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Enigma wiring
This page gives a complete overview of all known Enigma wirings, plus instructions on how to measure it. The wiring of the early printing Enigma machines is currently unknown. In the tables below, the wiring is given for each cipher rotor, the entry disc (ETW) and the reflector (UKW). In the column Notch the position is given of the turnover notch on the circumference of the rotor, whilst the column Turnover shows which letter (or number) is visible in the window at that point.


Inside each rotor are 26 wires that connect the contacts at one side to the contacts at other side, in a scrambled order. The wiring of the rotors is defined as a translation of the input (right) to the output (left). In other words: all wiring is given as seen from the entry disc (ETW), as illustrated in the diagram above. The letter 'A' (or the number 01) corresponds to contact 1, etc. Note that the Ringstellung (ring setting) has to be set to the letter 'A' (or '01') before tracing the wiring.


The ring that shows the current position of the rotor, is knows as the index ring. Please note that the rotors of the Service Enigma machine (Enigma I) have numbers (01-26) on the index ring. The rotors of the other machines (commercial Enigma, Naval Enigma, Abwehr Enigma) have letters (A-Z) on the index ring. These are functionally identical. In the wiring tables below, we are showing the letter-index. If necessary, use the table above for conversion.

Eintrittswalze (ETW)   entry disc
When measuring the entry disc (ETW), note that the first contact (A) is not at the top, but the one just in front of it. Also note that, when setting the cipher rotors, the letter that is visible through the window in the lid, is the one just in front of the one at the top.

Important — Please note that the wiring of the entry disc (ETW) is specified as the order in which the keys from the keyboard are wired to the ETW. In other words: if the ETW wiring is 'QWERTZ...' this means that key 'Q' from the keyboard is wired to the first contact of the ETW ('A'). This is different from the the way in which the wiring of the rotors is specified, which is defined as a transposition from the contacts on the right side to the contacts on the left side.

Umkehrwalze (UKW)   refector
When measuring the reflector (UKW), note that the first contact (A) is not at the top, but the one in front of it. Also note that, when setting the cipher rotors, the letter that is visible through the window in the lid, is the one just in front of the one at the top. The image below shows the layout of the reflector (Umkehrwalze, UKW) as seen from the machine's right.


When measuring the wiring of the UKW of commercial Enigma K or Zählwerk Enigma A28, ensure that the ring setting is a 'A' and use the white dot at the right side of the rotor as the reference point. From there, the contacts run clockwise in the other of the alphabet (ABC...).

If there is no white dot, such as with Zählwerk Enigma G31, ensure that the ring setting is at 'A' and place the UKW in the machine in such a way, that the letter 'A' is visible through the window in the lid. Then start measuring from the contact that is just in front of the contact at the top.

UKW removed from the machine - rear view
UKW with dot lined up with the letter 'A'
UKW - contact side
UKW - side view - ring setting at 'A'
UKW - releasing the letter ring
A
×
A
1 / 5
UKW removed from the machine - rear view
A
2 / 5
UKW with dot lined up with the letter 'A'
A
3 / 5
UKW - contact side
A
4 / 5
UKW - side view - ring setting at 'A'
A
5 / 5
UKW - releasing the letter ring

Measuring the rotor wiring
When measuring the wiring of a cipher rotor, you must ensure that the Ringstellung is at A (01). The reference input contact at the right side of the rotor (i.e. A or 01), is right at the top when the rotor is held as shown in the image below, with the Roman number above the centre hole. On some rotors this position is marked with a white dot above the Roman number. When the ring setting is a A (01), this position should line up with the A (01) at the other side of the rotor.


The drawings above show the sides of a regular cipher rotor, of which the Ringstellung (ring setting) is set to the letter A (01). The right side (with the spring-loaded pins) is the input. The other side (with the flat-faced contacts) is the output. Also note that the position at which the turnover notch is sensed, is 8 positions further on the rotor, counted from the window.

Rotor shaft in place (without rotors present and with UKW fully to the left)
Rotor shaft resting in UKW (UKW released)
Rotor shaft inside UKW (UKW engaged)
Rotor shaft resting in ETW (UKW released)
Rotor shaft inside ETW (UKW engaged)
Right side of the wheel
Side view
With ring set to '01', the white dot lines up with position '01'
B
×
B
1 / 8
Rotor shaft in place (without rotors present and with UKW fully to the left)
B
2 / 8
Rotor shaft resting in UKW (UKW released)
B
3 / 8
Rotor shaft inside UKW (UKW engaged)
B
4 / 8
Rotor shaft resting in ETW (UKW released)
B
5 / 8
Rotor shaft inside ETW (UKW engaged)
B
6 / 8
Right side of the wheel
B
7 / 8
Side view
B
8 / 8
With ring set to '01', the white dot lines up with position '01'

Contents of this page
Enigma A
Enigma A was the first in the series of Glühlampenchiffriermaschinen (glow lamp cipher machines), introduced in 1924. It has fixed (non-removable) rotors. No surviving examples have been found so far, and the wiring of the machine and its rotors is currently unknown.

 More about Enigma A


Enigma B
Enigma B is a very early glow lamp-based Enigma machine. It is the successor to the Enigma A and pre-dates the Enigma C and Enigma D. It was introduced in late 1924 and was available in several variants, including one with 28 letters, instead of the more common 26. It was the first in the series of Glühlampenchiffriermaschinen (glow lamp cipher machines) that had removable rotors (allowing their order to be changed) and a settable ring on each rotor (Ringstellung). Note that, confusingly, the serial numbers of the early Enigma machines all start with the letter 'A'.

 More about Enigma B


Wiring of the A-133
A-133 was a special variant of the Enigma B, that was delivered to the Swedish SGS on 6 April 1925 [13]. It has 28 letters on the keyboard and on the lamp panel. Likewise, it has 28 contacts at either side of each rotor, rather than the more common 26. This shows that it was a 'special'. Note that rotor (I) has letters on the ring, whilst rotors (II) and (III) have numbers. To make the table more uniform, we have translated the numbers into letters, using the following scheme:


The extra letters are Å, Ä and Ö, which are frequently used in the Swedish language. Furthermore the letter 'W' is missing. It is not used in written Swedish language, except for names, loan words, foreign words, etc. When a 'W' was needed, it was replaced by 'V' or 'VV' (double-V).

Rotor ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVXYZÅÄÖ Notch Turnover #
ETW ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVXYZÅÄÖ      
I PSBGÖXQJDHOÄUCFRTEZVÅINLYMKA G Ä 1
II 1 CHNSYÖADMOTRZXBÄIGÅEKQUPFLVJ G Ä 1
III 1 ÅVQIAÄXRJBÖZSPCFYUNTHDOMEKGL G Ä 1
UKW LDGBÄNCPSKJAVFZHXUIÅRMQÖOTEY      
  1. This rotor has numbers (01-28) rather than letters (A-Ö).

Enigma C
The wiring of Enigma C (26 contacts) and Funkschlüssel C (28 contacts) is currently unknown.

 More about Enigma C


Enigma D
Commercial Enigma A26

Enigma D should be seen as the main commercial machine [6]. It was introduced in 1926 and was the basis for most of the later machines, including Enigma K, Enigma I and Zählwerk Enigma. The initial wiring of all commercial machines was identical. Although the wiring of the rotors was changed by some customers, they often left the wiring of the UKW intact. As far as we know, the wiring of the ETW was never changed. Below is the standard commercial wiring:

Rotor ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ Notch Turnover #
ETW QWERTZUIOASDFGHJKPYXCVBNML      
I LPGSZMHAEOQKVXRFYBUTNICJDW G Y 1
II SLVGBTFXJQOHEWIRZYAMKPCNDU M E 1
III CJGDPSHKTURAWZXFMYNQOBVLIE V N 1
UKW IMETCGFRAYSQBZXWLHKDVUPOJN      

Note that on the rotors of the Enigma D, the ring with the stepping notch is attached to the rotor body, which means that its position isn't altered when the ring setting is changed. On all later machines, the ring with the notch is attached to the letter ring (i.e. the index ring).

 More about Enigma D


Enigma I
Service Enigma
German Army and Air Force (Wehrmacht, Luftwaffe)

The Enigma I was the main Enigma machine used by the German Army and Air Force. The military machines were the only ones with a plug board. Below is the wiring for each rotor, the ETW and all three known UKWs. UKW-A was used before WWII [1]. UKW-B was the standard reflector during the war and UKW-C was only used in the later part of the war. The wiring of the five rotors (I-V) is identical to the wiring of the first 5 rotors of Naval Enigma M3 and Naval Enigma M4.

Rotor ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ Notch Turnover #
ETW ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ      
I EKMFLGDQVZNTOWYHXUSPAIBRCJ Y Q 1
II AJDKSIRUXBLHWTMCQGZNPYFVOE M E 1
III BDFHJLCPRTXVZNYEIWGAKMUSQO D V 1
IV ESOVPZJAYQUIRHXLNFTGKDCMWB R J 1
V VZBRGITYUPSDNHLXAWMJQOFECK H Z 1
UKW-A EJMZALYXVBWFCRQUONTSPIKHGD      
UKW-B YRUHQSLDPXNGOKMIEBFZCWVJAT      
UKW-C FVPJIAOYEDRZXWGCTKUQSBNMHL      
 More about Enigma I


Norway Enigma
Postwar usage

In 1945, immediately after WWII, some captured Enigma-I machines were used by the the former Norwegian Police Security Service: Overvaakingspolitiet. They modified the rotor wiring and the wiring of the UKW. The wiring of the ETW and the position of the turnover notches on the rotors was left unaltered. These machines are dubbed Norway Enigma or Norenigma, as suggested by Frode Weierud in 2001 in order to discriminate between the standard and the modified wiring [2].

Rotor ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ Notch Turnover #
ETW ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ      
I WTOKASUYVRBXJHQCPZEFMDINLG Y Q 1
II GJLPUBSWEMCTQVHXAOFZDRKYNI M E 1
III JWFMHNBPUSDYTIXVZGRQLAOEKC D V 1
IV FGZJMVXEPBWSHQTLIUDYKCNRAO R J 1
V HEJXQOTZBVFDASCILWPGYNMURK H Z 1
UKW MOWJYPUXNDSRAIBFVLKZGQCHET      
 More about Enigma I


Sonder Enigma A-17401 S
Sondermaschine (special machine)

In the late 1980s, a strange Enigma machine was dicovered in the house of a former intelligence officer, who used to work for a special unit. Basically, this machine was a standard Enigma-I, of which the wiring of the rotors and the UKW had been changed. For this reason, the machine and the rotors were were marked with the letter 'S', which probably means Sondermaschine (special machine) or Sonderschaltung (special wiring). The wooden case is marked A1807S, whilst the machine itself is labelled 17401S/jla/43. The UKW is engraved with A19872S. Unfortunately, the three rotors were missing. The machine was re-discovered in 2017 by Günter Hütter [9].

Rotor ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ Notch Turnover #
ETW ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ      
I VEOSIRZUJDQCKGWYPNXAFLTHMB Y Q 1
II UEMOATQLSHPKCYFWJZBGVXIDNR M E 1
III TZHXMBSIPNURJFDKEQVCWGLAOY D V 1
UKW CIAGSNDRBYTPZFULVHEKOQXWJM      
At the end of WWII, an Enigma with serial number A17245 S was confiscated by a TICOM team and transferred to the NSA. It's UKW has the same wiring as that of the A17401 S mentioned above. This suggests that the machines were used on the same network. This allowed us to complete the table above, with the rotor wiring details of the A17245 S [10][11].

The following 'S' machines are known:

  • 1807 S
    Günter Hütter, Austria (case only)
  • 17245 S
    NSA (obtained via TICOM)
  • 17401 S
    Günter Hütter, Austria
  • 19872 S
    Günter Hütter, Austria (UKW only)
Enigma M3
German Navy (Kriegsmarine)

Enigma M1, M2 and M3 were used by the German Navy (Kriegsmarine). As these three models are functionally identical, they are usually referred to as M3. They are compatible with Enigma I but have letters on the rotors rather than numbers. The wiring of Enigma M3 is given in the table below. Rotors I to V are identical to those of the Enigma I. The same is true for UKW B and C. The three additional rotors (VI, VII and VIII) were used exclusively by the Kriegsmarine. The machine is also compatible with Enigma M4 (when the 4th rotor of the M4 is set to position 'A').

Rotor ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ Notch Turnover #
ETW ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ      
I EKMFLGDQVZNTOWYHXUSPAIBRCJ Y Q 1
II AJDKSIRUXBLHWTMCQGZNPYFVOE M E 1
III BDFHJLCPRTXVZNYEIWGAKMUSQO D V 1
IV ESOVPZJAYQUIRHXLNFTGKDCMWB R J 1
V VZBRGITYUPSDNHLXAWMJQOFECK H Z 1
VI JPGVOUMFYQBENHZRDKASXLICTW HU ZM 2
VII NZJHGRCXMYSWBOUFAIVLPEKQDT HU ZM 2
VIII FKQHTLXOCBJSPDZRAMEWNIUYGV HU ZM 2
UKW-B YRUHQSLDPXNGOKMIEBFZCWVJAT      
UKW-C FVPJIAOYEDRZXWGCTKUQSBNMHL      
 More about Enigma M3


Enigma M4
U-boat Enigma

Enigma M4 was a further development of the M3 and was used by the U-boat division of the German Navy (Kriegsmarine) and aboard battleships. 1 It was introduced unexpectedly on 2 February 1942. Below is the wiring for each rotor, the ETW and all known UKWs. UKW-B was the standard reflector throughout the war and UKW-C was only temporarily used during the war. The wiring of the first 5 rotors (I-V) is identical to the wiring of the 5 rotors of Enigma I, that was used by the Wehrmacht and Luftwaffe. This allowed secure communication between the armed forces.

Rotor ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ Notch Turnover #
ETW ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ      
I EKMFLGDQVZNTOWYHXUSPAIBRCJ Y Q 1
II AJDKSIRUXBLHWTMCQGZNPYFVOE M E 1
III BDFHJLCPRTXVZNYEIWGAKMUSQO D V 1
IV ESOVPZJAYQUIRHXLNFTGKDCMWB R J 1
V VZBRGITYUPSDNHLXAWMJQOFECK H Z 1
VI JPGVOUMFYQBENHZRDKASXLICTW HU ZM 2
VII NZJHGRCXMYSWBOUFAIVLPEKQDT HU ZM 2
VIII FKQHTLXOCBJSPDZRAMEWNIUYGV HU ZM 2
Beta LEYJVCNIXWPBQMDRTAKZGFUHOS      
Gamma FSOKANUERHMBTIYCWLQPZXVGJD      
UKW-B ENKQAUYWJICOPBLMDXZVFTHRGS      
UKW-C RDOBJNTKVEHMLFCWZAXGYIPSUQ      

The three extra rotors (VI, VII and VIII) have two notches each, which causes a more frequent turnover of the rotors, but also introduces another weakness (more about the Rotor turnover).

 More about Enigma M4

  1. Production of the Enigma M3 was stopped when the Enigma M4 was introduced. The M4 was therefore also supplied to other divisions of the German Navy, but in that case it was always used in M3 compatible mode (i.e. with the 4th rotor set to 'A').

Enigma G
Standard wiring
Zählwerk Enigma A28 and G31

Zählwerk Enigma A28 was the first machine with a cog-wheel driven stepping mechanism. It is the predecessor of Enigma G. As Zählwerk Enigma was built as a commercial machine, the initial wiring was identical to the wiring of Enigma D and Enigma K. This is also the case for the later Enigma G31, although some of them – in particular the ones used by the Abwehr – were rewired.

Although Enigma A28 and G31 were built as commercials machines, they were sold to (foreign) military customers, such as the Hungarian Army, the Dutch Navy and the German intelligence service, the Abwehr. Although the wiring of the rotors was sometimes altered, the wiring of the UKW was commonly left intact. Below is the default wiring of Enigma A28 and Enigma G31.

Rotor ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ Notch Turnover #
ETW QWERTZUIOASDFGHJKPYXCVBNML      
I LPGSZMHAEOQKVXRFYBUTNICJDW ACDEHIJKMNOQSTWXY SUVWZABCEFGIKLOPQ 17
II SLVGBTFXJQOHEWIRZYAMKPCNDU ABDGHIKLNOPSUVY STVYZACDFGHKMNQ 15
III CJGDPSHKTURAWZXFMYNQOBVLIE CEFIMNPSUVZ UWXAEFHKMNR 11
UKW IMETCGFRAYSQBZXWLHKDVUPOJN      

Note that the Zählwerk machines have multiple notches on each wheel, which causes a more frequent (irregular) rotor stepping. Furthermore, these machines do not suffer from the so-called double stepping anomaly, as described in 1997 by David Hamer [15].

 More about Enigma A28
 More about Enigma G


Wiring of the G-111
Hungarian Enigma G31

The G-111 was a special version of the Enigma G (G31 model Ch.15b) [5] that was built for the Hungarian Army. It was supplied with five cipher rotors. The table below shows the wiring of the rotors of the G-111, the ETW and the UKW. Only rotors I, II and V were found with this machine.

Rotor ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ Notch Turnover #
ETW QWERTZUIOASDFGHJKPYXCVBNML *1    
I WLRHBQUNDKJCZSEXOTMAGYFPVI ACDEHIJKMNOQSTWXY SUVWZABCEFGIKLOPQ 17
II TFJQAZWMHLCUIXRDYGOEVBNSKP ABDGHIKLNOPSUVY STVYZACDFGHKMNQ 15
III ? ? ? 11
IV ? ? ? ?
V QTPIXWVDFRMUSLJOHCANEZKYBG AEHNPUY SWZFHMQ 7
UKW IMETCGFRAYSQBZXWLHKDVUPOJN *2    
From the above table we learn that the number and positions of the notches of rotors I and II are identical to those on the same rotors of other Zählwerk machines (17 and 15 respectively). This suggests that the notches of the G-machines were never changed. For a maximum period, the number of notches should be relative primes (coprimes) and should not share a common factor with 26. The most likely number of notches for the unknown rotor IV would therefore be 9.

 More about Enigma G-111

  1. This machine contains the standard wiring of the ETW for a commercial machine (the order of the alphabet).
  2. The UKW is also wired as in a commercial machine.

Wiring of the G-228   Green
G227 and G228 are two machines that were used on the Grün (Green) network of the Abwehr. The rotors (I-III) were wired on 10 July 1943 according to the drawings Ch.15 Tz 125a-c, created in 1939. The UKW is wired according to Ch.15 Tz 115 of 14 July 1936. in 2015, the G228 was unexpectedly offered for sale from an anonymous seller in Argentina, and was subsequently acquired by a private collector in the USA. The wiring below was taken from this machine [17].

Wheel ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ Notch Turnover #
ETW QWERTZUIOASDFGHJKPYXCVBNML      
I JDZLYKXVOUCMRAGTSBIWQHPENF ACDEHIJKMNOQSTWXY SUVWZABCEFGIKLOPQ 17
II SKQXFDVNGMUETJBRZLAHYWIODP ABDGHIKLNOPSUVY STVYZACDFGHKMNQ 15
III GRMKJBSAIXHWDQUYOEZVPNLFCT CEFIMNPSUVZ UWXAEFHKMNR 11
UKW RULQMZJSYGOCETKWDAHNBXPVIF 1    
  1. Note that in this machine the UKW has been rewired.

Wiring of the G-260   Red
Abwehr Enigma G31

In March 1945, just before the end of WWII, the Argentine police arrested the German spy Johann Siegfried Becker. In his posession was an Enigma model G31 with serial number G-260. Two months later, they handed the machine over to the Americans [4]. As Becker was believed to work for the German intelligence service, the Abwehr, it is likely that the G-260 was wired for Abwehr traffic. The machine is now on public display at the NCM in Fort Meade (Maryland, USA).

Rotor ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ Notch Turnover #
ETW QWERTZUIOASDFGHJKPYXCVBNML      
I RCSPBLKQAUMHWYTIFZVGOJNEXD ACDEHIJKMNOQSTWXY SUVWZABCEFGIKLOPQ 17
II WCMIBVPJXAROSGNDLZKEYHUFQT ABDGHIKLNOPSUVY STVYZACDFGHKMNQ 15
III FVDHZELSQMAXOKYIWPGCBUJTNR CEFIMNPSUVZ UWXAEFHKMNR 11
UKW IMETCGFRAYSQBZXWLHKDVUPOJN      


Wiring of the G-312
Abwehr Enigma G31

The table below shows the wiring of the G-312. Although the machine is believed to have been used by the German Abwehr, it is the only one every found with this wiring [3]. Different wirings were used for different sections of the Abwehr, and also for different radio nets. It is possible, if not likely, that some machines were rewired a number of times during their operational life.

Rotor ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ Notch Turnover #
ETW QWERTZUIOASDFGHJKPYXCVBNML      
I DMTWSILRUYQNKFEJCAZBPGXOHV ACDEHIJKMNOQSTWXY SUVWZABCEFGIKLOPQ 17
II HQZGPJTMOBLNCIFDYAWVEUSRKX ABDGHIKLNOPSUVY STVYZACDFGHKMNQ 15
III UQNTLSZFMREHDPXKIBVYGJCWOA CEFIMNPSUVZ UWXAEFHKMNR 11
UKW RULQMZJSYGOCETKWDAHNBXPVIF 1    
 More about Enigma G-312

  1. Note that in this machine the UKW has been rewired.

Technical drawings
Drawing Date Rotor ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ Remark
Ch.15 Tz 69a 1931 I LPGSZMHAEOQKVXRFYBUTNICJDW Commercial
Ch.15 Tz 69b 1931 II SLVGBTFXJQOHEWIRZYAMKPCNDU Commercial
Ch.15 Tz 69c 1931 III CJGDPSHKTURAWZXFMYNQOBVLIE Commercial
Ch.15 Tz 70 1931 UKW IMETCGFRAYSQBZXWLHKDVUPOJN Commercial
Ch.15 Tz 115 1936-07-14 UKW RULQMZJSYGOCETKWDAHNBXPVIF Abwehr Green
Ch.15 Tz 121a 1938-11-14 I ? I.G. Farben
Ch.15 Tz 121b 1938-11-14 II ? I.G. Farben
Ch.15 Tz 121c 1938-11-14 III ? I.G. Farben
Ch.15 Tz 122 1938-11-14 UKW ? I.G. Farben
Ch.15 Tz 125a 1939 I JDZLYKXVOUCMRAGTSBIWQHPENF  
Ch.15 Tz 125b 1939 II SKQXFDVNGMUETJBRZLAHYWIODP  
Ch.15 Tz 125c 1939 III GRMKJBSAIXHWDQUYOEZVPNLFCT  
Ch.15 Tz 126 ? UKW ?  
Ch.15 Tz 132 1940-03-14 UKW ?  
Ch.15 Tz 136a ? I ?  
Ch.15 Tz 136b ? II ?  
Ch.15 Tz 136c ? III ?  

Enigma K
Standard wiring
Commercial Enigma A27

The rotor wiring of the standard Enigma K was identical to the wiring of Enigma D. This suggests that the machine was initially intended for commercial customers. The standard commercial wiring is given in the table below [7]. Enigma K is very similar to Enigma D, but the turnover notch of each rotor is attached to the letter ring rather than to the body of the rotor.

Rotor ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ Notch Turnover #
ETW QWERTZUIOASDFGHJKPYXCVBNML      
I LPGSZMHAEOQKVXRFYBUTNICJDW G Y 1
II SLVGBTFXJQOHEWIRZYAMKPCNDU M E 1
III CJGDPSHKTURAWZXFMYNQOBVLIE V N 1
UKW IMETCGFRAYSQBZXWLHKDVUPOJN      
 More about Enigma K


Spanish and Italian wiring
Modified Enigma A27

Six different wiring schemes have been identified, that were used in Enigma K machines that had a connection with Spain and or Italy. They are labelled A-F. Wirings A, C, D and F were used in machines that had been delivered to Spain. Currently only wiring schemes D and F are known. Below is an overview of the technical drawings (Tz) of these wirings and their release dates [16].

Scheme Rotor I, II, III Issued Description
A Ch 11 Tz ? 1936-01-21  
B Ch 11 Tz 171a-c 1936-09  
C Ch 11 Tz 172a-c 1936-09  
D Ch 11 Tz 173a-c 1936-09-09  
E Ch 11 Tz 175a-c 1936-11-11  
F Ch 11 Tz 174a-c 1936-09  
Rotor Drawing Issued Description
UKW Ch 11 Tz 86 1927-07-27 Default wiring
IV, V Ch 11 Tz 183c-d 1937-03-01 K209-K212 (E)
IV, V ? ? A1226-A1229 (B)
Wiring scheme D
Italian Naval Enigma K

Below is the wiring scheme for the Enigma K machines used by the Spanish Naval Attaché (SNA) and by the Italian Navy. Examples of machines with this wiring are A1252, K240 and K261 [16]. Note that the ETW and UKW have the default commercial wiring. The rotors are wired according to wiring diagram Ch 11 Tz 173a-c, issued on 9 September 1936. The Italian Naval Enigma was supplied with 6 rotors, but so far only the first three (I, II, III) have been recovered.

Rotor ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ Notch Turnover #
ETW QWERTZUIOASDFGHJKPYXCVBNML      
I CIAHFQUYBXNUWJLVGEMSZKPDTR G Y 1
II KEDXVBSQHNCZTRUFLOAYWIPMJG M E 1
III NUJPHWFMGDOBAVZQTXECLKYSIR V N 1
UKW 1 IMETCGFRAYSQBZXWLHKDVUPOJN      
Wiring scheme F
Spanish Naval Enigma K

Below is the wiring scheme (F) for the Enigma K machines used in Spain. Examples of machines with this wiring are A1241, A1242, K205 and K289 [16]. Note that the ETW and UKW have the default commercial wiring. The rotors are wired according to wiring diagram Ch 11 Tz 174a-c.

Rotor ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ Notch Turnover #
ETW QWERTZUIOASDFGHJKPYXCVBNML      
I HFOTWPDURMCGXKLQEIVZAKBNAY G Y 1
II MUHTASIPJYNCVKLOXFDZEGQBWR M E 1
III DKWOJVUNGLFTZCSYIBEARHXQPM V N 1
UKW 1 IMETCGFRAYSQBZXWLHKDVUPOJN      
Swiss-K
Swiss Enigma K variant

This was the Swiss variant of the Enigma K. All Enigma K machines were delivered by the Germans with the standard commercial rotor wiring, also known from the Enigma D (see the table above). Immediately after reception, however, the Swiss changed the wiring of all cipher rotors [7].

Although the Swiss altered the wiring of the cipher rotors (I, II and III), the wiring of the UKW was left unchanged. This is true for all three users of the Enigma K: the Swiss Army, the Air Force and the Foreign Ministry (diplomatic service). In the table below, the only known wiring of the rotors of the Swiss Air Force are given. The wiring of the other services are currently unknown.

Swiss Air Force
Rotor ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ Notch Turnover #
ETW QWERTZUIOASDFGHJKPYXCVBNML      
I PEZUOHXSCVFMTBGLRINQJWAYDK G Y 1
II ZOUESYDKFWPCIQXHMVBLGNJRAT M E 1
III EHRVXGAOBQUSIMZFLYNWKTPDJC V N 1
UKW IMETCGFRAYSQBZXWLHKDVUPOJN      
 More about the Swiss Enigma K


Enigma KD
Enigma K with UKW-D

The Enigma KD was a standard commercial Enigma K machine with a rewirable reflector (UKW-D). Below is the wiring of the first three rotors (I, II and III) of the Enigma KD that was found in the archives of the FRA in Sweden [8]. This wiring might be identical to the first three rotors of the Enigma KD used by Mil Amt during WWII, but this is currently uncertain.

Rotor ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ Notch Turnover #
ETW QWERTZUIOASDFGHJKPYXCVBNML      
I VEZIOJCXKYDUNTWAPLQGBHSFMR ACGIMPTVY SUYAEHLNQ 9
II HGRBSJZETDLVPMQYCXAOKINFUW ACGIMPTVY SUYAEHLNQ 9
III NWLHXGRBYOJSAZDVTPKFQMEUIC ACGIMPTVY SUYAEHLNQ 9
UKW 1 KOTVPNLMJIAGHFBEWYXCZDQSRU      
 More about Enigma KD
  1. Note that due to the nature of the (rewirable) UKW it does not have a fixed wiring. The table above shows the wiring of the UKW when the machine was (re)discovered at the FRA [2]. The actual wiring was probably changed frequently. Furthermore, the wiring as recorded by the FRA followed a different notation, starting with the contact at the top. For convenience, it has been converted to the official BP-notation.
  2. During WWII, Mil Amt changed the order of the rotors and the Ringstellung daily, whilst the Grundstellung (and probably also the wiring of UKW-D) was changed every three weeks [7].


Railway Enigma
Modified Enigma K

During WWII, the Germans used a special Enigma machine for the German Railway (Reichsbahn). It was basically a standard commercial Enigma K with rewired rotors and a rewired UKW.  More

Rocket I
Rotor ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ Notch Turnover #
ETW QWERTZUIOASDFGHJKPYXCVBNML      
I JGDQOXUSCAMIFRVTPNEWKBLZYH V N 1
II NTZPSFBOKMWRCJDIVLAEYUXHGQ M E 1
III JVIUBHTCDYAKEQZPOSGXNRMWFL G Y 1
UKW QYHOGNECVPUZTFDJAXWMKISRBL      
Note that the table above gives the original wiring of the rotors of the Railway Enigma K, which is different from the cryptanalytically recovered wiring by the code­breakers at Bletchley Park (BP). They are equivalent however, provided that appropriate adjustments are made to the ring settings for a given daily key. In the same vein, the turnover positions of rotors I and III were assumed to be swapped as result of a misidentification by BP, rather than a physical swapping of the alphabet rings by the Germans. BP was aware of both differences, at least by 1944, and knew which corrections were needed. Full details are given by Philip Marks in Cryptologia of 2015/1 [14].

 More about Railway Enigma


Enigma T
Japanese Enigma (Tirpitz)

The Enigma T (Tirpitz) was a special version of the Enigma K that was made for the Japanese Army during WWII. The rotors were wired differently. Furthermore it came with 8 rotors that had 5 turnover notches each [7]. The table below shows the wiring of the rotors, the ETW and UKW.

Rotor ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ Notch Turnover #
ETW KZROUQHYAIGBLWVSTDXFPNMCJE   *1  
I KPTYUELOCVGRFQDANJMBSWHZXI EHMSY WZEKQ 5
II UPHZLWEQMTDJXCAKSOIGVBYFNR EHNTZ WZFLR 5
III QUDLYRFEKONVZAXWHMGPJBSICT EHMSY WZEKQ 5
IV CIWTBKXNRESPFLYDAGVHQUOJZM EHNTZ WZFLR 5
V UAXGISNJBVERDYLFZWTPCKOHMQ GKNSZ YCFKR 5
VI XFUZGALVHCNYSEWQTDMRBKPIOJ FMQUY XEIMQ 5
VII BJVFTXPLNAYOZIKWGDQERUCHSM GKNSZ YCFKR 5
VIII YMTPNZHWKODAJXELUQVGCBISFR FMQUY XEIMQ 5
UKW GEKPBTAUMOCNILJDXZYFHWVQSR      
 More about Enigma M3
  1. Note that this is the only machine with a different wiring for the ETW. All other Enigma machines have an ETW that is wired either in the order of the alphabet (ABCDEF...) or the order of the keyboard (QWERZU...).

Enigma Z
Numerical Enigma Z30

The Enigma Z is different from all other Enigma machines, in that it is made for the encryption of numerical messages (0-9) rather than text-based messages (A-Z). For this reason, each cipher rotor has only 10 contact points at either side (rather than 26 or 28). Below is the wiring of the known rotors, as recovered by Anders Wik and published in Cryptologia in 2016 [12].

Rotor 1234567890 Notch Turnover #
ETW 1234567890      
I 6418270359 2 9 1
II 5841097632 2 9 1
III 3581620794 2 9 1
UKW 5079183642 2 9 1
 More about Enigma Z


Contributors
The following people have contributed to the information on this page. For detailed copyright information, please refer to the relevant page for each Enigma machine mentioned above.

  • Neils Faurholt
  • David Hamer
  • Philip Marks
  • Tom Perera
  • Paul Reuvers
  • Marc Simons
  • Geoff Sullivan
  • Frode Weierud
  • Anders Wik
  • Gütter Hütter
References
  1. Philip Marks and Frode Weierud,
    Recovering the Wiring of Enigma's Umkehrwalze A

    Cryptologia, January 2000, Volume XXIV, Number 1, pp. 55-66.

  2. David Hamer and Frode Weierud, Wiring of Norway Enigma
    Personal correspondence, 2001.

  3. David Hamer, G-312: An Abwehr Enigma
    Cryptologia, January 2000, Volume XXIV, Number 1.

  4. US Military Attaché in Argentine, Intelligence Report about G-260
    US Navy Intelligence Division. 30 May 1945. NARA CBKI 13, Box 5395, nr. 1574 1

  5. Paul Reuvers & Marc Simons. G-111: A rare Zählwerk Enigma variant
    Detailed description of the Enigma G-111. August 2009.

  6. Paul Reuvers and Marc Simons, Wiring of Enigma A818
    Wiring of the A818 verified in October 2011 as commercial wiring.

  7. David Hamer, Geoff Sullivan and Frode Weierud
    Enigma Variations: An Extended Family of Machines

    Cryptologia, July 1998, Volume XXII, Number 3.

  8. Försvarets Radioanstalt (FRA), Sweden (National Defence Radio Establishment)
    Enigma KD from private collection of FRA.

  9. Günter Hütter, Sondermaschine Enigma A17401 S/jla/43
    Personal correspondence, November 2017.

  10. Frode Weierud, Information about S-machines and wheel wiring
    Case: A1807S, UKW: A19872S.
    Personal correspondence, November 2017.

  11. José Ramón Soler Fuensanta, Fransisco Javier López-Brea Espiau and Frode Weierud,
    Spanish Enigma: A History of the Enigma in Spain
    Cryptologia, 2010, Volume 34, Number 4, pp. 301-328.

  12. Anders Wik, Enigma Z30 retrieved
    Cryptologia Volume 40, Issue 3, 2016.

  13. Anders Wik, The First Classical Enigmas,
    Swedish Views on Enigma Development 1924-1930
    HistoCrypt 2018, Proceedings. 18-20 June 2018, pp. 83-88.

  14. Philip Marks, Enigma Wiring Data: Interpreting Allied Conventions from WWII
    Cryptologia Volume 39, 2015, Issue 1.

  15. Enigma: Actions Involved in de 'Double Stepping' of the Middle Rotor 1
    David H. Hamer, January 1997. Cryptologia, Volume XX, Number 1.

  16. Spanish Enigma: A History of the Enigma in Spain
    José Ramón Soler Fuensanta, Francisco Javier López-Brea Espiau and Frode Weierud. Cryptologia, Volume 34, Issue 4, October 2010. DOI: 10.1080/01611194.2010.485414
     Author's copy

  17. Glen Miranker, Wiring of G228
    Personal correspondence, February 2019.
  1. Reproduced here by kind permission from the author.

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