The Battle of Britain

Enciphering Equipment, 3-Rotor Enigma G (Schlussel) Machine: German

0

IWM Non Commercial Licence

The media for this item are free to reuse for non-commercial purposes under the IWM Non Commercial Licence. Video, sound and images can be embedded with the code we offer here, and images can also be downloaded.

By downloading any images or embedding any media, you agree to the terms and conditions of the IWM Non Commercial Licence, including your use of the attribution statement specified by IWM. For this item, that is: © IWM (COM 228)

  • Download this item

    Embed HTML

    Embed BBCode

  • Download this item

    Embed HTML

    Embed BBCode
Catalogue number
  • COM 228
Display status
IWM London
Materials
  • metal
  • wood
Alternative Names
  • FULL NAME: Enciphering Equipment, 3-Rotor Enigma G (Schlussel) Machine: German
  • SIMPLE NAME: enciphering Equipment: Enigma: German
Object Type
misc
Category
equipment

This item is available to share and reuse under the terms of the IWM Non Commercial Licence.

If you are interested in the full range of licenses available for this material, please contact one of our collections sales and licensing teams.

Label

The Enigma was an electro-mechanical enciphering machine, ultimately produced in large quantities for the German Armed Forces. Invented in 1923, the first models were marketed for commercial company use, as a counter to industrial espionage. German re-armament in the 1930's under Hitler, with the expansion of the Army, Navy, and Luftwaffe, led to the adoption of the Enigma machine by the German government and armed forces to maintain secure radio communications. Different versions of the Enigma were developed for use in different German organisations, such as the Armed Forces, the Security and Intelligence Services, and the Diplomatic Corps. German refinements to the Enigma increased the complexity of the ciphers during the Second World War. The British Government Code and Cipher School was set up in 1939 at Bletchley Park in Buckinghamshire, and devoted large resources to breaking the various Enigma ciphers. This became known as the ULTRA programme, and was increasingly successful from 1941 onwards in penetrating German enciphered radio traffic.

History note

An electro-mechanical enciphering machine. Produced in large quantities for the German Armed Forces.The British ULTRA programme broke the cipher.

Physical description

3 rotor Enigma Machine, complete with box and two spare rotors

Inscription

(rotors s/n installed in Enigma A02194/44E A01807/44E A01807/44E (Spare rotors) A01807/44E A01512/44E (spare rotor box) A13529

Associated people and organisations

Comments (0)

Comments are the user's own and in no-way express the opinion of the IWM. Read our community policy for more details.

Add a comment

Add a comment

Please stay polite and on-topic: