Cryptologic bomb. Diagram from Marian Rejewski's papers.
1: Rotors (for clarity, only one 3-rotor set is shown).
2: Electric motor.
3: Switches.

The Bomba, or Bomba kryptologiczna (Polish for "Bomb" or "Cryptologic bomb") was a special-purpose machine designed about October 1938 by Polish Cipher Bureau cryptologist Marian Rejewski to break German Enigma machine ciphers. The plugboard, keyboard, lamps and finger-wheels of the rotors emerging from the inner lid of a three-rotor German military Enigma machine (version with labels) For other uses, see Enigma. ... This article contains technical details about the rotors of the Enigma machine. ... This article or section contains information that has not been verified and thus might not be reliable. ... Diagram of cyclometer, from Marian Rejewski’s papers The cyclometer was a cryptologic device designed by the Polish Cipher Bureau (BS-4) to help decrypt the German Enigma machine during the 1930s. ... The method of perforated sheets was a codebreaking technique used against the Enigma machine (see Cryptanalysis of the Enigma). ... The Bombe replicated the action of several Enigma machines wired together. ... Ultra (sometimes capitalized ULTRA) was the name used by the British for intelligence resulting from decryption of German communications in World War II. The term eventually became the standard designation in both Britain and the United States for all intelligence from high-level cryptanalytic sources. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (445x640, 65 KB) Description: 1: Rotors (for clarity, only one 3-rotor set is shown). ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (445x640, 65 KB) Description: 1: Rotors (for clarity, only one 3-rotor set is shown). ... Marian Rejewski (probably 1932, the year he first solved the Enigma machine). ... 1938 (MCMXXXVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Biuro Szyfrów ( (?), Polish for Cipher Bureau) was the Polish agency concerned with cryptology between World Wars I and II. The Bureau enjoyed notable successes against Soviet cryptography during the Polish-Soviet War, helping to preserve Polands independence. ... Cryptography (from Greek kryptós, hidden, and gráphein, to write) is, traditionally, the study of means of converting information from its normal, comprehensible form into an incomprehensible format, rendering it unreadable without secret knowledge — the art of encryption. ... Marian Rejewski (probably 1932, the year he first solved the Enigma machine). ... The plugboard, keyboard, lamps and finger-wheels of the rotors emerging from the inner lid of a three-rotor German military Enigma machine (version with labels) For other uses, see Enigma. ... This article is about algorithms for encryption and decryption. ...

The German Enigma used a combination key to control the operation of the machine: rotor order, which rotors to install, which ring setting for each rotor, which initial setting for each rotor, and the settings of the stecker plugboard. The rotor settings were trigrams (for example, "NJR") to indicate the way the operator was to set the machine. German Enigma operators were issued lists of these keys, one key for each day. For added security, however, each individual message was encrypted using an additional key modification. The operator randomly selected a trigram rotor setting for each message (for example, "PDN"). This message key would be typed twice ("PDNPDN") and encrypted, using the daily key (all the rest of those settings). At this point each operator would reset his machine to the message key, which would then be used for the rest of the message. Because the configuration of the Enigma's rotor set changed with each depression of a key, the repetition would not be obvious in the ciphertext since the same plaintext letters would encrypt to different ciphertext letters. (For example, "PDNPDN" might become "ZRSJVL.") A key is a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm. ... Message in its most general meaning is an object of communication. ... This article is about algorithms for encryption and decryption. ... This article is about algorithms for encryption and decryption. ... The plain text term has a different meaning. ...

This procedure, which seemed secure to the Germans, was nonetheless a cryptographic error. Using the knowledge that the first three letters of a message were the same as the second three, Polish mathematician Marian Rejewski was able to determine the internal wirings of the Enigma machine and thus to reconstruct the logical structure of the device. Only general traits of the machine were suspected, from the example of the commercial Enigma variant, which the Germans were known to have been using diplomatically. The military versions were sufficiently different that they presented an entirely new problem. Having done that much, it was still necessary to check each of the potential daily keys to break an encrypted message (ie, a "ciphertext"). With many thousands of such possible keys, and with the growing complexity of the Enigma machine and its keying procedures, this was becoming an increasingly daunting task. The Biuro Szyfrów ( (?), Polish for Cipher Bureau) was the Polish agency concerned with cryptology between World Wars I and II. The Bureau enjoyed notable successes against Soviet cryptography during the Polish-Soviet War, helping to preserve Polands independence. ... Polish copy of Enigma. ... The grill (Polish: ruszt), in cryptology, was a method used, chiefly early on, by the mathematician-cryptologists of the Polish Cipher Bureau in decrypting German Enigma machine ciphers. ... The clock, in cryptology, was a method devised by Polish mathematician-cryptologist Jerzy Różycki, at the Polish General Staffs Cipher Bureau, to facilitate decrypting German Enigma messages. ... Diagram of cyclometer, from Marian Rejewski’s papers The cyclometer was a cryptologic device designed by the Polish Cipher Bureau (BS-4) to help decrypt the German Enigma machine during the 1930s. ... The card catalog, or catalog of characteristics, in cryptology, was a system designed, and first completed about 1935, by Polish Cipher Bureau mathematician-cryptologist Marian Rejewski to facilitate decrypting German Enigma messages. ... The method of perforated sheets was a codebreaking technique used against the Enigma machine (see Cryptanalysis of the Enigma). ... The Lacida (or LCD) was a rotor cipher machine designed before World War II by the Polish Cipher Bureau for wartime use by Polish higher commands. ... Rendering of the Saxon Palace, as it is to be rebuilt. ... Kabaty is the southernmost neighborhood of the city of Warsaw, located in its Ursynów district. ... PC Bruno was the code name for the intelligence station operated at a farmhouse in the west of France to which French cryptanalysts retired after Paris was captured by the Germans in 1940. ... Polish-French Cadix radio-intelligence team, southern France, 1940-1942. ... Maksymilian Ciężki (1899–November 9, 1951) was the head of the German section of the Polish Cipher Bureau during the 1930s, during which time the organisation was able to decrypt German Enigma messages. ... From left: Jan Graliński, Jerzy Różycki and Piotr Smoleński at Cadix in southern France. ... Lt. ... Gwido Langer (died March 30, 1948) was chief of the Polish General Staffs Cipher Bureau from at least mid-1931. ... Stanislaw Lesniewski (March 30, 1886–May 13, 1939) was a Polish mathematician, philosopher and logician. ... Stefan Mazurkiewicz (born September 25, 1888 in Warsaw, Poland - died June 19, 1945, Grodzisk Mazowiecki) was a Polish mathematician who worked in mathematical analysis, topology, and probability. ... Wiktor Michałowski (died 1973) was a Polish Army officer who worked at the interbellum Polish Cipher Bureaus German section, . Reportedly he participated, as a lieutenant, in the initial, unsuccessful Polish attempts to break the German Enigma cipher, along with then-Lt. ... Former civilian cryptanalyst with the General Staff Biuro Szyfrów (Cipher Bureau) German Section (BS4). ... Major Franciszek Pokorny was a Polish Army officer who headed the Polish General Staffs Cipher Bureau before Major (eventually, Lt. ... Marian Rejewski (probably 1932, the year he first solved the Enigma machine). ... Jerzy Różycki, about 1928. ... Wacław Franciszek Sierpiński (March 14, 1882 — October 21, 1969), a Polish mathematician, was born and died in Warsaw. ... From left: Jan Graliński, Jerzy Różycki and Piotr Smoleński at Cadix in southern France. ... Henryk Zygalski, about 1930. ... The German Lorenz cipher machine, used in World War II for encryption of very high-level general staff messages Cryptography (or cryptology; derived from Greek κρυπτός kryptós hidden, and γράφειν gráfein to write) is the study of message secrecy. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

In order to mechanize and speed up the process, Rejewski, a civilian mathematician working at the Polish General Staff's Cipher Bureau in Warsaw, invented the "bomba" (bomb), probably in October 1938. It was an electro-mechanical device — essentially an electrically powered aggregate of six Enigmas. The bomba method was based, like the Poles' earlier "grill" method, on the fact that the plug connections in the commutator did not change all the letters. But while the grill method required unchanged pairs of letters, the method of the bombs required only unchanged letters. Hence it could be applied even though the number of plug connections in this period was between five and eight. In mid-November 1938 the bombs were ready, and the reconstructing of daily keys now took about two hours.^[1] Marian Rejewski (probably 1932, the year he first solved the Enigma machine). ... Warsaw (Polish: , , in full The Capital City of Warsaw, Polish: Miasto StoÅ‚eczne Warszawa) is the capital of Poland and its largest city. ... 1938 (MCMXXXVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1938 (MCMXXXVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ...

The German Enigma plugboard greatly improved the security of the machine.

Just how the machine came to be called a "bomb" has been an object of considerable fascination and speculation. One, most likely apocryphal, version originated with the Polish engineer and army officer Tadeusz Lisicki (who knew Rejewski and his colleague Henryk Zygalski in wartime Britain but who had himself never been associated with the Cipher Bureau). He claimed that it was Jerzy Różycki—the youngest of the three Enigma cryptologists, who had perished in the sinking of a passenger ship in the Mediterranean Sea in January 1942—who had named the "bomb," after an ice cream dessert of the name. This story seems implausible, as Lisicki never met Różycki and it is unlikely that Rejewski and Zygalski, who had been sworn to secrecy about their work on Enigma, would have discussed Enigma decryption, much less the naming of the bomb, with an unauthorized person in wartime. Lisicki received information from Rejewski after Enigma decryption had become public knowledge and Lisicki — who after the war had remained in Britain — offered to advocate for Polish priority. Rejewski himself, in a posthumous paper published in the Polish Wiadomości matematyczne (Mathematical News) in 1980 and appearing as appendix D to Kozaczuk's Enigma 1984, stated that the device had been named "bomb" "for lack of a better idea."^[2] Perhaps the closest we will get to the name's actual origin is the version given by a Cipher Bureau technician, Czesław Betlewski: workers at B.S.-4, the Cipher Bureau's German section, dubbed the machine a "bomb" (also, alternatively, a "washing machine" or "mangle") on account of the characteristic muffled noise it produced when operating.^[3] According to a top secret US Army report dated 15 June 1945,^[4] Empty Enigma plugboard http://ed-thelen. ... Empty Enigma plugboard http://ed-thelen. ... Henryk Zygalski, about 1930. ... Jerzy Różycki (pronounced YEH-zhih roo-ZHITS-kee) (1906–9 January 1942) was part of the Polish Biuro Szyfrów (Cipher Bureau) in the early 1930s. ... 1942 (MCMXLII) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1942 calendar). ... Missing image Ice cream is often served on a stick Boxes of ice cream are often found in stores in a display freezer. ... A selection of desserts Dessert is a course that typically comes at the end of a dinner, usually consisting of sweet food but sometimes of a strongly-flavored one, such as some cheeses. ... The plugboard, keyboard, lamps and finger-wheels of the rotors emerging from the inner lid of a three-rotor German military Enigma machine (version with labels) For other uses, see Enigma. ... This article is about algorithms for encryption and decryption. ... Priority can refer to in telecommunications, the right to occupy a specific frequency for authorized uses, free of harmful interference from stations of other agencies a synonym of priority level in DOD record communications systems, one of the four levels of precedence used to establish the time frame for handling... 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday. ... 1984 (MCMLXXXIV) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Massive Ordnance Air Blast (MOAB) bomb, also known as Mother Of All Bombs, produced in the United States. ... Front-loading washing machine. ... A mangle is a mechanical laundry aid consisting of two rollers in a sturdy frame, connected by cogs and, in its home version, powered by a hand crank. ...

A machine called the "bombe" is used to expedite the solution. The first machine was built by the Poles and was a hand operated multiple enigma machine. When a possible solution was reached a part would fall off the machine onto the floor with a loud noise. Hence the name "bombe".

Up to July 25, 1939, the Poles had been breaking Enigma messages for over six and a half years without telling their French and British allies. On December 15, 1938, two new rotors, IV and V, had been introduced (three of the now five rotors being selected for use in the machine at a time). As Rejewski wrote in a 1979 critique of appendix 1, volume 1 (1979), of the official history of British Intelligence in the Second World War, "we quickly found the [wirings] within the [new rotors], but [their] introduction [...] raised the number of possible sequences of drums from 6 to 60 [...] and hence also raised ten-fold the work of finding the keys. Thus the change was not qualitative but quantitative. We would have had to markedly increase the personnel to operate the bombs, to produce the perforated sheets (60 series of 26 sheets each were now needed, whereas up to the meeting on July 25, 1939, we had only two such series ready) and to manipulate the sheets."^[5] July 25 is the 206th day (207th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 159 days remaining. ... 1939 (MCMXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Allies of World War II were the countries officially opposed to the Axis Powers during the Second World War. ... December 15 is the 349th day of the year (350th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1938 (MCMXXXVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... This page refers to the year 1979. ... The method of perforated sheets was a codebreaking technique used against the Enigma machine (see Cryptanalysis of the Enigma). ... July 25 is the 206th day (207th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 159 days remaining. ... 1939 (MCMXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Some suggestions have been made that the Poles decided to share their Enigma-breaking equipment and techniques with the French and British in July 1939 because they had encountered insuperable technical difficulties. Rejewski explains, in the same critique: "No, it was not [cryptologic] difficulties [...] that prompted us to work with the British and French, but only the deteriorating political situation. If we had had no difficulties at all we would still, or even the more so, have shared our achievements with our allies as our contribution to the struggle against Germany."^[5] 1939 (MCMXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ...

See also

• Biuro Szyfrów: Cipher Bureau.
• Bombe: a machine, inspired by Rejewski's "Bomba", that was used by British and American cryptologists during World War II.
• Cryptanalysis of the Enigma.
• Zygalski sheets: invented about October 1938 by Henryk Zygalski and called "perforated sheets" by the Poles, they made possible the recovery of the Enigma's entire cipher key.

The Biuro Szyfrów ( (?), Polish for Cipher Bureau) was the Polish agency concerned with cryptology between World Wars I and II. The Bureau enjoyed notable successes against Soviet cryptography during the Polish-Soviet War, helping to preserve Polands independence. ... The Bombe replicated the action of several Enigma machines wired together. ... This article or section contains information that has not been verified and thus might not be reliable. ... The method of perforated sheets was a codebreaking technique used against the Enigma machine (see Cryptanalysis of the Enigma). ... 1938 (MCMXXXVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... Henryk Zygalski, about 1930. ...

References

1. ^ Rejewski, in Kozaczuk's Enigma 1984, pp. 242, 290.
2. ^ Kozaczuk, p. 267
3. ^ Kozaczuk, Enigma 1984, p. 63, note 1.
4. ^ http://www.codesandciphers.org.uk/documents/bmbrpt/bmbpg010.HTM
5. ^ ^a b Rejewski, 1979

• Władysław Kozaczuk, Enigma: How the German Machine Cipher Was Broken, and How It Was Read by the Allies in World War Two, edited and translated by Christopher Kasparek, Frederick, MD, University Publications of America, 1984.
• Marian Rejewski, "Remarks on Appendix 1 to British Intelligence in the Second World War by F.H. Hinsley," translated by Christopher Kasparek, Cryptologia: a Quarterly Journal Devoted to All Aspects of Cryptology, vol. 6, no. 1 (January 1982), pp. 75-83.
• The US 6812 Division Bombe Report Eastcote 1944

1984 (MCMLXXXIV) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1984 (MCMLXXXIV) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... WÅ‚adysÅ‚aw Kozaczuk (1923 — 2003, Warsaw, Poland) was a Polish historian who published a dozen books, several of them in multiple editions. ... Christopher Kasparek (born 1945) is a writer and a translator from Polish into English. ... Marian Rejewski (probably 1932, the year he first solved the Enigma machine). ... Christopher Kasparek (born 1945) is a writer and a translator from Polish into English. ... Cryptography (from Greek kryptós, hidden, and gráphein, to write) is, traditionally, the study of means of converting information from its normal, comprehensible form into an incomprehensible format, rendering it unreadable without secret knowledge — the art of encryption. ...

External links

• Codebreaking and Secret Weapons in World War II By Bill Momsen
• A Brief History of Computing Technology, 1930 to 1939