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Hagelin Pin-wheel C-38 → C-37 → ← C-35
Pin-and-lug cipher machine
The C-36 is one of the first mechanical
pin-and-lug cipher machines
developed around 1939 by the Swede
Boris Hagelin
and sold by his company AB Cryptoteknik
in Stockholm (Sweden). It is larger than its
predecessor, the C-35.
There are versions with movable and fixed lugs.
The C-36 would eventually evolve into the
C-38 and
M-209 — the workhorse of the US Army during
WWII.
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Like the C-35
it has five pin-wheels, but the distribution of the lugs is
slightly different. The respective wheels have 17, 19, 21, 23
and 25 pins,
that can be configured by the user,
giving a maximum cipher period of 3,900,225 [1].
The initial version of this machine has fixed lugs on the bars,
but there were also versions with movable bars, such as the
one shown in the image on the right, with serial number 8-122.
It demonstrates that the machine was constantly being improved
at the time and that different versions were supplied to different
customers.
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A later version of the C-36, designated C-362,
was an improved version of the machine.
The machine contained a number of changes, but the most imported
difference was the fact that the lugs had been made movable,
like in the later C-38/M-209, making it more secure.
This brings the C-362 closer to the M-209, whilst the C-36
is closer to the design of the earlier C-35.
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The diagram below provides a quick overview of the features of the C-36.
The device is shown here with its cover open and with the hinged case lid
also open. At the front right are the five pinwheels that normally protrude
the case lid. At the rear is the drum, which has either fixed or
movable lugs, depending on the version. At the front left is the A-Z letter
selector/printer.
According to the number tag on the cover, the machine shown here is a C-36.
However, it has movable lugs, which would normally be a feature of the C-362.
This device was used by the French Army, during the Algerian War
from 1954 to 1962 [5]. After the war it ended up in the office of the French
military attaché in Gabon, who gave it as a present to a civil servant
in 1967.
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- Different distribution of the lugs on the bars
- Slightly larger more rounded case
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As with all Hagelin cipher machines, the C-36 was available in a number of
different versions and variants, sometimes customised for a particular client.
This C-36 shown above, is significantly different from the one below, and
both machines are different from the one on Wikipedia [1].
So far, the follow differences have been recorded (in no particular order or combination):
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C-36 Initial version C-36A Small manufacturing changes C-362 Movable lugs C-362A Small manufacturing changes
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- Enclosure: red/black or military grey/green wrinkle paint
- Cylinder or cross-type lock.
- Knob or lever operated
- Fixed or movable lugs
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The civil version of the C-36 has a serial number that consists of
two parts: a single digit prefix and a 3-digit serial number,
separated by a dash, for example: 8-122. It is likely that the prefix
identifies the series. So far, only series 5, 7 and 8 have shown up,
all of which were found in France and could be opened with the same key
(serial number 601). In February 2025, three machines were compared at
Crypto Museum [6], and the following differences were recorded:
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- Print wheel has settable offset (spring-loaded bullet)
- Ciphertext readable through small cut-out in case lid
- Fixed lugs
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- Print wheel offset cannot be set
- Ciphertext not readable from print wheel
- Print wheel fully configurable (swappable letters)
- Settable lugs
- Metal index behind cage (for reading lug position)
- Notched screwdriver for setting lug position
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The image on the right shows a military C-36A, which was used by the
Dutch Navy in the 1930s, hence the label of the Hagelin reseller in
the Netherlands: Koopman & Co.
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Device Portable mechanical cipher machine Class Pin-and-lug (pin-wheel) Inventor Boris Hagelin Manufacturer AB Cryptoteknik Model C-36 Year 1936-1939 Country Sweden Predecessor C-35 Successor C-37, C-38 / M-209 Pin-wheels 5 Segments 17, 19, 21, 23, 25 Period 3,900,225 Lock Cross, or cylinder Operation Knob or lever Lugs Fixed (movable on the C-362) Colour Red/black or (military) green Dimensions 183 x 137 x 78 mm Weight 2524 g Quantity unknown
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5-277 Civil Richard Brisson, Canada 5-520 Civil Jean Marguin, France 7-008 Civil Private collector, Netherlands 7-015 Civil Tobias Schrödel, Germany 7-932 Civil Richard Brisson, Canada 8-122 Civil Crypto Museum, Netherlands
702 Military Deutsches Museum, Germany 871 Military Günter Hütter, Austria
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- Wikipedia, C-36 (cipher machine)
Retrieved May 2012.
- Remmelt Warries, Hagelin C-36A cipher machine - THANKS !
Crypto Museum, February 2009.
- Jerry Proc and contributors, Hagelin C-35 and C-36
Retrieved December 2019.
- Jerry Proc and contributors, Hagelin C-362
Retrieved December 2019.
- Wikipedia, Algerian War
Retrieved December 2019.
- Comparison of C-36 with S/N: 7-008, 7-015 and 8-122
Paul Reuvers, Tobias Schrödel, Marc Simons and Bart Wessel.
Crypto Museum, 18 February 2025.
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© Crypto Museum. Created: Wednesday 05 August 2009. Last changed: Thursday, 05 June 2025 - 15:48 CET.
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