Pictures from Google Image Search

Naval Intelligence Division

The Oxford Companion to World War II | 2001 | | © The Oxford Companion to World War II 2001, originally published by Oxford University Press 2001. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

Naval Intelligence Division (NID), the senior naval staff division of the British Admiralty which, unlike its army and air force counterparts, was an operational as well as an administrative centre. The NID had been considerably run down between the two world wars and had also lost its team of cryptographers (Room 40), transferred to the Secret Service as the government Code and Cypher School under the control of the foreign office (see Bletchley Park). It was organized into ‘geographical’ sections, each gathering naval information on one country or group of countries, invaluable for the forward planning of major operations in war.

The Abyssinian crisis of 1935 sounded the first alarm bells. The Deputy Chief of Naval Staff sent a memorandum to the Director of Naval Intelligence (DNI) on the need to establish an intelligence centre so that operational intelligence could be transmitted to the fleets and squadrons at sea with the minimum of delay. In June 1937 Paymaster Lt-Commander Norman Denning was selected to organize the creation of an operational intelligence centre (OIC) and to recruit a team to operate it. In January 1939 Rear-Admiral John Godfrey was appointed DNI and, less restricted than his predecessor by treasury limits on expenditure, was able to devote his considerable drive and energy to the expansion of NID as a whole and of OIC in particular in readiness for the war which most recognized was now inevitable. Shortly before war was declared OIC was mobilized and put on a war footing.

Information came to OIC from a variety of sources. A direct telephone and teleprinter link with the network of directional wireless stations provided bearings of all Axis signals which, when plotted in OIC, gave the position of the sender. A similar link with Bletchley Park brought decrypts of signals when cipher breaks were made, and all these within minutes. Advance copies of sighting reports from ships and aircraft arrived direct from the War Registry, the Admiralty department which distributed all signals; and reports from naval attachés in neutral countries (see Bismarck, for example), and from spies in occupied countries reached OIC direct from the foreign office (seeMI6). Information on Axis merchant shipping came from Lloyds and the Baltic Exchange and there were direct telephone lines to all the main home bases and to the individual commands of the RAF. This internal communications network was amplified by authority for OIC to communicate directly with naval forces at sea so that the fruits of operational intelligence could be received by them as soon as it had been assessed in OIC.

In May 1941 Bletchley Park's cryptographers got the break they needed to penetrate the German U-boat cipher (see ULTRA, 1). The capture in the Atlantic of a weather-reporting trawler and a U-boat provided an undamaged ENIGMA machine and invaluable ancillary information which led to the breaking of the heavy ship cipher and the Mediterranean ciphers. The text of decrypted signals reached OIC within minutes and, after assessment and precautions to safeguard the source, was passed to the squadron or fleet concerned. With all its sources of information, coupled with the authority to communicate direct, NID was able, for the first time since its formation in 1886, to operate as a modern and efficient intelligence service.

One of Godfrey's most valuable innovations was to set up, in the geography schools at Oxford, the Inter-Service Topographical Department (ISTD), a group of experts from all three services who collected and collated all sorts of information about ports, coastlines, communications and other points of interest to projected invading forces. Without ISTD's groundwork neither the landings which preceded the North African and Sicilian campaigns, nor the Normandy landings in June 1944 (see OVERLORD), could have succeeded.

Another important section of NID was 17M which handled the Admiralty's non-operational ULTRA intelligence and provided the naval information being fed to the Germans via controlled double agents (see XX-committee). It was formed in December 1940 and headed by an RNVR officer, Lt-Commander Ewen Montagu, who planned one of the more ingenious deception operations of the war (see MINCEMEAT).

Peter Kemp

Bibliography

Beesly, P. , Very Special Intelligence (London, 1977).
Bennett, R. F. , Behind the Battle (2nd edn., London, 1999).
McLachlan, D. H. , Room 39 (London, 1968).
Montagu, E. , Beyond Top Secret U (London, 1977).

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

  • MLA
  • Chicago
  • APA

I. C. B. DEAR and M. R. D. FOOT. "Naval Intelligence Division." The Oxford Companion to World War II. Oxford University Press. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Nov. 2009 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

I. C. B. DEAR and M. R. D. FOOT. "Naval Intelligence Division." The Oxford Companion to World War II. Oxford University Press. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. (November 11, 2009). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O129-NavalIntelligenceDivision.html

I. C. B. DEAR and M. R. D. FOOT. "Naval Intelligence Division." The Oxford Companion to World War II. Oxford University Press. 2001. Retrieved November 11, 2009 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O129-NavalIntelligenceDivision.html

Learn more about citation styles

Related newspaper, magazine, and trade journal articles from HighBeam Research

(Including press releases, facts, information, and biographies)

Salsa: Not just a sauce
Newspaper article from: Jerusalem Post; 11/15/2002; ; 700+ words ; 00-00-0000 Headline: Salsa: Not just a sauce Byline: Sarah Levin...10 Friday, November 15, 2002 -- Salsa isn't just a sauce. It's an intoxicating...Ashkenazi, hundreds of young, energetic Salsa enthusiasts pack the dance floor at the...
SALSA'S IN
Transcript from: NPR Morning Edition; 9/2/1998; ; 700+ words ; ...who introduces a professional Latin ballroom dancer to salsa dancing. Salsa is growing in popularity around the world, reaching...NPR's Mandalit del Barco reports from the local salsa dance scene in Los Angeles. MANDALIT DEL BARCO, NPR...
Salsa Systems Introduces No-Cost Software for Rapidly Developing Mobile Applications.
Business Wire; 8/27/2001; 700+ words ; ...BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 27, 2001 Salsa "Mild" Freeware Immediately Available...Prototype and Build Wireless Applications Salsa Systems, Inc., the premier provider...applications, today announced the availability of Salsa Mild(TM) - a highly versatile but condensed...
Salsa Systems Introduces Breakthrough Solutions for Rapidly Enabling Mobile Applications.
Business Wire; 6/6/2001; 700+ words ; ...BUSINESS WIRE)--June 6, 2001 Salsa Studio Developer and Professional Editions...Applications for Mobile Devices in Record Time Salsa Systems, Inc., the premier provider...mobile applications, today introduced the Salsa Studio 2.0 product family - the first...
SALSA HOTTER THAN EVER
Newspaper article from: Post-Tribune (IN); 5/6/1998; 700+ words ; ...the manager/owner/chef of Mambo in Gary, displays serveral of the salsa mixes she creates, including the salmon dish with fruit salsa she's holding. Other salsa dishes on the table include: green bean salsa, spicy curry and garbanzo...
Salsa
Newspaper article from: Intelligencer Journal Lancaster, PA; 7/27/2005; ; 700+ words ; LINDA ESPENSHADE Salsa is ripe for creativity. The basic ingredients of...possible." The most important choice when making salsa is the pepper. Ben Kauffman of Lancaster, who hosts a salsa party for his friends every summer using the produce...
Salsa is the ultimate low-fat flavor boost
Newspaper article from: Tribune-Review/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review; 9/7/2008; ; 700+ words ; ...around the table if you pass a bowl of salsa. The highly flavored condiment is a chop...much flavor with little effort. A dab of salsa perks up a slab of ribs or steak as well...processor if you prefer smooth, pureed salsa rather than the chunky style. There are...
SALSA for the Desktop Now Includes Microsoft Access Support Database Support; Version 2.2 leverages the investment corporations have made in their data standards.
Business Wire; 9/30/1996; 700+ words ; ...announced it will be shipping an updated SALSA(tm) for the Desktop product that is...business users can now create custom SALSA applications that store their data in Microsoft...databases as an option to the standard SALSA software database included with each copy...
Salsa success: Cookoff showcases, awards area salsa cooks for their efforts
Newspaper article from: Charleston Daily Mail; 8/21/2002; ; 700+ words ; DAILY MAIL STAFF WEBSTER'S defines salsa as a hot sauce made from chilies and tomatoes...McKee's "Cooper and Savannah No. 16 Salsa" may defy all the definitions and break...People's Choice" award at a recent salsa cookoff at Capitol Market. "Our salsa...
Salsa sizzle.(Instruction)
Magazine article from: American Fitness; 5/1/2003; ; 700+ words ; ...to the aerobic-dance floor--let's salsa! Instructors you have asked for it and...resources. LATIN DANCE Cha Cha Cha Merengue Salsa ORIGIN Afro-Cuban Dominican Afro-Cuban...Step R (out/in), Step L (out/in) Salsa Basic Step R backward, Step L (in place...

Related entries from encyclopedias, dictionaries, and thesauruses

Salsa
Book article from: How Products Are Made Salsa Background Salsa is the Spanish word for sauce, and in Mexico it refers to sauces that...sauces exist, including piquant fruit salsas. In the United States, salsa resembles a spicy tomato sauce from Mexico called salsa cruda, or raw...
salsa
Book article from: The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition salsa , American popular music developed largely...Puerto Rico, Venezuela, and Colombia. Salsa is chiefly performed, and often simultaneously...brass players, and guitarists. Prominent salsa musicians include bandleaders Tito Puente...
salsa Española
Book article from: A Dictionary of Food and Nutrition salsa Española Spanish sauce; basically a thick brown roux sauce, diluted with stock made from meat or bones, onion, carrot, garlic, and herbs.
salsa romesco
Book article from: A Dictionary of Food and Nutrition salsa romesco See romesco sauce .
salsa amarilla
Book article from: A Dictionary of Food and Nutrition salsa amarilla Spanish; (literally ‘yellow sauce’) made from hard‐boiled eggs blended with madeira wine, oil, and mustard.

Find thousands of answers for hundreds of subjects at Smart QandA .

All answers verified by trusted sources at Encyclopedia.com

Try Smart QandA now!

For students and teachers!

Encyclopedia.com provides students and teachers facts, information, and biographies from verified, citable sources, including:

Encyclopedia.com provides students and teachers facts, information, and biographies from verified, citable sources, including: