|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Rotor Alpha →
Ottico Meccanica Italiana
Ottico Meccanica Italiana,
or OMI, was an Italian manufacturer of
photogammetric equipment, founded in Rome (Italy) in 1926 by Umberto Nistri.
After Umberto's death in 1962, the company was led for nearly 20 years
by his son Raffaello after which it became part of the Italian helicopter
manufacturer Agusta. It is little known that,
at the start of WWII, OMI secretly produced an electromechanical cipher
machine, similar to the German Enigma,
for the Italian Armed Forces.
Newer variants of this machine were produced after the war, from 1954
until the early 1960s.
➤ History of OMI
|
|
|
OMI cipher machines on this website
|
|
|
At present we know of the existence of four different models of cipher machines
made by OMI-Nistri
during and after WWII. Although very little information about
these machines is available in the public domain, we have tried to give a detailed
description of each model. This was only possible with the kind cooperation
of collector Günter Hütter in Austria, who has acquired a
Cryptograph-CR Mk II in
2013 and allowed us to photograph it and measure the wiring.
Other information has been taken from an NSA report that was declassified in 2014.
If you have any additional information, please contact us.
Crypto Museum would very much like to add an OMI cipher machine to its collection.
If you have a surplus machine available, or if you know of a machine that might
be available, please contact us.
|
At the outbreak of WWII, OMI's regular business came to a halt, but the
company survived as they had secretly developed a cipher machine for the
Italian Armed Forces: the OMI Alpha.
The machine is very similar to the Zählwerk Enigma and features five
cipher wheels with irregular stepping and a moving reflector.
➤ More information
|
|
|
In 1954, after OMI had recovered from the war, the successor to the OMI
Alpha was developed: the Criptograph, again primarily intended for use
by the Italian Armed Forces, but also offered to other users.
➤ More information
|
|
|
In the late 1950s, probably around 1958, the Cryptograph-CR was introduced
as an improved version of the Criptograph of 1954.
Apart from some manufacturing changes and a new power supply unit,
this machine was largely identical to its predecessor.
➤ More information
|
|
|
|
|
Cryptograph-CR Mk II
wanted
|
|
|
As the Cryptograph-CR was a complex machine with high electric currents flowing
through the contacts of the switches of the keyboard, the Cryptograph-CR had
reliability problems. Some of the machines were therefore upgraded with
26 electric relays during the early 1960s.
➤ More information
|
|
|
|
|
|
Any links shown in red are currently unavailable.
If you like the information on this website, why not make a donation?
© Crypto Museum. Created: Sunday 20 December 2015. Last changed: Thursday, 01 July 2021 - 19:47 CET.
|
 |
|
|
|
