Heath Robinson was a machine used by British codebreakers at Bletchley Park during World War II to solve messages in a German teleprinter cipher, the Lorenz SZ40/42. It was the predecessor to the Colossus computer. It was dubbed "Heath Robinson" by the Wrens who operated it, after cartoonist William Heath Robinson. Cryptanalysis (from the Greek kryptós, hidden, and analýein, to loosen or to untie) is the study of methods for obtaining the meaning of encrypted information without access to the secret information which is normally required to do so. ... During World War II, British and American cryptographers at Bletchley Park broke a large number of Axis codes and ciphers, including the German Enigma machine. ... Combatants Allies: Poland, British Commonwealth, France/Free France, Soviet Union, United States, China, and others Axis Powers: Germany, Italy, Japan, and others Casualties Military dead: 17 million Civilian dead: 33 million Total dead: 50 million Military dead: 8 million Civilian dead: 4 million Total dead: 12 million World War II... Teletype machines in World War II A teleprinter (teletypewriter, teletype or TTY) is a now largely obsolete electro-mechanical typewriter which can be used to communicate typed messages from point to point through a simple electrical communications channel, often just a pair of wires. ... The Lorenz machine was used to encrypt high-level German military communications during World War II. British cryptographers at Bletchley Park were able to break the cipher. ... A Colossus Mark II computer. ... This article is about the bird. ... William Heath Robinson (May 31, 1872 - September 13, 1944) was a British cartoonist and illustrator, who signed himself W. Heath Robinson. ...

The machine was designed by Max Newman, and construction began in January 1943. C. E. Wynn-Williams designed the electronic counters, and engineers at the Post Office Research Station engineered other parts of the machine. A prototype was operational by June 1943. Maxwell Herman Alexander Newman (February 7, 1897 – February 22, 1984) was a British mathematician. ... The Post Office Research Station at Dollis Hill, London, was first established in 1921 and opened by the Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald in 1933. ...

External links

• "The machine age comes to Fish code breaking", part of "The Colossus: its purpose and operation" by Tony Sale