enigma vs.allied codes

[fairvi...@my-deja.com]

We have all heard of the famous German Enigma code machine,but what
system did the Americans and British use?Were they totally sucessful in
keeping their codes unbroken?

Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.

[HistoryBuff]

RE: Success of code machines used by Americans and British
forces.

I know naught of British code machines.

The main machine used by the U.S. Army was designated SIGABA.
SIGABA, and counterparts, is reported as the only code system
not broken in WWII. This was not due only to the machine, in
many ways similar to Enigma, intense operator training and
better secure communications management assured success. Special
signal security units policed radio transmissions to detect
compromising events but receiving operators were usually the
first to report discipline violations. I worked in close
proximity to code rooms and never saw SIGABA or knew what is was
until well after WWII. Yet, when a coded message was
retransmitted in the clear everyone became more aware of
security during ensuing scrambles to restore system integrity.

A wealth of information about WWII cryptographic systems is
available on the web. The address included will display
equipment photographs from that era. It seems unfortunate that
a great security success story is so little publicized.

Best regards,

Jim Chase
Rockledge FL

[Rich Rostrom]

fairvi...@my-deja.com wrote:

>We have all heard of the famous German Enigma code machine,but what
>system did the Americans and British use?

Britain used the TYPEX cipher machine.

The US used a version of the Hagelin cipher machine.

Both used scramblers similar to Enigma.

>Were they totally sucessful in keeping their codes unbroken?

B-Dienst, a unit within German naval intelligence, broke
some of the codes of the Royal Navy. Their greatest
success was against BAMS, the code used for communication
with British merchant ships.

Fortunately Rodger Winn, the brilliant head of the
Admiralty's U-boat Tracking Room, deduced that the
Germans were reading this traffic. In 1943 Winn
convinced the Admiralty to issue a completely new
BAMS codebook.
--
It seemed incredible that the petty manipulations | Rich Rostrom
we had done so quietly in the dark could result in |
such a glorious catastrophe. | rrostrom@dummy
--- Vladimir Peniakoff, _Popski's Private Army_ | 21stcentury.net

[ferrante formato]

Alain Turing, one of the main contributors to breaking Enigma, devised in
collaboration with Claude Shannon and Bell Labs a system called Delilah,
which was the first system to code vocal signals.
It worked with the same principle of our audio CDs and transmitted
strategic phone calls over Atlantic from the Washington and London.
See the Book of Andrew Hodges on Turing, for details
Ferrante Formato

<fairvi...@my-deja.com> wrote in message
39bae8b4...@news.dialix.com.au...

> We have all heard of the famous German Enigma code machine,but what

> system did the Americans and British use?Were they totally sucessful in
> keeping their codes unbroken?

[NDLipton]

Can you point us to websites regarding US cryptographic efforts during WWII?
Thanks.

[Mike Lennia]

One system, of many used by the Americans, was American Indian "code
talkers".

Lacking secure battlefield voice communications during the Great War, the
U.S. Army employed Choctaws to encrypt voice communications, using their
native language, itself encoded.

The U.S Army, even before war was declared in 1941, and during World War II,
employed Commanches, Choctaws, Kiowas, Winnebagos, Seminoles, Navajos, Hopis
and Cherokees.

The U.S. Marine Corps took the Army work and codified, expanded, refined and
perfected it into a true security discipline, using Navajos exclusively.

In campaigns against the enemy on many fronts, the Native American
Codetalkers never made a mistake in transmission nor were their codes ever
broken.

fairvi...@my-deja.com wrote:

> We have all heard of the famous German Enigma code machine,but what

> system did the Americans and British use? Were they totally sucessful in
> keeping their codes unbroken?

[HistoryBuff]

Ferrante Formato wrote:

Alain Turing, one of the main contributors to breaking Enigma,
devised in collaboration with Claude Shannon and Bell Labs a

system called Delilah.
_______

FF, thank you for the DELILAH reference. In combination with RR
citing TYPEX I became aware of British ciphering systems.

Searching for DELILAH led also to spread spectrum communications
patented by Hedy Lamarr and George Antheils c.1942.

Operations and maintenance training in binary, octal and PCM
methods used for telemetering and timing systems neglected
accomplishments of Bell Labs, Shannon or Turing. At age 76 it
is interesting to learn of the people who baselined my
employment and day-to-day communications.

Thanks to all for forum contributions.

Jim Chase
Rockledge FL

[ferrante formato]

As to Enigma code, US cryptanalytic efforts during WWII depended on the
theoretical results of Bletchley Park. You can find a comprehensive account
on
www.mariner.org/index.htm
Cryptographic efforts where also made in the field of cryptography in
general. (I.e. Delhilah project) You can ask Dr. Andrew Hodges for
details
Ferrante Formato
NDLipton <ndli...@aol.com> wrote in message
8mhhtb$g83k$1...@nntp6.u.washington.edu...

[Roger Basford]

HistoryBuff <j.f.chas...@worldnet.att.net.invalid> wrote in message
news:0bf88003...@usw-ex0101-008.remarq.com...

> Ferrante Formato wrote:
>
>
> FF, thank you for the DELILAH reference. In combination with RR
> citing TYPEX I became aware of British ciphering systems.

There's quite a lot of info on the Delilah system and the British
equivalent, including some photos, in the biography of Alan Turing, "Alan
Turing - The Enigma" by Andrew Hodges. It's in print over here in the UK.

Roger Basford