April 1, 2009
Computing technology in the 1940's - the Turing Bombe
Very high geekdom indeed! After World War Two, Churchill had the machines used to decode the German Enigma codes destroyed so they would not fall into enemy hands. Even though an Armistice had been signed, tensions were still strong in Europe and Russia. For the last fourteen years, sixty volunteers have been working to build a functioning replica of one of the Bombes (there were 210 of them operating during the war). The London Daily Mail has a nice article with photos on the new Bombe:
War veterans Ruth Bourne, left, and Jean Valentine,
who served in Women's Royal Navy Service during World War II,
stand in front of the machine that played a crucial part
in cracking the Nazi Enigma code.