Louis W. Tordella
| Louis William Tordella | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| 6th Deputy Director of the National Security Agency | |
|
In office 1 August 1958 – 21 April 1974 |
|
| Preceded by | H. T. Engstrom |
| Succeeded by | Benson K. Buffham |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
May 1, 1911 Garrett, Indiana, U.S. |
| Died | January 10, 1996 (aged 84) Bethesda, Maryland, U.S. |
| Spouse(s) | Barbra Tordella |
| Children | three |
| Education |
Loyola University of Chicago University of Illinois |
| Profession | Cryptologist, intelligence analyst, consultant and official, mathematician |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |
 United States
|
| Service/branch | United States Navy |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
Louis William Tordella (May 1, 1911 – January 10, 1996) was the longest serving deputy director of the National Security Agency.
Tordella was born in Garrett, Indiana, on May 1, 1911 and grew up in the Chicago environs. He displayed an early affinity for mathematics, and obtained bachelors, masters, and doctoral degrees in the 1930s. The outbreak of World War II found him teaching mathematics at Chicago's Loyola University. He joined the US Navy, immediately made contacts in the service, and was brought aboard as a lieutenant junior grade in 1942. He went directly into cryptologic work for the Navy's codebreaking organization, OP-20-G. He finished the war at OP-20-G collection stations on the West Coast, at Bainbridge Island, Washington, and Skaggs Island Naval Communication Station.
After the war Tordella stayed on with the Navy, and in 1949 joined the newly created Armed Forces Security Agency (AFSA), an early attempt to achieve service unity in the business of cryptology. He was a key figure in devising policy for the new agency, and for its successor, the National Security Agency, which emerged in 1952 to replace AFSA.
His career at NSA brought him to the very front rank of cryptologists. He was an early advocate of the use of computers for cryptologic work, and helped to cement a close working relationship with American industry. His grasp of computer technology and the associated engineering concepts, coupled with his understanding of cryptanalysis, led Tordella to push forcefully for the development of supercomputers for cryptologic applications. Tordella was also a leader in securing American communications, pushing a series of leading-edge new encoding devices to secure U.S. Government communications.
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