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French spy radio sets
- under construction
During World War II (WWII),
France was a divided country [3]. After the German
invasion and the subsequenty Battle of France in May/June 1940, most of the
country came under German control, whilst the south-east part became a neutral
state known as Vichy France [4].
In the meantime, Free France — the French government-in-exile 1 — tried
to control the parts of France that were unoccupied or that had been liberated.
In 1940, the Free France COS established the
BCRA 2
intelligence service, as the successor to the pre-war
Deuxième Bureau.
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The BCRA became responsible for organising the various
resistance groups
in occupied France, carrying out military operations
(with the British SOE),
counterintelligence operations (with MI5) and setting up escape routes.
Together with the British SIS/MI6, they also controlled a French
network of intelligence gathering agents, which, contrary to the SOE,
operated independently and unobtrusively.
In 1943 the BCRA was merged with the clandestine branche of Vichy France
and went on as DGSS,
which in 1945 (after the end of the war) became the SDECE.
During WWII, the BCRA
used many different spy radio sets for communications
between London and agents in France, most of which were supplied by the
British SIS, the SOE or
and the Polish clandestine service operating from London (UK).
Some of these radio sets are listed below.
After the war (during the Cold War)
some radios were reused by the
(secret) Stay-Behind Organisation, until they were replaced by newer
radio sets that were made in Germany, Austria and France. 3
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Operating from London (UK).
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Initially known as SR (1940),
then as BCRAM (1941),
then as BCRA (1942).
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Very little is known about the development and production of spy radio
sets and related equipment in France during WWII and during the Cold War.
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French spy radio sets on this website
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Other spy radio sets used in France
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Known French WWII radio sets
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The following radio sets are known to have been used by France
during WWII:
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Known French Cold War radio sets
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Not the real designator, but a nickname given by Crypto Museum.
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1940-1941
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SR — Service de Renseignements
Military intelligence service of Free France — the French govermment-in-exile
in London during WWII
— established on 1 July 1940.
Renamed BCRAM
in April 1941.
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1941-1942
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BCRAM — Bureau Central de Renseignements et d'Action Militaire
Central Bureau of Military Intelligence and Operations.
Military intelligence service of Free France — the French govermment-in-exile
in London during WWII
— established on 1 July 1940 as
SR and renamed
to BCRAM in April 1941, and again in January 1942 to BCRA.
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1942-1943
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BCRA — Bureau Central de Renseignements et d'Action
Central Bureau of Intelligence and Operations. Active during
WWII from 1940
to 1943, as the successor to the pre-war Deuxième Bureau.
Established on 1 July 1940 as SR,
renamed BCRAM in April 1941,
and then BCRA in January 1942 —
the name by which it is best known (even after WWII).
Merged in 1943 with the clandestine service of the CIG into
DGSS, which later became the
DGER
and finally the post-war SDECE.
➤ Wikipedia
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1943-1944
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DGSS — Direction Générale des Services Spéciaux
General Directorate for Special Services.
French military intelligence service from 1943 to 1944, after a merger
of the CIG
and BCRA, controlled from the French government-in-exile in
London. In 1944 renamed DGER,
but neverthemess called BCRA by many people.
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1944-1945
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DGER — Direction Générale des études et recherches
General Directorate for Studies and Research.
French military intelligence service from 1944 to 1945, established
in 1943 as DGSS.
Renamed SDECE in 1946.
➤ Wikipedia
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1946
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SDECE — Service de Documentation Extérieure et de Contre-Espionnage
Foreign Documentation and Counter-Espionage Service. Established
in 1946 as the successor to the BCRA (1940),
DGSS (1943)
and DGER (1944).
➤ Wikipedia
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During WWII, intelligence gathering members of the French Resistance
were officially recognised as agents or officers of the Free France intelligence
service BCRA. There were three levels, that were identified with
the following codes:
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0 or 01 Listed agent who works occasionally for the Resistance P1 Intelligence agent or official who works for the Resistance in the usual way P2 Intelligence agent or officer who works permanently for the Resistance
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One of the first radios to be used by the French services during WWII,
was the British Mk.VII, commonly known as the Paraset. Developed by
the British SIS (MI6), the transmitter produces 4 Watts of RF power.
It is believed that the Germans were able to detect (and locate) the signal
from the receiver's local oscillator from several kilometres away.
➤ More information
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The British Type 3 Mk.II, better known as the B2, was a powerful 15W
radio station, developed by SOE captain John Brown and introduced in 1942.
It is arguably the most well-known British WWII spy radio set, not least
because of its wide deployment during the war and even during the Cold War.
It came in a suitcase (as shown here),
or a two watertight containers.
➤ More information
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Midget Communications Receiver MCR-1,
also known as Type 36/1,
was a miniature MW/SW receiver, issued by the British SOE in 1943.
It was intended for the reception of secret coded messages, broadcast by the
BBC radio, and for short-wave (SW) resistance communication.
It came with a same-size mains power supply unit (PSU) and was usually
delivered in a bisuit tin, hence the nickname biscuit tin receiver.
It was later also used as part of the Jedburg sets.
➤ More information
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Type 31/1, nicknamed Sweetheart, was a sub-miniature body-wearable
receiver, developed for the SOE in 1943 by the Norwegian engineer
Willy Simonsen whilst working for the ISRB.
Althjough initially intended for the Norwegian resistance, it was also used
by the SOE
for operations in other countries, such as France, as an alternative
to the British MCR-1.
➤ More information
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RBZ is a fully self-contained short-wave receiver, developed in 1943
in the USA. It consists of two parts – the receiver and a battery pack – and
was suitable for the reception of instructions hidden in regular BBC broadcasts
during WWII.
It was used by the French Resistance, by British SAS troups during
Operation Houndsworth in Morvan (France) in June 1944,
and during the D-Day landings on the
coast of Normandy.
➤ More information
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The AP-5 was a short to mid-range spy radio transceiver, built by Polish
engineers in Stanmore (UK) during WWII. It was introduced in 1944 and was
not only used by Polish agents, but also by the British SOE,
the French BCRA and by several other countries.
Unlike earlier Polish sets, slike the BP-3, the AP-5 has a built-in mains
power supply unit (PSU).
➤ More information
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S-Phone was a two-way full-duplex short range UHF radio set, instroduced
by the SOE in 1942. It was used by resistance groups and SOE agents
behind enemy lines, and for communication with friendly aircraft
during landings and droppings.
➤ More information
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The BE-20/2 was developed immediately after WWII – in 1948 – by the
Austrian manufacturer
Dr. Hermann Berger.
It was built for the
French Army – who controlled part of Austria at the time – and was used
for communication with the
Austrian stay-behind organisation ÖWSGV.
The set was also deployed in French Indochina. In total 100 sets were
built, but only 90 were eventually taken.
The remaining 10 were left with the Austrian Army.
➤ More information
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The ESK-52 was developed by the German manufacturer
Telefunken around 1952,
was was made especially for the French clandestine services. Like its German
counterpart — the Type 41 — it is based on the wartime
British B2.
For security reasons, the transceiver is described in the accompanying
documentation as Amateur Radio Set. A leter version – suitable for
speech – is known as ESK-632.
➤ More information
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EE-2 (real name unknown) was a French plug-in transmitter that
obtained its power from the socket of the EL84 valve in the AF stage
of a regular domestic broadcast receiver.
The device is very small and was usually supplied – together with
a morse burst encoder – to agents in East Germany (DDR) who were
spying for the French intellice service.
➤ More information
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The TR-TG-2A was a modular spy radio set, built around 1965 by Lagier & Cie
in Marseille (France), for the French Special Forces (13 RDP) and for the
French shay-behind organisation.
For special forces, the set was supplied in a canvas backpack, whilst the
stay-behind version came in a briefcase or travel suitcase.
➤ More information
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In 1980, it was decided to put an end to the wide variety of (incompatible)
spy radio sets used by the various stay-behind organisations in Europe.
Under supervision of NATO,
AEG-Telefunken
in Germany was
commissioned to develop a pan-European automatic radio set,
under the codename HARPOON. From 1989 to 1993, France had between 100
and 200 of these radio sets, most of which have menwhile been destroyed.
➤ More information
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© Crypto Museum. Created: Friday 19 July 2019. Last changed: Wednesday, 07 August 2024 - 19:20 CET.
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