Enigma, an electro-mechanical wired enciphering machine with a series of drums or wheels.

 

The Enigma encryption device was utilised by the Germans throughout WWII to encipher their radio message traffic. The Germans thought that the cipher was unbreakable as the odds against anyone who did not know the settings being able to break Enigma were a staggering 150 million million million to one.

A collective effort by the Polish, French and British before and during WWII uncovered the secrets of the Enigma cipher.

DSD has two Enigma devices in its collection of historical artefacts.

They are shown above.The machine on the right is still in working order and is currently on display at the Australian War Memorial, Canberra.