Glossary of terms in messages

Able –

A term used as a cover name for the second productiion model of the bombe while it was being built. It was soon abandoned.

Ack –

Acknowledge. Generally used to indicate that prints check.

Adam –

The first experimental bombe which was run extensively in Dayton.

Cain –

A term used as a cover name for the first production bombe. (see Abel)

CHER –

A report of wheel orders completed on the bombes run in Dayton in the summer of 1943 which was sent daily at 0300 (GCT).

Circuit numbers, explanation of –

Circuit numbers with an add first digit are from Washington to Dayton. Those with an even first digit are from Dayton to Washington. This system was not always strictly adhered to.

Dy. –

Dayton

ESR –

Evening situation report which was sent daily in the summer of 1943 at approximately 1900 (GCT).

Eve –

The second experimental bombe which was run extensively in Dayton.

EWR –

Report of wheel orders run made daily at 1100 (GCT). (see CWR)

MSR –

Morning situation report which was sent daily in the summer of 1943 at approximately 1300 (GCT).

N. C. A. –

Naval Communications Annex, Washingston, D. C.

N. C. M. L. –

Naval Computing Machine Laboratory, National Cash Register Company, Dayton, Ohio.

N. C. R. –

National Cash Register Company, Dayton, Ohio

Numbers –

#2, #3, etc. are the numbers assigned to designate the production bombes.

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    WHO worked during the war? Find the Personnel section. Also, Joseph R. Desch
    WHAT were their goals? By the Numbers. Also, The US Bombe
    WHY? History of the Bombe Project A contemporary account of the reasons and the plans for their project for the Director of Naval Communications, 1944.
    WHERE was the project: In Dayton, it was in Building 26. In Washington, it was housed at the Naval Communications Annex

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    • Stray Thoughts in the Information Age

      General George S. Patton, the legendary commander of World War II, became an astute consumer of communications intelligence (COMINT); he learned its worth in the drive across Western Europe after D-Day and used it well. For example, in mid-August 1944, while Patton’s Third Army was located near the French city of Le Mans, the general and about 40 of his officers attended daily intelligence briefings. Here they would hear regular briefings by the G-2 (Intelligence) and G-3 (Operations), situation reports, and a news report from radio broadcasts. Following each meeting, all but seven officers were dismissed, and the rest stayed for a briefing on the enemy situation as seen in COMINT. This source proved valuable for the Third Army: ULTRA (the codeword assigned to COMINT derived from decryption of high-level German ciphers) material alone predicted a drive by five German Panzer divisions against the Third Army at Avaranches. In another instance, when Third Army headquarters moved near Chalons, an ULTRA message arrived at 0100 hours showing the German order for an attack at 0300. Patton had described the U.S. troops in the attack areas as spread out as “thin as the skin on an egg.” He found means to alert the defending divisions without jeopardizing the security of ULTRA, and the German attack was repulsed.

      One member of Patton’s staff wrote about the value of ULTRA to Patton’s army stating that, “An army has never moved as fast and as far as the Third Army in its drive across France, and ULTRA was invaluable every mile of the way.”

      NSA, Center for Cryptologic History, from 50th Anniversary Brochure, p. 10. URL frequently change but currently this can be found at nsa.gov > History > Cryptologic History > Publications > NSA/CSS. /p>

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