FOIA: Gulf of Tonkin - Teletype Message - No Name - 02/08/1964

relea00106.pdf
Teletype Message - No Name
Appears to be Teletype messages. Initial message and then confirmation follows.
Document date: 1964-08-02
Department: NSA Headquarters, Ft. Meade, MD (DIRNSDA)
Author: SIGINT; Phu Bai
Document type: Teletype
pages: 2

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Archivist's Notes: This document appears to be a Teletype message sent and then the second page is a confirmation of that message. The initial message was totally blanked out and is not possible to see who initiated the message and to where it was sent. The message body was also removed. The follow up message informs us of the DRV plans to increase speed and to follow the USS fleet/ships and to launch torpedoes. There were 5 DRV vessels involved - T142, T146, T166 and T135.

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[edit on 4/2/2008 by JacKatMtn]

released in 2005 byt the NSA, this is a rather confusing document to read with numbers and letters all over the place and not all of them line up.


page 1

event probably occurred on August 24/2002 at 0745

most info blanked out but lots of codes to see.
was sent from USM 626J to GOLF ELEVEN/ALFA
PLUS COMUSTDC
COMNAFORJAPAN
(some other blanked out entity)
ZEM

marked SECRETKINDO

page 2

refers to a follow up reaction of something possibly an attack. mentions the 'desoto mission' and orders them to go high speed to the enemy (with possibly another vessel as they want them parallel) and to launch torpedoes. they have been tracking and following 'the enemy' and again mention the desoto mission.

I agree. This message is quite garbled, perhaps hurriedly composed and sent. It does appear to be orders for some type of torpedo attack as a Democratic Republic of Vietnam reaction to the "desoto mission", which could possibly be the Maddox and Turner Joy referenced in this Telecon.

[edit on 1-4-2008 by Icarus Rising]

This is a 1964 battle in the gulf of tonkin link below:

www.historynet.com...

The Desoto mission was a mission to patrol the vietnemese coatline just inside international waters. The Desoto Mission was attacked by PT boats from vietnam.

A little more info on the Desoto Patrols:

The "Desoto Patrols" were involved in intelligence gathering missions outside the internationally recognized territorial waters and along the coasts of the Soviet Union, China, North Korea, and North Vietnam.

NSA historian Robert Hanyok later explained, these missions had twin objectives:




In a Desoto patrol, an unescorted destroyer, sails as far as possible into enemy waters, flaunting their concept of territory while collecting intelligence for eventual hostile use. They were also used to gauge DRV coastal defenses.