Heath Robinson machine
E1019470
A Heath Robinson machine was an early British codebreaking device used at Bletchley Park during World War II to help automate the decryption of German teleprinter ciphers.
Statements (49)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
codebreaking device
ⓘ
cryptanalytic machine ⓘ electromechanical computer ⓘ |
| approximateDateOfIntroduction | 1943 ⓘ |
| associatedWith |
Max Newman
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Newmanry NERFINISHED ⓘ Tommy Flowers NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| conflict |
World War II
ⓘ
surface form:
Second World War
|
| countryOfOrigin | United Kingdom ⓘ |
| designedTo |
automate statistical tests on cipher traffic
ⓘ
compare two paper tapes at high speed ⓘ help determine Lorenz chi-wheel settings ⓘ |
| developedBy |
British codebreakers
ⓘ
Government Code and Cypher School NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| era | 1940s ⓘ |
| historicalSignificance |
contributed to Allied signals intelligence
ⓘ
early step toward electronic digital computing ⓘ |
| inspiredBy | Heath Robinson’s drawings of absurdly complex machines ⓘ |
| languageOfTargetTraffic | German ⓘ |
| limitations |
difficulty keeping two paper tapes in synchrony
ⓘ
mechanical unreliability ⓘ |
| locatedIn | Newmanry section at Bletchley Park NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| locationOfUse | Bletchley Park, Buckinghamshire, England NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| namedAfter | William Heath Robinson NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| operatedBy |
Bletchley Park cryptanalysts
ⓘ
Women’s Royal Naval Service NERFINISHED ⓘ Wrens NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| operationalCodeName | Heath Robinson NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| partOf | British Tunny-breaking effort ⓘ |
| predecessorOf | Colossus computer NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| replacedBy | Colossus computer NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| status | obsolete ⓘ |
| survivingExamples | no complete original machines known to survive ⓘ |
| targetCommunicationMedium | teleprinter traffic ⓘ |
| targetNetwork | German High Command communications ⓘ |
| technologyUsed |
electronic counters
ⓘ
paper tape readers ⓘ photoelectric tape readers ⓘ relays ⓘ |
| typeOfCipherTargeted | stream cipher GENERATED ⓘ |
| usedAgainst |
German teleprinter ciphers
ⓘ
Lorenz cipher NERFINISHED ⓘ Tunny cipher NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| usedAt | Bletchley Park NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| usedBy | Allied cryptanalysts ⓘ |
| usedFor |
codebreaking
ⓘ
cryptanalysis of teleprinter ciphers ⓘ decryption of German teleprinter traffic ⓘ |
| usedIn | World War II NERFINISHED ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.