Enigma Cipher Machine By: Amber Churchwell

The Enigma Cipher Machine was an electro-mechanical device which was originally used to help German generals communicate secretly. Arthur Scherbius of Germany made the original machine at the end of WWI. Even though the codes were supposed to be indecipherable, the British at Bletchley Park cracked the code.

Before WWII, Poland had designed a machine to test Enigma’s rotor settings called Bombe. Poles passed information on Bombe to the British and the French. Alan Turing and Gordon Welchman finished Bombe. Over 200 Bombes were destroyed after WWII.

The Tunny, another enciphering machine, was used exclusively for important messages between the German Army Field Marshals and their Generals in Berlin. John Tiltman was the first to crack a German message at Bletchley Park.

The Colossus was believed to be the best of its kind The Colossus was believed to be the best of its kind. The first one arrived at Bletchley Park in 1943. It was a forerunner of modern computers.

Germany had the Enigma and Tunny; Japan had Purple; Great Britain had Colossus; Poland had Bombe. Since the Allies knew the Enigma code, WWII was shortened by two years, saving thousands of lives.