CAPT Eric Nave, born in Adelaide, Australia in 1899, contributed significantly to the safety and security of Allied countries throughout a career spanning the period 1917 to 1949. His foundational work unravelling Japanese Naval telegraphy and breaking Imperial Japanese Naval codes was instrumental in supporting Allied operational forces in the South West Pacific Area, led by General Douglas MacArthur.
Nave possessed impressive Japanese language skills and an uncanny instinct for spotting the main features and weaknesses of intercepted message traffic. While working with the Royal Navy’s China Station (1925-1927), Nave established how the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) used Morse code, and from there, determined how IJN signals were composed. He also recovered the secret call signs issued to all IJN vessels, enabling plotting of their movements and activities.
He was largely responsible for breaking the Japanese Naval Attaché code, which enabled the British to access communications between Tokyo and its attaché network in Europe. In 1937, Nave was sent to lead the cryptanalytic effort in Hong Kong, and, later, Singapore. He returned to Australia in December 1938, and helped Australia develop its own SIGINT capabilities, the Special Intelligence Bureau. Nave and his team provided the Australian Prime Minister with clear indications that Japan was on the verge of declaring war at the end of November 1941.
In July 1942, Nave became Head of the Cryptographic Branch of MacArthur’s newly-formed Central Bureau (CB), a joint US-Australia SIGINT organization. Among many examples, CB intelligence provided forewarning of the Japanese intention to send troops to attack Allied airfields at Milne Bay, Papua New Guinea. Thanks to this forewarning, the Allies heavily reinforced the garrison and forced the Japanese to withdraw. This was the first major battle of the war in the Pacific in which Allied troops decisively defeated Japanese land forces.
Throughout a career in both the Australian and British navies, Nave played a foundational role in training Allied analysts, which was just as critical to allied codebreaking success as his individual achievements. A passionate advocate for an Australian peacetime SIGINT capability, Nave was closely involved in establishing the Defense Signals Bureau at the end of World War II (now the Australian Signals Directorate). In 1946, he led the delegation that ensured Australia’s inclusion in the Five Eyes signals intelligence arrangements, which continue to this day.
Theodore Eric Nave, CAPT, Royal Australian Navy, Royal Navy, OBE was inducted into NSA's Cryptologic Hall of Honor in 2024. The Cryptologic Hall of Honor was created in 1999 to pay special tribute to the pioneers and heroes who rendered distinguished service to American cryptology.