Monitoring Station Designator
Monitoring Station Designators were used by the United States Army Signals Intelligence Service to designate a specific signal intelligence monitoring station in order to allow analysts to understand the source and type of SIGINT they were analyzing. These were used as shorthand rather than writing or typing out the PLA (Plain Language Address), which consisted of the formal unit name and location of the unit who performed the signals collection.[1][2]
Period of Use
These designators were used from the 1930s through the end of World War II. They were replaced after the end of the war with SIGADs (SIGINT Activity Designators), which are similar in format and application.
Two facilities, Vint Hill and Two Rock Ranch, were operated by the NSA until the 1970s.[3]
General Format
The general format of the Monitoring Station Designators was the alphabetic characters MS followed by one or two numeric characters. Typically the alphabetic characters and numeric character(s) were separated by a dash character.
Example Designators
The following table provides several examples of Monitoring Station Designators from the World War II era.[2] Sites noted with USA were run by the United States Army, while sites noted with USN were operated by United States Navy.[2]
| Site | MS Designator | Navy Designator |
|---|---|---|
| Vint Hill Farms, VA (USA) | MS-1 | |
| Two Rock Ranch, Petaluma, CA (USA) | MS-2 | |
| Miami, FL (USA) | MS-3 | |
| Asmara, Ethiopia (USA) | MS-4 | |
| Territory of Hawaii (USA) | MS-5 | |
| Amchitka, AK (USA) | MS-6 | |
| Wireless Experimental Center, New Delhi, India (USA element) | MS-8 | |
| Bellmore, NY (USA) | MS-9 | |
| Santa Rosa, CA (USA) | MS-10 | |
| Radio Corporation of America | MS-12 | |
| Fort Sam Houston, TX (USA) | MS-17 | |
| United Kingdom sources (includes Beaumanor) | MS-92 | |
| Commonwealth sources (Canada - Examination Unit, National Research Council) | MS-94 | E |
| Cable Censor (USN) | MS-59 | |
| Federal Communications Commission | MS-81 | |
| Cheltenham, MD (USN) | MS-56 | M |
| Bainbridge Island, WA (USN) | MS-54 | S |
| Jupiter, FL (USN) | MS-55 | J |
References
- ^ "Guide to Cryptologic Acronyms & Abbreviations, 1940-1980". October 2002. p. 27. Retrieved 6 Jul 2013.
- ^ a b c "Eavesdropping on Hell: Historical Guide to Western Communications Intelligence and the Holocaust, 1939-1945" (PDF). 2005. p. 135. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 October 2012. Retrieved 6 Jul 2013.
- ^ Budiansky, Stephen (2016). Code Warriors. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. p. 301. ISBN 9780385352666.
Content Disclaimer
Informasi ini disarikan dari Wikipedia dan disajikan kembali untuk tujuan edukasi. Konten tersedia di bawah lisensi CC BY-SA 3.0. Kami tidak bertanggung jawab atas ketidakakuratan data yang bersumber dari kontribusi publik tersebut.
- The information displayed on this website is sourced in part or in whole from Wikipedia and has been adapted for the purpose of restating it. We strive to provide accurate and relevant information, however:
- There is no guarantee of absolute accuracy. Wikipedia is an open, collaborative project that can be edited by anyone, so information is subject to change.
- It is not intended to constitute professional advice. The content displayed is for informational and educational purposes only. For important decisions (e.g., medical, legal, or financial), please consult a professional.
- Content copyright. Wikipedia is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License (CC BY-SA). This means that content may be reused with appropriate attribution and shared under a similar license.
- Responsible use. Any risk arising from the use of information from this website is entirely the responsibility of the user.