Document Source
US National Archives
OSS Glossary of Initialisms, Abbreviations, and Acronyms
Office of Strategic Services Records (Record Group 226)
World War Two.
A-2 – Air Intelligence, US Army
AAF – Army Air Forces
ABDA – American-British-Dutch-Australian Command
Abwehr – German Military Intelligence
ACC – Allied Control Commission
AFHQ – Allied Forces Headquarters (Mediterranean Theater of Operations)
AFO – Anti-Fascist Organizations, Burma
AFPFL – Anti-Fascist People’s Freedom League, Burma
AGFRTS – Air-Ground Force Resources and Technical Staff, (one OSS China Commands/
AI – Air Intelligence, British Air Ministry
AIB – Allied Intelligence Bureau
AKAK – Trans-Pyrenees chain of agents operated by OSS, Spain
ALFSEA – Allied Land Forces Southeast Asia
ALIU – Art Looting Investigative Unit, OSS
ALOT – American Liaison Officer Team (re: partisans in Italy)
AMZON – American Zone of Germany
ANVIL – Plan for the invasion of southern France, (DRAGOON)
APC – Alien Property Custodian, US
ATC – Air Transport Command
BAAG – British Army Aid Group, China
Baker Street – Special Operations Executive (SOE) Headquarters in London
BAM – British Air Ministry
BCRA – French Gaullist intelligence and operational services
BIA – Burma Independence Army
BIS – Bank for International Settlements, Basel, Switzerland
BEW – Board of Economic Warfare, US
BMEW – British Ministry of Economic Warfare
BNA – Burmese National Army
BPF – Burma Patriotic Front
BSC – British Security Coordination
CAPS – Intelligence network in Geneva, Switzerland; reporting to the OSS
CBI – China-Burma-India Theater of Operations
CCS – Combined Chiefs of Staff (US-UK)
C&D – Censorship and Documents Branch, OSS
CE – Counter Espionage
CIA – Central Intelligence Agency
CIB – Counter Intelligence Branch
CIC – Counter Intelligence Corps (Army G-2)
CID – Central Information Division, OSS R&A Branch
CIG – Central Intelligence Group
CLNAI – Committee of National Liberation of Northern Italy
CSDIC – Combined Services Detailed Interrogation Center (Allied interrogation service, pooled effort; pooled result
COI – Coordinator of Information
CT or CTO – China Theater of Operations
DGER – Direction Generale des Etudes et Recherches (French intelligence unit)
DIP – Division of Intelligence Procurement; unit of OSS London in charge of German Penetration
DMI – National Defense Research Committee (NDRC) unit created for the purpose of developing weapons and devices for the OSS
EAM – Greek resistance movement
ECONIC – Economic Intelligence
EDES – Greek resistance
ELAS – Greek Resistance
EOU – Enemy Objectives Unit of the Economic Warfare Division of the U.S. embassy, London, England
ESD44 – Economic Survey Detachment Group 44
ETO – European Theater of Operations
ETOUSA – European Theater of Operations, United States Army
FAAA (Units) – OSS First Allied Airborne Army Detachment (activated August 1944)
FEA – Foreign Economic Administration, US
FEB – Far Eastern Bureau, British Political Warfare Executive (PWE) mission in India
FED – Foreign Exchange Division, OSS
FET – Far Eastern Theater of Operations
FEU – Field Experimental Unit, OSS
FFI – Forces Francaises de l’Interieur (Free French Forces)
FIDES – OSS field detachment headquarters in France, 1944-1945
FIME – Forces in Middle East, British Army
FNB – Foreign Nationalities Branch, OSS
FO – Foreign Office, British
FP – Field Photograph Branch, OSS
FTP – Communist controlled French resistance groups
G-1 – US Army personnel
G-2 – US Army intelligence
G-3 – US Army operations
G-4 – US Army supply
G-5 – US Army civil affairs
HIHI – Trans-Pyrenees chain of agents operated by OSS Spain
HO – Hydrographic Office, US Navy
HOHO – Trans-Pyrenees chain of agents operated by OSS Spain
IAMM – Independent American Military Mission to Marshal Tito of Yugoslavia
IB or IBT – India-Burma theater of Operations (beginning in 1944)
ICRC – International Committee of the Red Cross
IDC – Interdepartmental Committee for the Acquisition of Foreign Publications
IIU – Insurance Intelligence Unit, OSS
INA – Indian National Army
ITF – International Federation of Transport Workers
ISLD – Inter-Service Liaison Department, British (SIS/MI6 in Middle East and Far East)
JA – Jewish Agency for Palestine
JANIS – Joint Army-Navy intelligence studies, Army-Navy-OSS joint project
JCS – Joint Chiefs of Staff
J-E (Joan-Eleanor) – Communication device used between OSS ground agents and OSS personnel flying in an aircraft
JIC – Joint Intelligence Committee
JICA – Joint Intelligence Collection Agency, US intelligence pools in theaters of operation
JSSC – Joint Strategic Survey Committee, planning committee of the US JCS
K-28 – Austrian source that provided information to OSS Bern, Switzerland
KMT – Koumintang, Chinese Nationalist party
MA – Military Attache
MPAJA – Malayan People’s Anti-Japanese Army
MEDTO – Mediterranean Theater of Operations
MEW – Ministry of Economic Warfare, British
MID – Military Intelligence Division, US Army
MILORG – Norwegian resistance
MI5 – British Counter-Intelligence
MI6 – British Secret Intelligence Service
MIS – Military Intelligence Service, G-2, War Department general staff
MO – Morale Operations, OSS psychological warfare unit
MRL – Maryland Research Laboratory, established to conduct research for the OSS
MU – Maritime Unit, OSS
NATOUSA – North African Theater of Operations, US Army
NEI – Netherlands East Indies
NETO Near East Theater of Operations
NATO North African Theater of Operations
OB – Order of Battle, organization or hierarchy of military forces for battle
OELR – Office of European Labor Research, New York City
OG – Operational Groups (commando units), OSS
OI – Oral Intelligence Branch, OSS
ONI – Office of Naval Intelligence, US
ORI – Italian resistance
OSO – Office of Special Operations
OSS – Office of Strategic Services
OVRA – Italian secret police
OWI – Office of War Information, US
PWB – Psychological Warfare Board
PWD – Psychological Warfare Division
PWE – Political Warfare Executive, British
R&A – Research and Analysis Branch, OSS
R&D – Research and Development Division, OSS
SAARF – Special Allied Airborne Reconnaissance Force, activated by SHAEF on March 29, 1945; to send to various POW camps in enemy territory
SACMED – Supreme Allied Commander Mediterranean
SACO – Sino-American Cooperative Organization
SBS – Special Bari Section, OSS Balkan Operations
SCI – Special Counter-Intelligence, joint operation of MI5 and X-2
SCI/A – Special Counter-Intelligence, Austria
SEAC – Southeast Asia Command
SEATIC – Southeast Asia Translation and Interrogation Center, SEAC
SEPALS – OSS base camps in Scandinavia
SF Detachments – SFHQ units attached to each of the army groups and ETO armies
SFE – Survey of Foreign Experts, OSS
SFHQ – Special Forces Headquarters, SO/SOE combined activities
SHAEF – Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force
SI – Secret Intelligence Branch, OSS
SIFE – Security Intelligence Far East, British MI5/SIS
SIM – Servizio Informazioni Militare, Italian military intelligence service
SIME – Security Intelligence Middle East, British
SIS – Secret Intelligence Service, British MI6
SITREP – Situation Report
SO – Special Operations Branch, OSS
SOA – Special Operations Australia
SOE – Special Operations Executive, British
SOU – Ship Observer Unit, OSS
SPOC G-3 – Special Project Operations Center, joint British-American organization in Algiers established to conduct operation in France
SR – Intelligence section of the French professional secret service, the Deuxieme Bureau; separate from the Gaullist BCRA
SSO – Strategic Services Operations, chief OSS officer for a theater
SSS – Security Services Section, OSS SI tactical intelligence teams attached to the 7th Army Force
SSU – Strategic Services Unit
S&T – Schools and Training Branch, OSS
SWPA – South-West Pacific Area
ULTRA – Designation adopted by British Military Intelligence for wartime signals intelligence obtained by breaking high-level encrypted enemy radio and teleprinter communications at the Government Code and Cypher School at Bletchley Park. Ultra eventually became the standard designation among the western Allies for all such intelligence.
UNRRA – United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Agency
USFETO – United States Forces European Theater of Organization
USTRAVIC – Indicator for and recipient of many OSS messages in London
VP – Visual Presentation Branch, OSS
WD – War Department, US
WRB – War Refugee Board
X-2 – Counter-Intelligence Branch, OSS
105 – Col David K.E. Bruce
106 – Col G. Edward Buxton
109 – William J. Donovan
110 – Allen W. Dulles
154 – Whitney H. Shepardson
284 – Max Shoop
300 – Col Ellery Huntington
304 – George Pratt
305 – Arthur Goldberg
334 – William A. Eddy
339 – Gerhard van Arkel
452 – Robert D. Murphy
476 – Geo von Schulze Gaevernitz
488 – Dr. Carl Jung
511 – Swiss Intelligence Service
512 – Hans Bernd Gisevius
518 – Marcel Pilet-Golaz
520 – Gen Bernwell Legge
521 – British Intelligence in Switzerland
523 – Henry Hyde
621 – Head of British SIS in Switzerland
643 – Eduard Schulte
644 – Thomas H. McKittrick
645 – British SOE in Switzerland
659 – Admiral Wilhelm Canaris
660 – Adriano Olivetti
674 – Fritz Kolbe
678 – Gerald Mayer
760 – Col Edward J.F. Glavin
805 – George Wood
827 – Professor Paul Scherrer
Detachment 6-AG – OSS unit attached to the 6th Army Group
Detachment 101 – India-Burma, based in Assam (India) and advanced to points in Burma
Detachment 202 – China, Kunming
Detachment 203 – China, Chungking, SACO
Detachment 205 – China, Chengtu
Detachment 303 – India, New Delhi
Detachment 404 – Ceylon, Kandy
Detachment 505 – India, Calcutta
SF Detachment 10 – Attached to the 1st Army
SF Detachment 11 – Attached to the 3rd Army
SF Detachment 12 – Attached to the 12th Army Group
SF Detachment 13 – Attached to the 9th Army
31st Special Counterintelligence (SCI) Unit – Served in France beginning with the Normandy landings
69th Special Counterintelligence (SCI) Unit – Served in France beginning with the Normandy landings
2671st Battalion, A Co – Italian Operations
2671st Battalion, B Co – French Operations
2671st Battalion, C Co – Balkan Operations
2671st Battalion, D Co – attached to 2677th Regiment
2677th Regiment, A Co – OG Operations
2677th Regiment, B Co – French Operations
2677th Regiment, C Co – Balkan Operations
2677th Regiment, D Co – Italian Operations