Glossary - German and English...

Abwehr - German military intellingence organization
BP - Bletchley Park: the wartime home of GC&CS
Begleitbuch - record book that accompanied an Enigma
Bombe - electro-mechanical device used to derive Enigma keys: the brainchild of Alan Turing
Colossus - the world's first programmable digital computer: used to attack the FISH traffic
'Diagonal board' - Gordon Welchman's insightful modification to the Bombe
Eintrittwalze - entry stator
FISH - collective codename for SZ42 and T52 traffic
Geheimschreiber - the Siemens und Halske T52 (series) teleprinter cipher machine
GC&CS - Government Code & Cipher School
GCHQ - Government Communications Headquarters: successor to GC&CS
'Greek' wheels or rotors - Wheels Beta and Gamma [for obvious reasons]
Grundstellung - groundsetting
Kennegruppe - message discriminant
Ringstellung - ringsetting
Rotor period - number of keystrokes for a complete cycle [e.g. AAA - AAA = 16900]
Schlüsselzusatz - the Lorenz SZ40 and SZ 42 teleprinter cipher attachments
Self-steckered character - a letter that is not 'switched' in the plugboard
SIGABA - standard US cipher machine: also known as ECM Mk.2; M-134C; CSP-889 [US Navy]
Stecker - plug
Steckerbrett - plugboard [sometimes referred to as 'steckerboard']
STURGEON - codename for T52 traffic
'Thin' reflectors - reflectors used with the 'Greek' wheels
TUNNY - codename for SZ42 traffic
Tunny machine - electro-mechanical analogue of the SZ42
TypeX - standard British WW2 cipher machine: based on a similar principle to Enigma
ULTRA - British (and later US) cover name for high-grade signals intelligence [SIGINT]
Umkehrwalze - reflector
Walzen - wheels or rotors
Walzenlage - wheel order

Zusatzwalze - see 'Greek' wheel


Home ] Up ]