YNC Herman E. Burt WWI Navy Cryptologist Decrypted German Messages!

Many historians believe the earliest efforts of navy cryptology was radio intelligence exploitation against the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) started in the early 1920s. However, recent documents discovered show navy cryptology was involved in exploits against Germans in WWI.

These documents and census information are provide in the post.

This remarkable discovery surfaced while Mr. Mark Neighbors was researching navy cryptologic history in the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) II Archives at College Park, MD. In his research, he discovered memorandums with the Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) letterhead dating back to 1918 that identifies the name and work of YNC Herman Earle Burt. These documents are one of the earliest known to exist regarding navy cryptology and clearly show navy cryptology was involved in cryptologic operations against Germany during WWI.