Catalogue description Communications and Intelligence Records

The Joint Intelligence Bureau was established in August 1945 by the Chiefs of Staff to conduct intelligence studies on foreign countries as had been found necessary during the war. In particular JIB was responsible for intelligence of concern to more than one armed service or civil department. It produced and studied intelligence on areas such as the economic and industrial war potential of countries, their static and coastal defences, air defences, etc. With the unification of the three services within the Ministry of Defence in 1964, JIB's functions were replaced by the work of the Defence Intelligence Staff (DIS).

After the war, arrangements were also made by the Chiefs of Staff for scientific and technical intelligence within each service to be instituted. Each service intelligence directorate created a scientific section (civilian) and a technical section (military). The heads of each section formed, respectively, the Joint Scientific Intelligence Committee (JSIC) and the Joint Technical Intelligence Committee (JTIC); in practice the two sat together as JS/JTIC.

The Directorate of Scientific Intelligence (DSI) was formed in April 1950 by amalgamating the three service scientific intelligence sections (JSIC) whilst JTIC continued to function separately although permanently chaired by the Director of Scientific Intelligence. DSI was responsible for collecting scientific intelligence especially in the fields of electronics and electrical engineering, guided weapons and scientific orders of battle. In 1954 DSI was absorbed into JIB which was organised into two divisions; Scientific Intelligence and Economic Intelligence. In 1957 an Atomic Energy Intelligence Division was added. With the demise of JIB in 1964, DSI became part of DIS but its title became expanded to the Directorate of Scientific and Technical Intelligence (DSTI).