Homepage Crypto Index Enigma Hagelin Fialka Siemens Philips Nema Transvertex Gretag Tadiran Racal USA Spy sets Burst encoders Intercept Covert Radio PC Kits Shop News Events Wanted Contact Links Crypto and Cipher Machines The Enigma machine is probably the best known cipher machine in the world, mainly because of the vital role it played during WWII. There are however many other interesting cipher machines, such as the mechanical series of Hagelin machines and the Russian Fialka. This page shows a number of interesting historical cipher machines. Some of the entries refer to a whole family of machines, whilst others are listed separately. Click any of the images on this page for further information. If you are looking for a specific machine or model, you might want to check the index first. It is also recommended to check the Glossary of crypto terminology. We are always interested in acquiring additional historical crypto machines. If you have anything to offer, please contact us.  Index of machines  Mission Statement  Glossary   Enigma Hagelin Fialka Siemens Philips NEMA Transvertex Gretag USA Voice Key fill EMU Manual Codebook PCs Phones Tadiran Racal Enigma There is no such thing as the Enigma. In fact, Enigma is the name of a series of cipher machines, of which only some are compatible with each other. Enigma machines were used by the German Army during WWII.  More information      Hagelin In 1921, Boris Hagelin developed his first cipher machine. Since then, he produced a wide range of machines, of which the M-209 (shown here) is probably the most well-known one. After WWII, the company (Crypto AG) developed numerous other machines and models, and is still in business today.  More information      Fialka Shortly after WWII, the Russians developed an advanced cipher machine that is clearly based on the Enigma-design. It contains many improvements over the Enigma, such as irregular wheel stepping, more wheels (10) a coding card and a built-in printer. Furthermore, one of the major flaws of the Enigma (i.e. that a letter can not be enciphered into itself) has been fixed in this machine.  More information      Siemens Like many other European electronics companies, Siemens developed a number of cipher machines over the years. The most famous one is probably the T-52, also known as the Geheimschreiber, that was used by the German High Command during WWII. After the war, Siemens developed a series of mixer-machines based on the Vernam principle.  More information      Philips In the 2nd half of the 20th century, Dutch defence electronics manufacturer Philips Usfa, developed and produced a wide range of crypto machines. Some of these were proprietary, but others were compatible with NATO standards. Philips Usfa/Crypto was closed down in 2003.  More information      NEMA During WWII, the Swiss developed the NEMA (Neue Maschine) as a replacement for their Enigma K machines, after they had discovered that both the Allies and the Germans were reading their traffic. The machine closely resembles the Enigma and has even inhertited some of its weaknesses.  More information      Transvertex Transvertex was a small company in Sweden that produced cipher machines, similar to Hagelin. In order to prevent patent infringment however, the machines had to be based on a different principle. The HC-9 (shown here) is the most well-known Transvertex machine.  More information      Gretag Gretag, or Gretacoder Data Systems was a manufacturer of crypto equipment, based in Regensdorf, Switzerland. It was led by Dr. Edgar Gretener who was not only a direct competitor of Hagelin, but also co-operated with them on a number of projects. Over the years, Gretag produced a range of commercial, industrial and military cipher machines.  More information      USA Over the years, the USA produced many different cipher machines. In some cases, these machines were developed by the NSA (National Security Agency), but sometimes they were bought 'of the shelf' from existing manufacturers. As it is sometimes unclear who the developer or the manufacturer of a machine is, we've listed them separately.  More information      Tadiran Tadiran was a large electronics company in Israel, that developed and produced a lot of radio and COMSEC equipment for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), and the Department of Defense (DoD) of more than 40 countries. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Tadiran produced a series of COMSEC cryptographic devices that could be integraded with the combat radio networks of that era. Some of these devices have been in use until recently.  More information      Racal Racal was a British manufacturer of military radio electronics such as radios and cryptographic equipment. It was founded in 1950 and was once the 3rd largest electronics company in the UK. Racal was sold to the French company Thomson-CSF (now Thales) in 2000. Over the years, Racal produced many different communications and cryptographic devices, with a varying degree of sophistication.  More information      Key fill devices A key transfer device is an electronic device that is used (most commonly by the military) for the distribution of cryptographic material, such as crypto keys and frequency hopping tables. Key fillers often use a standard data protocols, but proprietary protocols are used as well. Many key fill units have the same 6-pin U-229 connector allowing connection to standard radio sets, such as Have Quick and SINCGARS.  More information      Voice encryption This section deals with secure voice cipher equipment (voice crypto) from a variety of manufacturers. Most of the units shown here, are also available in other categories on this website.  More information      Electronic Message Units Sometimes, when voice communication is not possible or is considered not-secure, an Electronic Message Unit (EMU) is used in combination with an existing radio set. Such EMUs are commonly used in combination with military radio sets and generally employ some level of cryptography.  More information      Hand methods Over the years, and especially in the beginning of cryptography, many different methods have been developed for manual encryption. These are often referred to as 'hand methods'. The methods vary from the use of simple tables and discs, to complex slide rulers and disc arrays. An example is the so-called Caesar Box shown here.  More information      Codebooks A codebook is a very old and effective method for concealing the contents of a message. In many cases, frequently used words or even complete sentences were replaced by three or five-letter abbreviations. On their own they aren't very safe, but when used in combination with other cipher methods, they can be a real nightmare for the average code breaker.  More information      PCs Since the late 1990s, dedicated cipher machines are more and more replaced by modern PCs on which crypto is implemented in software. This is also the case with the Armed Forces, where special reggedized PCs are now being used. Despite strict TEMPEST rules, however, PCs are non-secure devices by nature, due to the use of standard operating systems. In many cases, external crypto units are still needed.  More information      Phones Over the years, many devices have been developed to allow secure phone conversions to be held over standard telephone lines, ranging from voice scramblers to state-of-the-art digital encryption. This section covers a range of secure telephones, including the Philips PNVX and the famous American STU-III.  More information      Further information Glossary of crypto terminology and abbreviations The Vernam Cipher The Baudot code Back to the home page Any links shown in red are currently unavailable. © Copyright 2009-2010, Paul Reuvers & Marc Simons If you like this website, why not make a donation? Last changed: Thu,30 Aug 2012.17:06:42