Bombe

E1019465

The Bombe was an electromechanical device developed by Allied cryptanalysts during World War II to help decipher encrypted German messages, particularly those encoded by the Enigma machine.

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Statements (49)

Predicate Object
instanceOf codebreaking machine
electromechanical cryptanalytic device
alsoKnownAs Turing–Welchman Bombe NERFINISHED
basedOn Polish Bomba kryptologiczna NERFINISHED
builtBy British Tabulating Machine Company NERFINISHED
National Cash Register Company NERFINISHED
countryOfOrigin United Kingdom
decommissioned after World War II
designedToAttack Enigma cipher NERFINISHED
developedAt Bletchley Park NERFINISHED
developedBy Allied cryptanalysts
developedFor Government Code and Cypher School NERFINISHED
field cryptanalysis
firstOperational 1940
influencedBy Polish Cipher Bureau methods
keyContributor Alan Turing NERFINISHED
Gordon Welchman NERFINISHED
Harold Keen NERFINISHED
Marian Rejewski NERFINISHED
locatedAt Bletchley Park Hut 11 NERFINISHED
Bletchley Park Hut 11A NERFINISHED
modernReconstructionLocation Bletchley Park museum NERFINISHED
mostOriginalMachinesStatus dismantled
numberBuilt over 100 units (US Navy Bombes)
over 200 units (British Bombes)
operatedBy British Army personnel
US Navy personnel NERFINISHED
Women's Royal Naval Service NERFINISHED
primaryPurpose decipher German encrypted messages
producedOutput candidate Enigma keys
relatedTo Enigma machine NERFINISHED
requiredInput cribs (known plaintext guesses)
significance accelerated decryption of German military communications
considered an early step in computing history
contributed to Allied intelligence advantage
technologyType electromechanical relays
plugboard wiring
rotating drums
usedAgainst German Air Force Enigma NERFINISHED
German Army Enigma NERFINISHED
German Navy Enigma NERFINISHED
usedBy Poland NERFINISHED
United Kingdom NERFINISHED
United States NERFINISHED
usedDuring World War II
usedToDetermine Enigma daily key settings NERFINISHED
Enigma plugboard connections
Enigma rotor order
Enigma rotor positions

Referenced by (3)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Hut 6 usedMachine Bombe
Hut 8 usedTool Bombe