Catalogue description Ministry of Defence - Defence Intelligence Staff: Directorates of Service Intelligence and of Economic and Logistic Intelligence: Registered Files

From its formation in April 1964 until the fundamental re-organisation in April 1988, the Defence Intelligence Staff (DIS) consisted essentially of four Directorates - three 'production' Directorates: the Directorate of Service Intelligence (DS Int), later the Deputy Directorates of Intelligence (Warsaw Pact) (DDI(WP)) and (Rest of the World) (DDI(ROW)); the Directorate of Economic Intelligence (DEI), later the Directorate of Economic and Logistic Intelligence (DELI); and the Directorate of Scientific and Technical Intelligence (DSTI); and a fourth 'support' Directorate: the Directorate of Management and Support of Intelligence (DMSI).

The DIS Directorate of Service Intelligence was formed in 1964 from the previously separate three single-Service Intelligence branches and the Joint Services (J) Branch of the Division of Joint Services and Economic Intelligence (DJSEI) of the Joint Intelligence Bureau (JIB). In November 1982 the post of Director of Service Intelligence (DS Int) (together with that of the Director of Management and Support of Intelligence (DMSI)) was abolished and a new post of Assistant Chief of Defence Staff (Intelligence) (ACDS(I)) created. The two Directorates of DS Int and DMSI each became two Deputy Directorates of Intelligence (DDI), of which three - Warsaw Pact (DDI(WP)), Rest of the World (DDI(ROW)) and Collection (DDI(Coll)) were responsible to ACDS(I) while the fourth, Administration and Security (DDI(A+S)), was responsible to either the Director-General of Intelligence (DGI) or to DCDS(I) depending on the topic; with the re-establishment of the post of DMSI in 1984 the responsibilities of DDI(A+S) and DDI(Coll) returned to their former subordination.

The Directorate of Economic Intelligence (DEI) was formed in April 1964 from the former E (Economic) Branch of the JIB's DJSEI. In January 1982 the Logistics (L) Branch of the DS Int was transferred to it and it was re-titled the Directorate of Economic and Logistic Intelligence (DELI).

The DS Int, and subsequently the DDI(WP) and DDI(ROW), were concerned with the collation, analysis, assessment and dissemination of intelligence on foreign strategic policies, deployments, combat effectiveness, tactical doctrine, order of battle, military leadership and personalities, and armed forces morale, as well as military geography and logistic infrastructure; in January 1982, however, responsibility for the two latter subjects passed to DEI when the Logistics (L) Branch of DS Int was transferred to DEI to form DELI.

The DEI was concerned principally with the economics of Communist countries, especially the USSR and China, with particular reference to the availability and allocation of resources of defence interest; the external economic relations of the Communist countries; international trade in arms; armament production and supporting industry of the Communist countries; and the defence economies, including arms production, of selected non-Communist countries.