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Acode name,codename,call sign, orcryptonym is acode word or name used, sometimes clandestinely, to refer to another name, word, project, or person. Code names are often used for military purposes, or in espionage. They may also be used inindustrial counter-espionage to protect secret projects and the like from business rivals, or to give names to projects whose marketing name has not yet been determined. Another reason for the use of names and phrases in the military is that they transmit with a lower level of cumulative errors over awalkie-talkie or radio link than actual names.
TheAchaemenid Empire underDarius I employed a network of spies called the King’s Eye or the King’s Ear.[1][2] These agents operated under anonymity, and “King’s Eye” was not a specific person but rather a code name for the intelligence network that reported directly to the king.[2]
TheCarthaginian generalHannibal Barca reportedly used coded references for his agents and informants in Rome and among allied territories.[3] Some sources suggest that key figures in his intelligence operations were identified using nicknames instead of real names to avoid detection by Roman counterintelligence.[3]
Julius Caesar usedciphers to encode messages and likely employed code names for key operatives.[4] His famousCaesar cipher (simple letter-shiftingencryption) was used to disguise military commands.[4] He also referred toMarc Antony and other generals with shortened or altered names in correspondence to prevent interception from revealing strategic plans.[4]
During theJewish revolts against Rome, leaders and messengers used symbolic or misleading names in communications.[5][6] The Dead Sea Scrolls reference figures such as the “Teacher of Righteousness” and the “Wicked Priest,” which may have functioned as code names to obscure real identities.[5][6]
TheByzantine Empire’s intelligence agents, particularly underEmperor Justinian I, operated under codenames or titles rather than real identities.[7]Procopius suggests that spies within the Persian and Gothic courts were assigned allegorical names to protect them from discovery.[7]
DuringWorld War I, names common to theAllies referring to nations, cities, geographical features, military units, military operations, diplomatic meetings, places, and individual persons were agreed upon, adapting pre-war naming procedures in use by the governments concerned. In the British case names were administered and controlled by the Inter Services Security Board (ISSB) staffed by theWar Office.[8] This procedure was coordinated with the United States when itentered the war. Random lists of names were issued to users in alphabetical blocks of ten words and were selected as required. Words became available for re-use after six months and unused allocations could be reassigned at discretion and according to need. Judicious selection from the available allocation could result in clever meanings and result in anaptronym orbackronym, although policy was to select words that had no obviously deducible connection with what they were supposed to be concealing. Those for the majorconference meetings had a partial naming sequence referring to devices or instruments which had a number as part of their meaning, e.g., the third meeting was "TRIDENT".Joseph Stalin, whose last name means "man of steel", was given the name "GLYPTIC", meaning "an image carved out of stone".
Ewen Montagu, a British Naval intelligence officer, discloses inBeyond Top Secret Ultra that duringWorld War II,Nazi Germany habitually usedad hoc code names as nicknames which often openly revealed or strongly hinted at their content or function.
Some German code names:
Conversely,Operation Wacht am Rhein (Watch on theRhine) was deliberately named to suggest the opposite of its purpose – a defensive "watch" as opposed to a massiveblitzkrieg operation, just as wasOperation Weserübung (Weser-exercise), which signified the plans to invadeNorway andDenmark in April 1940.
Britain and the United States developed the security policy of assigning code names intended to give no such clues to the uninitiated. For example, the British counter measures against theV-2 was calledOperation Crossbow. Theatomic bomb project centered inNew Mexico was called theManhattan Project, derived from theManhattan Engineer District which managed the program. The code name for the AmericanA-12 /SR-71 spy plane project, producing the fastest, highest-flying aircraft in the world, wasOxcart. The American group that planned that country's firstICBM was called theTeapot Committee.
Although the word could stand for a menace to shipping (in this case, that of Japan), the American code name for the attack on the subtropical island ofOkinawa in World War II wasOperation Iceberg. The Soviet Union's project to base missiles in Cuba was namedOperation Anadyr after their closest bomber base to the US (just across the Bering Strait from Nome, Alaska). The names of colors are generally avoided in American practice to avoid confusion with meteorological reporting practices. Britain, in contrast, made deliberately non-meaningful use of them, through the system ofrainbow codes.
Although German and Italian aircraft were not given code names by their Allied opponents, in 1942, Captain Frank T. McCoy, an intelligence officer of theUSAAF, invented a system for the identification of Japanese military aircraft. Initially using short, "hillbilly" boys' names such as "Pete", "Jake", and "Rufe", the system was later extended to include girls' names and names of trees and birds, and became widely used by the Allies throughout thePacific theater of war. This type of naming scheme differs from the other use of code names in that it does not have to be kept secret, but is a means of identification where the official nomenclature is unknown or uncertain.
The policy of recognition reporting names was continued into theCold War for Soviet, otherWarsaw Pact, and Communist Chinese aircraft. Although this was started by the Air Standards Co-ordinating Committee (ASCC) formed by the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, it was extended throughoutNATO as theNATO reporting name for aircraft, rockets and missiles. These names were considered by the Soviets as being like a nickname given to one's unit by the opponents in a battle. The Soviets did not like theSukhoi Su-25 getting the code name "Frogfoot".[citation needed] However, some names were appropriate, such as "Condor" for theAntonov An-124, or, most famously, "Fulcrum" for theMikoyan MiG-29, which had a "pivotal" role in Soviet air-strategy.
Code names were adopted by the following process. Aerial or space reconnaissance would note a new aircraft at aWarsaw Pact airbase. The intelligence units would then assign it a code name consisting of the official abbreviation of the base, then a letter, for example, "Ram-A", signifying an aircraft sighted atRamenskoye Airport. Missiles were given designations like "TT-5", for the fifth rocket seen atTyura-Tam. When more information resulted in knowing a bit about what a missile was used for, it would be given a designation like "SS-6", for the sixth surface-to-surface missile design reported. Finally, when either an aircraft or a missile was able to be photographed with a hand-held camera, instead of a reconnaissance aircraft, it was given a name like "Flanker" or "Scud" – always an English word, as international pilots worldwide are required to learn English. The Soviet manufacturer or designation – which may be mistakenly inferred by NATO – has nothing to do with it.
Jet-powered aircraft received two-syllable names likeFoxbat, while propeller aircraft were designated with short names likeBull. Fighter names began with an "F", bombers with a "B", cargo aircraft with a "C". Training aircraft and reconnaissance aircraft were grouped under the word "miscellaneous", and received "M". The same convention applies to missiles, with air-launched ground attack missiles beginning with the letter "K" and surface-to-surface missiles (ranging fromintercontinental ballistic missiles toantitank rockets) with the letter "S", air-to-air missiles "A", and surface-to-air missiles "G".
Throughout the Second World War, the British allocation practice favored one-word code names (Jubilee,Frankton). That of the Americans favored longer compound words, although the nameOverlord was personally chosen byWinston Churchill himself. Many examples of both types can be cited, as can exceptions.
Winston Churchill was particular about the quality of code names. He insisted that code words, especially for dangerous operations, would be not overly grand nor petty nor common. One emotional goal he mentions is to never have to report to anyone that their son "was killed in an operation called 'Bunnyhug' or 'Ballyhoo'."[12]
Presently, British forces tend to use one-word names, presumably in keeping with their post-World War II policy of reserving single words for operations and two-word names for exercises. British operation code names are usually randomly generated by a computer and rarely reveal its components or any political implications unlike the American names (e.g., the2003 invasion of Iraq was called "Operation Telic" compared to Americans' "Operation Iraqi Freedom", obviously chosen for propaganda rather than secrecy). Americans prefer two-word names, whereas the Canadians and Australians use either. The French military currently prefer names drawn from nature (such as colors or the names of animals), for instanceOpération Daguet ("brocket deer") orOpération Baliste ("Triggerfish"). The CIA uses alphabetical prefixes to designate the part of the agency supporting an operation.
In many cases with the United States, the first word of the name has to do with the intent of the program. Programs with "have" as the first word, such asHave Blue for the stealth fighter development, are developmental programs, not meant to produce a production aircraft. Programs that start with Senior, such as Senior Trend for the F-117, are for aircraft in testing meant to enter production.[citation needed]
In the United States code names are commonly set entirely in upper case.[13] This is not done in other countries, though for the UK in British documents the code name is in upper case while operation is shortened to OP e.g., "Op. TELIC".
This presents an opportunity for a bit of public-relations (Operation Just Cause), or for controversy over the naming choice (Operation Infinite Justice, renamedOperation Enduring Freedom). Computers are now used to aid in the selection. And further, there is a distinction between thesecret names during former wars and thepublished names of recent ones.
Aproject code name is a code name (usually a single word, short phrase or acronym) which is given to aproject being developed byindustry,academia, government, and other concerns.
Project code names are typically used for several reasons:
Different organizations have different policies regarding the use and publication of project code names. Some companies take great pains tonever discuss or disclose project code names outside of the company (other than with outside entities who have a need to know, and typically are bound with anon-disclosure agreement). Other companies never use them in official or formal communications, but widely disseminate project code names through informal channels (often in an attempt to create amarketing buzz for the project). Still others (such asMicrosoft) discuss code names publicly, and routinely use project code names on beta releases and such, but remove them from final product(s). In the case of Windows 95, the code name "CHICAGO" was left embedded in theINF File structure and remained required through Windows Me. At the other end of the spectrum,Apple includes the project code names forMac OS X as part of the official name of the final product, a practice that was started in 2002 withMac OS X v10.2 "Jaguar". Google and theAOSP also used this for theirAndroid operating system until 2013, where the code name was different from the release name.
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