page_title: Cipher Department of the High Command of the Luftwaffe
section_title: Start of World War II
hierarchical_section_title: Cipher Department of the High Command of the Luftwaffe / History / Start of World War II
caption_attribution_description: Chart which shows the Luftwaffe signals organisation growth per sector.
context_page_description: Cipher Department of the High Command of the Luftwaffe was the signals intelligence and cryptanalytic agency of the German Air Ministry before and during World War II. In 1945, the unit was known as the Luftnachrichten Abteilung 350, abbreviated as OKL/Ln Abt 350 and formerly called the. It was the successor in November 1944 of the unit formerly named as the Chi-Stelle Ob.d.L., which was often abbreviated to Chi-Stelle/ObdL.
context_section_description: With the start of the war, the Chi-Stelle was already an organisation of some 1400 people. For a whole year prior to the war, the fixed Chi-Stelle stations had been systematically covering the air force traffic of foreign countries. Their work was complemented by revealing press reports and other sources of intelligence, the results being that the High Command, prior to the outbreak of war in September 1939, could be stated as having a quite accurate picture of the air armament, deployment, and strength of foreign air forces, as well as their organisation and expansion. This intelligence enabled the German Command to quickly defeat the Polish and French Air Forces during the first phase of the war. It also permitted the Chi-Stelle to closely follow the activity of the Royal Air Force (RAF), even after the commencement of hostilities, when the use of efficient cipher systems was immediately adopted.
  When war began, each of the Referats (departments) dealing with foreign countries had compiled an opulent background of material on the foreign air force with which it was concerned. The quantity of this material constantly increased, and was studied carefully. Each Referat maintained close contact with its corresponding sub-section in the office of Ic (Operations), while these in turn, lent the Chi-Stelle the benefit of their records and experience. The Referat exercised influence over the operations of the Intercept stations. On the other hand, preserving elasticity and processes in the conduct of operations was rendered more difficult by the profusion of Chi-Stelle and Intercept units activated at the start of World War II.
caption: Growth chart of the Luftwaffe Signals Organisation from 1937 to 1945 on a per sector basis
exif: {}