Station HYPO

The Manchurian Incident

September 18, 1931 was significant in the Peiping station’s history.  Now Cpl Lesko was alone on watch when he observed a tremendous increase in message volume on the Japanese diplomatic circuits – all high priority.  Lesko informed CRM Max C. Gunn (Chauncey’s relief) that, “Something’s happening out there.  They went crazy early this morning, before it was even daylight.”  What had happened was the “Manchurian Incident.”  Following an explosion of an alleged bomb on the tracks of the Japanese operated Southern Manchurian Railway at Liutiaokou near Mukden, elements of the Kwantoung Army seized the city.  Neither the Japanese Foreign Officer nor the Imperial General Staff had knowledge of the “incident” until after it had occurred.  Essentially, the Japanese Government was force to accept the accomplished fact and explain it as best it could to the rest of the world.  Although the Sino-Japanese conflict was localized at the time, it was a prelude to the holocaust of a decade later.

First Marine Intercept Operators

In 1931, to improve security, the intercept site was moved to another location near the U.S. Naval Attaché’s residence.  Although the site’s installed equipment undoubtedly changed with the passage of time, all positions were equipped with RIP-5 typewriters.  Initially, receivers included one Model RE LF receiver; one Model RF IF receiver, one Model RT and one Model RG HF receiver.  Due to reception limitations most intercept was accomplished on HF receivers while LF and IF receivers were used to search for new transmissions. 

The Navy “failed to effectively manage the operational capabilities” of the MQ-4C Triton unmanned aircraft program, declaring Initial Operation Capability (IOC) before undergoing an initial testing phase despite having several important deficiencies, according to a new report from the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General (DOD OIG).

Shanghai, China

Pre-World War II United States Naval Communication Intelligence (COMINT) operations were largely conducted by Navy personnel.  However, some 40 USMC officers and enlisted personnel whose contributions have gone relatively unheralded but were no less important were also involved.  Their activities contributed materially to the Navy’s ultimate success against Japanese diplomatic and naval encrypted communications systems, and served as a training ground for those who later founded tactical direct support to Marine forces participating in the amphibious campaigns of World War II.