About: Fleet Radio Unit, Melbourne

Fleet Radio Unit, Melbourne (FRUMEL) was a United States–Australian–British signals intelligence unit, founded in Melbourne, Australia, during World War II. It was one of two major Allied signals intelligence units called Fleet Radio Units in the Pacific theatres, the other being FRUPAC (also known as Station HYPO), in Hawaii. FRUMEL was a US Navy organisation, reporting directly to CiCPAC (Admiral Nimitz) in Hawaii and the Chief of Naval Operations (Admiral King) in Washington, and hence to the central cryptographic organization. The separate Central Bureau in Melbourne (later Brisbane) was attached to (and reported to) MacArthur's Allied South West Pacific Area command headquarters.