THE SOVIET RAPID-ACTION COMMUNICATIONS DEVICE BIRYUZA

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80T00246A028300330001-1
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: May 27, 2010
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: April 25, 1960
• Content Type: REPORT

Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/05/27: CIA-RDP80T00246A028300330001-1
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
This material contains Information affecting the National Defines Of, thi United States within the meaning of the =spionage laws. Title
18. U.S.C. Secs. 793 and 794, the transmission or revelation of which in any manner to an unauthorised person Is prohibited by law.
COUNTRY USSR
SUBJECT The Soviet Rapid-Action Communications
Device Biryuza
DATE OF
INFO.
PLACE &
DATE ACQ
REPORT
DATE DISTR.
NO. PAGES
REFERENCES
1. The Biryuza-1 rapid-action communications apparatus was installed in late
1953 or early 1954 on the destroyer SOVERS
it was replaced in May 195
with Biryuza-3. The installation of the Biryuza-3 took place by unit
(soyedineniye, chast etc so that vessels of a unit could communicate
with one another. he different sera s Bir za
devices are not able to communicate with one another
the transmission time of Biryuza-l was o er perhaps b one to two
seconds, than that of Biryuza-3. Biryuza-1
and Biryuza-3 had different external a earances Bir za- also has a
greater number of group combinations. a new 25X1
as Biryuza- .
it was a further development of Biryuza, such
2. Practically every city in the Baltic had Biryuza, and
communicated with all of them at one time or another.
having received messages by Biryuza from shore,
of other brigades used Biryuza in communicating
25 April 1960
2
RD
ships
Use of Biryuza
is officially decided by the skipper, or senior officer present, but
actually the decision is left to the communications officer. The location
of a ship, i.e., its vulnerability to intercept, is the controlling factor
in use of Biryuza. Since a ship exists for war, it must always be operated as
though engaged in a war. Biryuza is the preferred method of ship-to-ship
communications, but coded communications by Morse are considered quite secure
in the Baltic and Akatsiya is.used when a brigade is under way. For shortwave
Morse Lira-D, Neptun, and occasionally Uran are used. Biryuza is used primarily
to disguise the location of a ship.
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3. In the Baltic distance did not affect use of Biryuza. However, in principle
it becomes very hard to use at the maximum power of the transmitter to
which it is connected?over long distances. In practice Biryuza
at distances of 80 to 100 miles and 100 to 150 miles shore-to-ship is the
longest range over which Biryuza was known to have been used.
0 it can be used to communicate between the Baltic and the Arctic, and
believes it never has been. Perhaps Biryuza could be used over 400 to
500 miles Biryuza may be used at any time; its
use is not sc e , an is no necessary to await any sort of signal
before initiating a transmission. Biryuza watch is 24 hours. At times
Biryuza was actually operated over a 24-hour period; during a day 20, 30,
50, or only 5 messages may have been sent, depending upon the operational
circumstances.
4. The Biryuza system was not intended for transmission of long reports or
coded messages, although it was occasionally used for such purposes; it
was intended for the operation of a military unit (soyedineniye), with
messages consisting, if possible, of one signal. The prime basis for the
security of Biryuza transmissions is that the signal.,or impulse, is so
short, and the impulses can be sent at varying intervals, as determined
by the operator. The exact length of a signal is not known
27 microseconds is a typical time period for a signal. Each
signal consists of ten information pars, so that a message is always ten
parts long even if only two parts contain information.
the Soviet and Western metric systems vary, so that a Soviet second
consists of ten milliseconds and a millisecond contains ten microseconds.
The term microseconds definitely was used whenever Biryuza transmissions
were mentioned. Whether used with Lira-D or Neptun the speed of trans-
5.
mission with Biryuza is the same. The quality of receivers and transmitters
used with Biryuza must be very high.
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An operator knows that a Biryuza message is for his ship because the callsign
lights up on the tableau, and a small bell sounds with each incoming trans-
mission. The message is received at the Biryuza on the bridge at the same
time as in the radio room. The older Biryuza signal could be heard when
it was received, but the Biryuza-3 signal cannot be heard. The lights for
a Biryuza message light up simultaneously. Only'-one light goes on:.in each
vertical column, but several lights may be on at the same time in the horizontal
columns. The physical ability and intelligence of the operators affect the
speed of transmissions by Biryuza between vessels. The sender has a considerably
harder job in making up signals than the receiving operator basin recording
them and the transmission time depends only on the operator's skill in setting
up the equipment. The transmitter goes on when Biryuza is activated. The
term "otvetchik" (responder) was never used in reference to Biryuza; Biryuza
cannot give an answer, as only the operator can send the answer, which he
must first compose.
6. Biryuza has only one channel, and is actually dead until the receiver is open.
Amur was a cover name used for the Biryuza channel at one time; if Biryuza was
assigned channel 11 for example, it was referred to in communications as Amur-11.
These names were changed at least four times a year, and for exercises; another
name used to refer f'a'the Biryuza channel during one period was Lastochka, plus
the channel number. Biryuza was never called anything but Biryuza. Frequencies
are changed once daily, with one frequency for daytime and one for night
operations. These frequencies are stipulated in a schedule which is issued
monthly by Fleet Headquarters.
-rrln crrnr-r
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/05/27: CIA-RDP80T00246A028300330001-1