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Cold War SBO
The Belgian stay-behind organisation during the Cold War
During the Cold War,
from 1945 until at least 1990, Belgium had a
Stay-Behind Organisation (SBO),
that consisted of a military branch — SDRA-VIII, also written as SDRA-8 —
and a civilian brance — STC/Mob.
They were responsible for operations and intelligence respectively [1].
The network was established immediately after World War II
(WWII) had ended, in 1945, with help from the american intelligence service
OSS (later: CIA) and the British SOE (later: SIS/MI6).
For its secret communications, the network used a variety of
Belgian, American, British and German
spy radio sets, in combination with
burst encoders — in most cases the American
CK-8 (GRA-71).
The network started by using 'left-overs' from WWII, such as the
American SSTR-1 and the British B2 suitcase radios,
and later migrated to modern equipment that was purpose built for
agent and stay-behind communication.
Some devices are fully self-contained single units that are suitable
for use in a paramilitary environment (e.g. paratroopers), whilst others are
multi-unit spy radio sets, that can be hidden in a home or as part of an
underground cache. The range is complemented by the pan-European
FS-5000 (Harpoon,
introduced just before the network was dissolved.
On 23 November 1990, following revelations about the Italian brance of the
European stay-behind network (Gladio), it was announced that the network would
be shut down,
This happened just before the Belgian Parliament was about to start a
parliamentary investigation into the activities of the network [1].
The official closure followed in 1991.
Nevertheless it is known that the network, or its successor, was still
operational in 1995.
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SDRA is the abbreviation of
Service de Documentation, Renseignement et de l'Action
(Documentation, Intelligence and Action Service).
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Belgian stay-behind radios on this website
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Below is a non-exhausitve list of radio sets of which it is known that were
used by the Belgian stay-behind organisations. The list also shows the country
of origin of each of the radios. For corrections and additions,
please contact us.
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The Belgian stay-behind network consisted of the following branches:
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- SDRA-VIII
SDRA-VIII (also written as SDRA-8) was one of the sections of the
SDRA — the Belgian military security service, which in turn is part of
the SGR — the General Military and Security Service. The members of SDRA-8
were military personnel, trained in Unorthodox Warfare (UW), combat, sabotage,
parachute jumping, maritime operations, etc.
It was subordinate to the SGR and fell therefore
under the responsibility of the Minister of Defense.
- STC/Mob
STC/Mob was the civilian branch of the Belgian stay-behind network. Their
mission was to collect intelligence whilst under enemy occupation, which
would then be passed on to the government (in exile). They were also
responsible for organising secure evuation routes for people with official
functions. The STC/Mob was subordinate to the Staatsveiligheid
(State Security)
and fell therefore under the responsibility of the Minister of Justice.
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© Crypto Museum. Created: Wednesday 17 January 2024. Last changed: Monday, 09 December 2024 - 14:48 CET.
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