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ASA REVIEW - August 1952, PP• 9 & :£&F ID: A59234 

The War • 1n the Ether: 

Fixing the Positions of Agent 

Radio Stations 

The basis for combatting agent transmitters was the location of these radio stations by direction finders. For technical 

and tactical reasons this broke down into: 

a. Long range direction finding. 

b. Close range direction finding. 

c. Work in the immediate vicinity of 

the target. 

Corresponding to the peculiar character 

of the radio agent situation and in view 

of the militar:ysituation of the moment,the 

German long range direction finding bases 

had to change currently their aet-up and 

their manner of working. First a network 

of long ra.qJJdirection finders was created 

far beyond the German frontiers. The next 

step was to bring these direction finders 

under coordinated control; this was in order to replace the previous multiplicity 

of single readings by synchronized systematic readings on the same transmitter, by 

as many long range direction finders as 

possible and in this way to get dependable 

fixes. 

In October 1942 the following three 

shortwave direction finding bases were 

available for the purposes of "radio counterintelligence:" 

1. For the west: M:lddelkerke, Wilhelmahafen, Hannover, Iangerargen, Bodenseel 

Bordeaux. (Controlled partly from Giessen.J 

2. For the east: Bev&l, Lemberg, Nikolajew, Pillau. (Radio control by Cranz.) 

and Sardinia. 

Begarding the close range work, conditions were as follows: Close range direction finding apparatus for fixing the 

ground wave had been de~eloped long before 

the outbreak of the war, and sets had been 

constructed which were suitable for use in 

the field. After the search for enemy 

radio agents began in the west in the fall 

of 1940, the first such transmitter was 

located in Antwerp in April 1941. This 

was accomplished after the area, in which 

the transmitter must be located, had been 

determined on the basis of long rans~ direction finding. 

Even in this first case it was manifest 

that the close range direction finders 

must be of such a nature that one could 

approach the location of the transmitter 

unnoticed. Consequently, even then the 

picking up of a transmitter was only possible by the aid of an especiall;v constructed suitcase apparatus. This instrument 

was operated by a man dressed as a locksmith and permitted locating the transmitter within a few houses. 

It was more difficult to do the work in 

the immediate vicinity because the agents 

usually had watchers to guard them. This 

problem was not solved until early in 1943 

when a belt direction finder was developed 

which could be worn inconspicuously under 

the clothing of the operator. 

The use of Fieseler-Storch planes as 

''Flying close ra.nge direction finderB"' 

dates from the summer of 1941. The first 

experiments began in May. The first suc3. For the south and southeast: Puls- cessful commitments of the "Storch" came 

nitz, Varna, Athena. (Radio control by in the west beginning with September. In 

Pulsnitz.) ---------------------------. Translated from original April 1942 three machines 

To this system of long were in use and the number 

range direct:lonfinders were German materials by was later increased to 12. 

added, in :rebruary 1943, DR RAY W PETTENGILL 

instruments in Bome,Sioily, ---· ----·------- (Continued on page 12) 

Au9u1t 1952 9 

Declassified and approved for release by NSA on 01-30-2014 pursuantto E.O. 1352a 
10 

REF ID:A59234 

TASATC Training Alcls t· 

Instruction at the ASA Training Center 

is carried out on a sufficient scale so 

that training aide are developed in the 

shops of the installation. 

Capt lee A. Rivers, Chjef, Morse Branch, 

Capt R. C. Mclees, Visual Aida Development 

Officer, lat Lieutenant Donald J. Davidson, Training Aida Of~icer, (production) 

and Sfc Robert C. Hessman, NCOIC Communications Equipment Section, Moree Branch, 

plot a solution. Sfc Harry J. Williams, 

NCOIC, G. T. A. shop and Mr. James J. Dobbins, civilian artist, prepares a plan for 

a working model of the control board. 

U. S. Army photographs at left and below indicate the nature of the constructions by showing phases in the development 

of a control panel. The small dimensions 

of the standard equipment and the large 

size of the classes, make it necessary to 

construct something big enough for all to 

see. 

In the photo at top,showing the interior 

of ijhe carpenter shop, Mt-. John T. Carter, 

modelmaker, is conferring with Sgt R. B. 

Freeman,on adjustment to move needles over 

to "teaching point" position at flick of 

switch. In the middle photo, painter Arthur A. Angel is apply:fng the color scheme. 

Below, Sgt R. P. Ames, is using the finished model to teach the operation of 

radio. 

ASA Review 
I' The War~Ftfl-b~~~234 

' (Continued from page 9) feuur1cbtnt:ta:t) 

Despite all the successes of the German 11

~ counterintelligence, 11 and dea-pite 

all the stations picked up, the number of 

hostile agent circui1B in the German sphere 

of influence increased constantly. The 

means and personnel of the German radio 

counterintelligence during the war were in 

no wise commensurate with the magnitude 

and importance of the task; they remained 

totally inadequate, quite apart from the 

fact that they were not emplo;,edeffectively until much too late. 

Tenth Te1111I• Ylcter~ Fer AHi 

Arlington Hall netmen won their tenth 

victory in a dozen matches recently when 

they defeated Walter Beed Arf113 Medical 

11