The Electronic Revolution Part 2

Question 1

What were the 3 categories or families of code breakers?

Answer 1

• The machines of Bletchley Park
• The Robinsons
• The Colossus

Question 2

What were The events leading up to the development of the machines at Bletchley Park?

Answer 2

When the German military began to broadcast radio transmission (1928) using the Enigma encoded messages. The Polish radio operators alerted the Cipher Bureau.
– Polish Cipher Bureau: purchased and modified a commercial copy of the Enigma.
– 1928 – 1931: little headway was made and the project was abandoned in 1931.
1932: Martin Rejewski: a mathematician was assigned to study the encryption problem again.
1939 appeasement wasn’t working with Germany so poland called meeting with France and England

Note: Code breakers were called “bombs”

Question 3

What were The events leading up to the development of the Robinson machines and the technical specifications of these machines?

Answer 3

• 1942 (mid year): staffing levels at Bletchley Park were such that different sections (groups) were formed.
• Bombs were too slow to be used for decryption
• M.H.A Newman Envisioned a new machine that could automate a part of the decryption process.
• Dollis Hill people though designing a new photoelectric paper tape reader to be used in a new telegraph.
  Tech Specs:
  – Partly implemented using vacuum tubes and telephone relays.
  – Not a general purpose computer.
  – Evaluate some Boolean operations on information read from two endless loops (punched paper).

Question 4

What were The events leading up to the development of the Colossus and the second Colossi?

Answer 4

• Mr. T.H. Flowers (London Post Office: tape reader project)
– Brought directly into the project as an electronics expert to help redesign the Robinson machinery to make it more reliable (vacuum tubes over relays).
– A completely new all electronic design (1,500 vacuum tubes) was used.

• Due to foresight and very good planning the second Colossus machine was built in less than a year!

Question 5

What were The technical specification of the Colossi?

Answer 5

– Bi-quinary storage of information in the registers.
– An internal clock was used to synchronize operations.
– Controlled by a plug board and wires.
– Card readers (Robinsons) were used as input.

Question 6

What were the American code breaking efforts during the second world war?

Answer 6

American bombs