Allied Translator and Interpreter Section The Allied Translator and Interpreter Section ( ATIS ) , also known as the Allied Translator and Interpreter Service or Allied Translator and Intelligence Service , was a joint Australian / American World War II intelligence agency which served as a centralized allied intelligence unit for the translation of intercepted Japanese communications , interrogations and negotiations in the Pacific Theater of Operations between September 1942 – December 1945 . During the last few months of operation ATIS primarily focused on investigation of Japanese war crimes . The section was officially disbanded on April 30 , 1946 . Formation . Allied military translation and intelligence efforts in the pacific primarily operated via attachés and the various offices within the G - 2 Intelligence Section until February 1942 , when Lt . Colonel Sidney Mashbir was re - enlisted to head a new " Translator and Interpreter Unit " as a part of General Douglas MacArthur ' s headquarters in the South - West Pacific Area under Major General Charles A . Willoughby commander of the US G - 2 Intelligence Section . However , by August 1942 , it became apparent to General Douglas MacArthur that there was need for a greater unified allied intelligence unit , and he instructed that a new section be formed as a " " centralized intelligence organization composed primarily of language personnel . . . designed to systematize the exploitation of captured documents and the interrogation of prisoners of war " " , and oversee the collation and distribution of this information to Allied military forces in the South - West Pacific Area . On September 19 , 1942 the Allied Translator and Interpreter Section was formed from the union of US personnel from the " Translator and Interpreter Unit , G - 2 , GHQ , SWPA " , which consisted of nine men , with Australia ' s " Combined Services Detailed Interrogation Centre " ( CSDIC ) , which consisted of 17 personnel . The Allied Translator and Interpreter Section was an inter - allied , inter - service organisation which began operation at the Advanced Land Headquarters in Indooroopilly , Brisbane , Australia . The headquarters for ATIS then moved its base each time the General Headquarters ( GHQ SWPA ) moved over the course of the war , transferring from Melbourne , Australia , to Hollandia , Dutch New Guinea , then to Leyte Island and Manila in the Philippines , and finally to Tokyo in October 1945 to assist with the occupation campaign . The Allied Translator and Interpreter Service originally consisted of 25 officers and 10 enlisted men , and grew rapidly along with the scope of its operations . By September 1944 , 767 personnel were assigned to ATIS and at its height of operations in 1945 almost 4000 men and women were employed , most of which were second generation Japanese Americans , known as Nisei . From its beginnings ATIS suffered from a lack of qualified translators and language personnel . In September 1942 , Life magazine asserted that optimistic estimates were that fewer than 100 non - Japanese Americans could function as linguists , and quoted Archibald MacLeish of the US Office of War Information as stating that there were only ' three Americans with full command of the language ' at the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor . Operations . The Allied Translator and Interpreter Section was coordinated by Colonel Sidney F . Mashbir as a section of the Military Intelligence Service ( MIS ) . The Allied Translator and Interpreter Section adhered to three main operating principles : The core function of the Allied Translator and Interpreter Section , was to unify and centralize allied intelligence in the South West Pacific Area ( SWPA ) however the scope of operations soon extended to other pacific areas in cooperation with the Joint Intelligence Center - Pacific Ocean Area ( JICPOA ) and the South East Asia Translator & Interrogation Center ( SEATIC ) which also operated in the Pacific Theater . Additionally , the types of operations extended to providing detailed analysis of Japanese military objectives and capabilities , as well as political and psychological interpretations of Japanese military and civilian activities . Later ATIS also played a critical role in Propaganda creation and Psychological warfare . The Japanese presumed that the Allies would be unable to read the contents of such papers and had taken few security precautions . This fact was vital in the success of decoding intercepted messages , and consequently the effectiveness of ATIS . During the operation of the ATIS , linguists interrogated over 14 , 000 prisoners ; scanned , summarised or translated two million documents ; and distributed over 20 million pages of intelligence reports on the Japanese . In its efforts to acquire documents and examine prisoners within moments of their capture , ATIS linguists participated in every Allied assault from Papua to the Philippine Islands , and at least 17 linguists died as a consequence . Achievements . Several notable events occurred during the operation of the Allied Translator and Interpreter Section , including the translation and analysis of the captured Z - Plan in 1944 , which outlined Japan ' s defensive plans against Allied attacks on its Pacific territory , such as the Mariana Islands in the north west Pacific . The United States wanted to capture these islands for use as a bombing base to raid the Japanese mainland . The Z - Plan also contained a strategy for engaging the Allied forces in a decisive battle .