Cultura The English Corner DIEGE ZARAGOZA THE ENIGMA ENCRYPTION MACHINE ONE MORE JEWEL TO VISIT IN THE MUSEUM OF THE ARTILLERY ACADEMY IN SEGOVIA The Artillery Academy owns a copy of the Enigma encryption machine model K-293 that is on display for every visitor of the Military School in Segovia. The invention of the first Enigma machine defined as model A is attributed to the German engineer Arthur Sherbius in 1918. However, it would not be until 1923 that the first of these machines would be released at the Chiffiermaschinen AG factory in Berlin, for initial commercial as well as military purposes. This first model A machine, which was soon improved with model B, was apparently very similar to a typewriter at that time. However, the problems with printing on paper made it evolve towards the subsequent commercial models C, D and K. In these models, paper printing was replaced with an alphabet panel whose letters would light up. Therefore, the operation was based on an electromechanical device, which, by pressing the keys as in a typewriter, operated electrical switches that caused the movement of some rotors. The electrical signal would follow a different path when the different keys were pressed. Finally, the electrical power after going through the encryption of the rotors, would illuminate the corresponding lamp of the alphabet located at the top. While from the point of view of the operator its handling was very simple, in terms of encryption, it was a replacement algorithm that offered millions of unrepeatable codes. This complex system made the Germans think that this secret code was impossible to “break”. Then, with the new need imposed by the war, the manufacturing of these machines was nationalized and its production had an exclusive military use. In spite of the system complexity, the combination of several technical and human factors contributed to the breaking of the codes, which have proved really useful in our knowledge of the machine operation. The breaking of the codes began in Poland and was mainly carried out 61
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