .... JjJ' -.CM• Collta• (~), Jl.S!OP-» 

1. ID '*ltillraUon ot 1ille INIO eoa. aa4 dpe )ll'Hlm, 

tlle lm"opeaa Jll!'O ~ ..... --' C1Jbe CC.S.ttee Jiu prortaioM1]7 

•et up the tollow1ag catea·rtes at c:Qbena 

2. Oil 30 JSllJJC7 1950 the Venena IWo; ea .Reg1oQ (D!O) 

CiJMr Camlttee mt in Jlllr19 to cauider a Pnnch c1J1ber mcb1ne 

tor D!'O ~el Joint w u a llllCCIML-1.rNl c1Jber. !hie 

9Mh1ne JWH4 to be DOt.ldDI m -u.n a u. s. built, Anq S1goal 

Corpa, lfeddne C.tew, JM!09-B, 

l• !be French ~ft a.1111"94 tbat the IC-209-B 

W ~DO aecuritr1 1lllt lltate4 taat.it tile mcMne wn ..,, ... v:lth .. l'lwll m4U1c:aUoe ~ Sn eDQ ..... 1 

wnM& ttcrne wa14 lie ·~ ....... 

~. Illa Plw1L ...... ~ ..... -..111ne1 that .. JllOJOMd 

l'rw:ll ~to t1le ....,. ... pokctea..., l'rWh,.... 

en4 that it WQl4 thlntan ll&ft to .... ~ - PNMJa 

til'm or bT foftSp. tSsm ..._ ccmlzeM.\. le a1eo naw ~ 

•bee .. ..i Wiii ddldtel .. ~ • Jl'Oto~ it ...a 

JWO'N)l1' 

~ 

...... ,... ..,.... all Ul'O =· cOa14 1Mt 

V1tll the m4Stte4 ...... 

SECRET 
REF ID:A522712 

5. ~taUves were requested to 'be prepared to state 

at the next meeting: 

a. Whetluts- their na:ttonu 1ih!re prepared. to accept, oo a 

Joint Al'IV-lav.Y-Air Force buts, the M-209-B with the French m:>ditication as a second-level cipher MChine. 

b. Whether their nations were pre;ared t.o accept, on a 

joint Anq•1lavy-Air Farce buts, the M•209-B in its unmodified 

tont as a third-level cipher mschine. 

e. '!'heir utiona ' •hOrt and ioua term llUllel"ical 

requirements t~ the MChine (it' accepted) beaZ"ing in mind that 

priority sbould be g:l vm to international trsttic. 

vtlo have 

6. 

o.perat1.ng 

tt, as is the 

c:rnto 

op1nion 

a;perience, 

at personnel 

tbs U. 

of 

s. 

this 

JX>•i 

~ 

Uon 1n regard 

to t.he French proposal wtll proba.bJ.7 be one of non.-a.eceptence, is 

atJY u. s. com.terpropoal available? This counterproposal might 

take the fOJ:m of a 4ef'1nite U .. s. cClllli.tment to release a. ~vely secure ayatem, sueh u a stn.p cipher with the strip 

eHldnator table, or it 11is!lt tote the form of a firm Standing 

G1"0Up sta~t to the effect that the matter vu under active 

eoui&tration and that a soluUon vu expected at llOllle definite 

date in the D88Z' future. The opinion of t.his headquarters is that 

the French l\l"OPOMl is a retrogreda step and sbould be overruled. 

'!bla, bowYer 1 ....,. be dU'ficult, since the Mo-209-B vi th the French 

B>41f1cation 1o ~ ~ lov-level cipher device now available 

1:o JIA1'(), and the European nattone nay be inclined to adopt it for 

lack of ~ better. 

7. U. S. :lnf'omation and guidance perta.iDins to the contents 

ot :pangrapi& 5 aD4 6 above ie requ1red by the U. S. ~nte.tive 

on the Cipher Cam:lttee prior to the next meeting on ~ Ft:brue.ry 

1951. 

ccs JC"~ 

CRO(mc) 

G-e (ASA) 

D1r. Caam1catione (USAF} 

Enc. 1: French Jt>clification 

t.o M-209-B 

/s/ 

A. FR.AlflLIN KJBIJ!!R 

Ma,Jor General, USA 

Director 
REF ID:A522712 

- SE:CF~ET -

l. 'l'be French 11><11tication to the M-209--~ converter consists of' e. nev l.nd.1eattn.g Disk~ ~1'.ieel aaaembly which is 

interclumgeable with the correspcmding aasaib~ su;pplied with 

the stan4ard M-209-B. ~ standard CODIK)nent ~ be removed by 

unacrev1ng the thumbscrew in the center of the Setting fnob 

sbat't and the mditied French assembly inserted. 

2. The differences betVeen the standard Indicating Disk-

'l'ype Wheel assembly and the French fl88elllbl:1 are three:told: 

a. On the atan4ard 688el9bly the 1'YJe Wheel conaiata of 

a nra:lght alphabet a.t"l"8Dged 1n rff'l'erSe. order. On the French 

mocU.n.cat1on the alphabet on the Tn:ie l4heel is capable ot bd4g 

scnmbled aecord.inB to a i:re-arransed sequence because the 

ind1Ti4ual letters of' the alphabet are quiclcly ~le and 

interchangeable. 

b. On the standard aaaembJ.y the u.dicatini Disk conaista ot a etro.18ht all)babet arranged 1t. nomal. or&n". on the 

l1'rench modification the alphabet on the ID41cat1ng Disk is 

capable ot being scrmibled acc:ordin& to ~ :pre-&Z'l"anged sequence 

becau.ae the 1ndlvidual letters ot the alphabet are quicltly reJl'l>ftble an4 intercb.angeable. 

c. On the l.<'rench moditication the're ia an add1 tional 

d1ak nr:>unted to the l.et't at, end ad.Jacettt to, the Indicating 

Disk, on Which is printed a ser19 of 'lltllDVable conaec\dlltrie 

mmben; tvo seriea Of zero through ~ and one 1ieries of' zero 

through tour; the space on the DUlll'bered d1ak op,poeite tbe letter 

"Z" OD the Ind.1catb& Diak being left blank. Thia 1a intended 

to permit direct encl';YPtion of numbers YithoUt apel.llng them. out 

a.a words, each JlUliber beinS represented by a letter, 'but With 

the possibility of the in41vidual nullben zero tbl"Ough tour 

beiDc rqreaented b7 three dif1'erent letters and the rer.aain1ng 

mmibera by tVJ letters. 

3. One feat\lre which ~ be Cl7P'bbsrqb.1c&lly undeaira.ble 

18 the fact that the letters "z" on both the Illdicating Diak and 

the~ Wheel are alVlqB fixed in the oaa position relative 

to each other in orcter to toni a comon bs.ae fo-r the scrambled 

'l'Jpe Wheel and Indicating Diak alpha.bets enwlo:Y1?d.