REPORT ON FBQ CO. INC. AND OSS RADIO ACTIVITY

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: FOIA Collection
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0005374670
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: June 23, 2015
• Document Release Date: June 26, 2009
• Case Number: F-2009-00165
• Publication Date: July 4, 1942

Lt Colonel 0 Preston Goodfellow
for Colonel Donovan attach ed)
1. Pursuant to letter to Chief, Intelligence Group, MIS
of March 29, 1942 and your letter of march 18, 194.2, I was
ordered to set up certain installations for the COI, now the 0 SS.
This report of progress on the above is respectfully submitted
for your information.
2. Practically all the $150,000 FHA, Co Inc equipment has
been ordered and has been delivered or will be delivered within
the next sixty days. The renovation of the Bellmore building has
been completed and all rhomMcs and antennae Areoted. The North
Hollywood building and rhombics, etc. will be completed within
forty days. In the meantime some of the equipment and old rhombies
etc. are in operation in the temporary former NEC quarters. Ex-
cellent transmission facilities which can be keyed to Hollywood
and Bellmore have been spotted and recommendation made on the
immediate rental of same. The total initial and installation
costs and one year's operation costs shall. not exceed the budget
estimate submitted by me on April 2, 19112, of slightly over a
million dollars.
3. The following sections of FBc4 0o Inc have been initiated
and organized although some of them shall not be brought up to
full strength until the necessary equipment is ready.
A. Eng
1, ineerii Department
aon ori Section
2. Maintenance Section
3. Planning and Construction Section
44 Recording section
5. Intelligence and iteeord Section
B. Code and Cipher Section
U. Translation and Edit ri 1 Section
D, Security an Police ueotion
F., Business Management Section
Other sections to complete my plan will be organized
as facilities become ready. Organization modeled on l93'-39
German Gestapo Radio Bureau supposedly still in use, (informati.on
obtained in Europe at that time).
APPROVED FOR RELEASED
DATE: 09-Jun-2009
 4. Notw;thstanding the fights, obstacles and resistances
involved, after -,bout sixty drys the ''BQ Co Inc is operating and
in about sixty days more it will br- ready for capacity operatio::.
I feel I don't have to te'' you the :ierculean nature of the job
and the fact that I have spotted further equipment and personnel
for these key Ins t,~llaticons am looker,, ahead to the relay points,
control, points for couanunication with our agents and operations
in enemy country and even given thought to the equipment of the
latter though only specifically oharged with F'Bi; Co Inc.
5. Due to my past experience, and. interest in the Army in
Intelligence and in radio interception, comwunicrrtiou, recording
and security systeuue and that I shall have organized the basic
installations, 1 understand the OSF might desire my services to
head up its entire radio activity from agent to FB4 Inclusive.
Request, however, that I maintain only direction of t'r"B:, Co Inc)
the Bellmore and ; il.lywooci receivi:rr;' `and transmission installa-
tions in view of zte fact th.smt _r p'ua; regularly assigned to the
MIS and not to to ;)'M.
6. As of today FB-t Co Inc car. ?ouli in zignals frota the
entire world. receive Gestapo agez,ts' signals from Turkey
and South Lmeric t, German field sets in Xerch, Russia, trane-
mitters in Afganistan and Cape Town an:i tactical sii;nsle frors
Japanese forces in the field in the ':rant Tndi.et, Burma and Chins.
7. If my recor;;ir:endationr, are carried out with cnfficient
speed, which are now awaiting :.:a,1or Lowman's verification, we shall
be able to send. to the entire world also, even at prescribed hours
under certain conditions to flea. sets in ec.er..y countries, renting
facilities and keying circuits.
Next week we shall conduct an experiment with Brazzaville,
Africa, to prove among other things that even a 35 watt portable set
can communicate direct with Bellmore from Central Africa. Also that
the equipment we have ready for the Liberian radio expedition is
correct and direct communication with this project can be established
and maintained by FBQ,.
9, he have successfully lined up material, personnel and
Intelligence information (submarine) for the Liberian expedition
proposed and desired by S.I. together with both a security plan and
a security system for control, eormunication and relaying of
intercepts.
10. Four 1 K+ transmitters and twelve receivers with all
other equipment to establish almost iww,ediately four relay points
or one or two relay and control points combined have been spotted
by us. This equipment may possibly be transported by plane for
an almost Immediate installation in say England or Irelsn- with
which agents could begin their noeeesary practice runs.
 11. FB has h gash to pick up ia? Cat r.r:t intelligence frost
the air. attaeaed ire one aan:;le report :,n9 several ouppl,me.ts
issued wails yo., -re away, to (thief, IL, ..I`.". Infora,aticn obtained
by F.F?y rind brought to various gert,r.a ,his sections have consist r; desired _oil copied on whole,
(2) :ove not been forthcoming front any other source
The Latin American Branch and Counterintelligence were
particularly inte.ested in material *e turned over t-r the,u. The
reports and. material were "secret" and unsigned as to "source" so
no Issues would bFp raised..
12. Request instructions as to the routing of future and
further intelligence which will be obtained by our general monitoring
in studying the radio spectrum to assure USE world communication and
to study radio intelligence and general practice ir: agent coai.unica-
tion. No further reports have been issued, pending your orders.
13. Within sixty days teletype circuits will be necessary to
handle all the information and for quick receipt of direct messages
from the Liberian project or other S" activities, especially where
special transsdtter facilities, can be rented or supr;lied.
V. Cpec!%l security systems are being developed by the FBO
Code and Cipher `section for our routine traffic and other s,~eoial
systems for use by our agents that will require no papers or other
evidence to identify and convict then': as s.A es if searched.
15. Unofficially and purely as a. secondary operation, equipment
has been secured and plans made so as to be able to attempt to receive,
record and break certain scrambled si;gnale or cryptopnonic channels
believed to be not known to any other government agency.
16. A fairly complete and ever increasing list of available
second-hand equipment available without '_:riorities is being prepared
for every Contingency and for every OSP need.
17. A fairly complete and ever increasing list of trained
technical personnel, some foreign born American citizens, both in
and out of the Army is being prepared for every contingency and for
every OSS need. Some of these engineers have been interviewed by
the Chief Engineer on a flying trip to many large cities.
14. The FB4 Co Inc library shall soon have as a loan the
most complete cryptographic library in America, it has already a
practical set of language dictionaries, commercial code books, etc.
It also has in process of classification all domestic* and foreign
patents on all typesof cry;;tophonie and cryptographic radio equip-
ment and various types of radio equipment which might be valuable
to our operation or those of our agents or our expeditions such as
special direction finders for Liberia etc.
 19. rJnofficiHlly end ure:iy x,e = rec,nndary oper.attor, we
hive not only secure>d o:11 0('T l;, ero+,,,l ,. n', r:roceGure codes Nit,
have the bre.rtk down aim, corn lete key to s::c Gerre.an Gegta.rc
`eouartty `i?steni mesh iit to a short time r=.po, and we expect to be
able to reed one of the Jnpnnene. fiin1nn^tic codes snortly. These
operations, R+.re importnxnt in the study necessary to evolve the
best security methods and systems for or:reelves x,nd our agents as
well as poe>tbiy secu.ring, vital infor?":ttion *nict; rniRht not be
forthcoming from other agencies.
20. Unofficially we have obtained active frecueney informa-
tion from fl:,? wh;tch is the b