Arthur Scherbius, a German engineer, patents the Enigma machine for encrypting business communications. The patent marks the beginning of Enigma’s history as an encryption device.
The German firm Scherbius & Ritter, co-founded by Scherbius, patented ideas for a cipher machine in 1918 and began marketing the finished product under the brand name Enigma in 1923, initially targeted at commercial markets.
The German Navy adopts the Enigma machine, soon followed by other branches of the military, for secure communication. This marks the beginning of its use in military operations.
Polish mathematicians, including Marian Rejewski, Jerzy Różycki, and Henryk Zygalski, break the early Enigma codes using mathematical analysis and reconstruction techniques.
The British Government Code and Cypher School (GC&CS) at Bletchley Park begins systematic efforts to break the Enigma codes, led by Alan Turing and other cryptanalysts.
Using the Polish methods and their own innovations, British cryptanalysts at Bletchley Park successfully decode the first messages encrypted by the German military Enigma.
Alan Turing and his colleagues develop the Bombe machine, an electromechanical device designed to speed up the decryption of Enigma messages.
The British and Americans make significant progress in decrypting the “Shark” code used by German U-boats. This breakthrough is crucial for the Battle of the Atlantic, enabling the Allies to track and avoid U-boat attacks.
Upgraded Bombe machines and cryptanalysis methods enhance the speed and efficiency of breaking Enigma messages.
With the end of World War II, the Enigma machine’s use for military communication by the Axis powers is discontinued.
Frederick Winterbotham’s book, “The Ultra Secret,” reveals the existence of the Ultra project and Bletchley Park’s efforts to break Enigma codes to the general public.
Bletchley Park is officially opened as a museum, dedicated to the work of codebreakers and their role in the Allied victory during World War II.
A film based on the life of Alan Turing, “The Imitation Game,” brings public awareness to the story of the Enigma codebreakers and Turing’s contributions to cryptography.