Government Code and Cypher School: Signals Intelligence Passed to the Prime Minister, Messages and Correspondence

A file of signals intelligence reports, messages, and correspondence issued by the Government Code and Cypher School and sent by the head ('C') of the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) to the Prime Minister, Winston Churchill. This file contains a message from C to the Prime Minister (PM); and the following reports on Italy: reports for May 16, including that the 15th Panzer Grenadier Division is to give up one battalion to the 94th Infantry Division; that the 90th Panzer Grenadier Division is to defend against superior Allied forces attacking near and north of Piumorola; of the 1st Parachute Division reporting strong Allied tank and infantry attacks; the 2nd Air Fleet's situation report for May 16, giving a summary of Allied air operations and German reconnaissances and patrols; short reports of Allied raids on Northern Italy, on May 13, noting a number of railway installations being damaged in the Po valley and near Venice; a situation report from the Commander in Chief (CinC) South-West (Army Group C) for May 15, stating that the withdrawal of the 71st Infantry Division is proceeding according to plan; that a convoy of landing craft moving south off Vicenza was fired on without success; of Allied ground attacks supported by strong formations of medium and light bombers; that railway installations at Treviso, Ferrara, Padua and Mestre have been heavily damaged; and incomplete details of German defence positions in the Southern Alps, as of May 14, probably from the CinC for the South-West; on Western Europe: the 3rd Air Fleet reports the 9th Air Corps' appreciation of a night operation against Bristol on May 14-15, with the navigational aids CELIBATE, BENITO, TRUHE and KNICKBEANE having problems because of jamming, that the bombing was done by straight navigation, that no effects on the town were observed, that diversionary raids were made on the South Coast, that 11 out of 13 Kettenhund aircraft were lost, and making a reference to switching on apparatus simultaneously with RUFFLE; the 9th Air Corps' appreciation of night air raids against Portsmouth on May 15-16, describing unfavourable weather conditions, that pathfinder Operation 4 (BENITO) was not effective, that TRUHE (BLOWPIPE) was not useable because the Phase-shift operation (CELIBATE) was jammed by the Allies, and making an assumption that 50% of the bombs fell in the target area; of German speculation on possibly a new explosive being used by the Allies in bombs dropped in the Pas de Calais area, on May 13; and the PM's query and General Ismay's response, on May 16; on Eastern Europe: of instructions for aircraft landing at airfields in the Zilistea area, in regard to the lack of aviation fuel, on May 9; Naval Headlines, covering destroyer activities in Norwegian waters; that ships were destroyed in an air raid on Ancona, on May 15; that an operation against Krk island by the police is planned, and that it will need a strong sea patrol; that 1600 Jews are to be transported from Corfu to Piraeus; that there are three weeks' stocks of fuel for the Danube Flotilla, with obtaining supplies from Turnu Severin now impossible; a Japanese assessment of an operation COCKPIT attack by U.S. forces on Sabang, on April 19; and that the Japanese submarine depot ship Urakami Maru, possibly intended as the flag ship of the 6th Submarine Fleet, was destroyed in a U.S. carrier strike on Palao, on March 30; and from the Siamese minister in Berlin, detailing recent day-time air raids on Berlin, and the prospects for an Allied invasion of Europe, on May 10.