Enigma rollers

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The roller set of the Enigma I consists of three rotating rollers and the reversing roller B (left). The ring of the middle roller is set to 01 here (see red triangle in the middle of the picture). To do this, the clip was pulled out sideways to the right and the ring, which was now freely movable on the roller body, was rotated until the red triangle pointed to the "ring position 01" prescribed here. When you let go of the clip, a small bolt engages in the hole at 01 (an “empty” one can be clearly seen above to the right of 02). This locks the ring in place and the prescribed ring position is set.

During the Second World War , the German Wehrmacht used the Enigma rotor key machine to encrypt its secret communications . The heart of the machine is a set of rollers ( wheel set or scrambler for " scrambler "), which consists of an entry roller (ETW), depending on the model, three or four rollers (rotors) rotating during the encryption process and a reverse roller (VHF). Rollers and reversing rollers were usually selected from a somewhat larger range and inserted into the machine according to a (then) secret “ key board ”.

Decisive for the cryptographic security of the machine against unauthorized decipherment was the secrecy of the internal wiring of the rollers, which was tried, but not succeeded (see also: deciphering the Enigma ).

Roller wiring

Three rollers and the corresponding axle
For illustration purposes a dismantled roller (middle and right) next to a complete roller (left)
Inner structure of a roller:
1 ring with transfer
notch 2 marking point of the "A" contact
3 alpha ring
4 contact plates
5 connecting wires
6 spring-loaded contact pins
7 spring-loaded pawl for alpha ring
8  hub
9 hand knurl
10 drive gear
With the addition of rollers IV and V (here in a wooden box), the number of possible roller positions of the Enigma I was expanded from 6 (= 3 · 2 · 1) to 60 (= 5 · 4 · 3) from December 15, 1938.
The reels of the marine enigmas had letters (A to Z) instead of numbers (01 to 26)
The rollers of the Enigma K delivered to Switzerland had special wiring
The Enigma T ("Tirpitz") has a settable VHF
The reels of captured Enigmas were rewired by the Norwegians and used in Norenigmas .

The following table lists the internal wiring of the rollers of the different models of the key machine Enigma (abbreviations: ETW = entry roller, VHF = reversing roller). Some of the models were given certain aliases by the Allies , especially by the British code breakers in Bletchley Park , such as Rocket (German: "Rocket" after the steam locomotive " The Rocket " ) for the Reichsbahn-Enigma or Shark (German: "Hai") for the Enigma-M4 or the Triton key network , within which it was used.

Roller wiring
roller A B C D E F G H I J K L M O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Introduction date model
I (C) [DMTWSILRUYQNKFEJCAZBPGXOHV] 1924 A and B
II (C) [HQZGPJTMOBLNCIFDYAWVEUSRXL] 1924 A and B
III (C) [UQNTLSZFMREHDPLKIBVYGJCWGA] 1924 A and B
roller A B C D E F G H I J K L M O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Introduction date model
ETW (D) JWULCMNOHPQZYXIRADKEGVBTSF 1926 Commerce. D.
I (D) LPGSZMHAEOQKVXRFYBUTNICJDW 1926 Commerce. D.
II (D) SLVGBTFXJQOHEWIRZYAMKPCNDU 1926 Commerce. D.
III (D) CJGDPSHKTURAWZXFMYNQOBVLIE 1926 Commerce. D.
FM (D) IMETCGFRAYSQBZXWLHKDVUPOJN 1926 Commerce. D.
roller 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 Introduction date model
ETW 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1930 Enigma-Z
I. 6 4 1 8 2 7 0 3 5 9 1930 Enigma-Z
II 5 8 4 1 0 9 7 6 3 2 1930 Enigma-Z
III 3 5 8 1 6 2 0 7 9 4 1930 Enigma-Z
VHF 5 0 7 9 1 8 3 6 4 2 1930 Enigma-Z
roller A B C D E F G H I J K L M O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Introduction date model
ETW QWERTZUIOASDFGHJKPYXCVBNML February 7, 1941 -
I. JGDQOXUSCAMIFRVTPNEWKBLZYH February 7, 1941 Reichsbahn
II NTZPSFBOKMWRCJDIVLAEYUXHGQ February 7, 1941 Reichsbahn
III JVIUBHTCDYAKEQZPOSGXNRMWFL February 7, 1941 Reichsbahn
VHF QYHOGNECVPUZTFDJAXWMKISRBL February 7, 1941 Reichsbahn
roller A B C D E F G H I J K L M O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Introduction date model
ETW A B C D E F G H I J K L M O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z 1930 Enigma I
I. EKMFLGDQVZNTOWYHXUSPAIBRCJ 1930 Enigma I
II AJDKSIRUXBLHWTMCQGZNPYFVOE 1930 Enigma I
III BDFHJLCPRTXVZNYEIWGAKMUSQO 1930 Enigma I
IV ESOVPZJAYQUIRHXLNFTGKDCMWB December 15, 1938 M3 (army)
V VZBRGITYUPSDNHLXAWMJQOFECK December 15, 1938 M3 (army)
VI JPGVOUMFYQBENHZRDKASXLICTW 1939 M3 and M4
VII NZJHGRCXMYSWBOUFAIVLPEKQDT 1939 M3 and M4
VIII FKQHTLXOCBJSPDZRAMEWNIUYGV 1939 M3 and M4
VHF A EJMZALYXVBWFCRQUONTSPIKHGD
VHF B YRUHQSLDPXNGOKMIEBFZCWVJAT November 2, 1937
FM C FVPJIAOYEDRZXWGCTKUQSBNMHL 1940/41
roller A B C D E F G H I J K L M O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Introduction date model
ETW A B C D E F G H I J K L M O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z M4
beta LEYJVCNIXWPBQMDRTAKZGFUHOS February 1, 1942 M4
gamma FSOKANUERHMBTIYCWLQPZXVGJD July 1, 1943 M4
FM Bruno ENKQAUYWJICOPBLMDXZVFTHRGS February 1, 1942 M4
VHF Caesar RDOBJNTKVEHMLFCWZAXGYIPSUQ July 1, 1943 M4
roller A B C D E F G H I J K L M O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Introduction date model
ETW (K) QWERTZUIOASDFGHJKPYXCVBNML February 1939 Swiss K
I (K) PEZUOHXSCVFMTBGLRINQJWAYDK February 1939 Swiss K
II (K) ZOUESYDKFWPCIQXHMVBLGNJRAT February 1939 Swiss K
III (K) EHRVXGAOBQUSIMZFLYNWKTPDJC February 1939 Swiss K
FM (K) IMETCGFRAYSQBZXWLHKDVUPOJN February 1939 Swiss K
roller A B C D E F G H I J K L M O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Introduction date model
ETW (T) KZROUQHYAIGBLWVSTDXFPNMCJE 1943 Tirpitz
I (T) KPTYUELOCVGRFQDANJMBSWHZXI 1943 Tirpitz
II (T) UPHZLWEQMTDJXCAKSOIGVBYFNR 1943 Tirpitz
III (T) QUDLYRFEKONVZAXWHMGPJBSICT 1943 Tirpitz
IV (T) CIWTBKXNRESPFLYDAGVHQUOJZM 1943 Tirpitz
V (T) UAXGISNJBVERDYLFZWTPCKOHMQ 1943 Tirpitz
VI (T) XFUZGALVHCNYSEWQTDMRBKPIOJ 1943 Tirpitz
VII (T) BJVFTXPLNAYOZIKWGDQERUCHSM 1943 Tirpitz
VIII (T) YMTPNZHWKODAJXELUQVGCBISFR 1943 Tirpitz
FM (T) GEKPBTAUMOCNILJDXZYFHWVQSR 1943 Tirpitz
roller A B C D E F G H I J K L M O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Introduction date model
ETW (G) QWERTZUIOASDFGHJKPYXCVBNML Enigma-G
I (G31) LPGSZMHAEOQKVXRFYBUTNICJDW Enigma-G
II (G31) SLVGBTFXJQOHEWIRZYAMKPCNDU Enigma-G
III (G31) CJGDPSHKTURAWZXFMYNQOBVLIE Enigma-G
VHF (G31) IMETCGFRAYSQBZXWLHKDVUPOJN Enigma-G
I (G111) WLRHBQUNDKJCZSEXOTMAGYFPVI Enigma-G
II (G111) TFJQAZWMHLCUIXRDYGOEVBNSKP Enigma-G
V (G111) QTPIXWVDFRMUSLJOHCANEZKYBG Enigma-G
VHF (G111) IMETCGFRAYSQBZXWLHKDVUPOJN Enigma-G
I (G260) RCSPBLKQAUMHWYTIFZVGOJNEXD Enigma-G
II (G260) WCMIBVPJXAROSGNDLZKEYHUFQT Enigma-G
III (G260) FVDHZELSQMAXOKYIWPGCBUJTNR Enigma-G
FM (G260) IMETCGFRAYSQBZXWLHKDVUPOJN Enigma-G
I (G312) DMTWSILRUYQNKFEJCAZBPGXOHV Enigma-G
II (G312) HQZGPJTMOBLNCIFDYAWVEUSRKX Enigma-G
III (G312) UQNTLSZFMREHDPXKIBVYGJCWOA Enigma-G
FM (G312) RULQMZJSYGOCETKWDAHNBXPVIF Enigma-G
roller A B C D E F G H I J K L M O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Introduction date model
ETW A B C D E F G H I J K L M O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z 1945 Norenigma
I. WTOKASUYVRBXJHQCPZEFMDINLG 1945 Norenigma
II GJLPUBSWEMCTQVHXAOFZDRKYNI 1945 Norenigma
III JWFMHNBPUSDYTIXVZGRQLAOEKC 1945 Norenigma
IV ESOVPZJAYQUIRHXLNFTGKDCMWB 1945 Norenigma
V HEJXQOTZBVFDASCILWPGYNMURK 1945 Norenigma
VHF MOWJYPUXNDSRAIBFVLKZGQCHET 1945 Norenigma

Special circuits

With only a few exceptions, the specified reel wiring was never changed (thereby avoiding a significant cryptographic complication). The rare exceptions included machines for customers who expressly wanted exclusively wired rollers. Also for special fields of application of the machine, such as in the diplomatic service , especially for German military attachés in allied or neutral states, roller sets with their own roller wiring, called “special circuits”, were manufactured. Usually this only concerned the wiring of the rotors (I to III or I to V) and not the VHF, which kept its familiar wiring (see VHF B). However, there were also exceptions, such as the special machine with the type designation 17401S / jla / 43 found in the house of a former secret service employee in the 1980s . "17401" is the serial number of the machine, supplemented by "S" (presumably for "special"), "jla" the coded manufacturing code for the Heimsoeth & Rinke factory , and "43" the year of manufacture, i.e. 1943.

Roller wiring of the special machine 17401S / jla / 43
roller A B C D E F G H I J K L M O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Introduction date model
I (S) VEOSIRZUJDQCKGWYPNXAFLTHMB 1943 I.
II (S) UEMOATQLSHPKCYFWJZBGVXINDR 1943 I.
III (S) TZHXMBSIPNURJFDKEQVCWGLAOY 1943 I.
FM (S) CIAGSNDRBYTPZFULVHEKOQXWJM 1943 I.

These special roller sets were often identified with names from the German spelling alphabet of the time , i.e. Anton, Berta, Caesar, Dora, Emil or Friedrich, or with the help of Greek letters such as α ( alpha ), β ( beta ), γ ( gamma ) or δ ( delta ). The well-known Enigma machines with special circuitry include the thirty so-called "Delta machines" with the serial numbers A 16081 to A 16110. In July 1945 a group of the American Target Intelligence Committee (TICOM) managed to find such a Delta machine in Zagreb which had been used by the German military attaché there during the war to communicate with Berlin (attaché department in the OKH ).

Carry notches

Roller set: A transfer notch can be seen at the bottom left

Depending on the position of the transfer notch, which is located at different points on the various rollers, the roller adjacent to the left in the roller set rotates one position further (roller transfer) when a specific letter appears in the roller window of the roller to the right . For the rolls I to V, the code breakers at Bletchley Park had the (linguistically nonsensical) Merkspruch " R oyal F lags W ave K ings A bove" formed who calls the respective letters in that order, which always appears in the window after a Transfer to the next roller has taken place.

Carry notches
roller Carry notch transfer
I. Q The transfer occurs when this roller rotates from Q to R.
II E. The transfer occurs when this roller rotates from E to F.
III V The transfer takes place when this roller rotates from V to W.
IV J The transfer occurs when this roller rotates from J to K.
V Z The transfer occurs when this roller rotates from Z to A.
VI, VII, VIII Z + M The carryover happens when changing from Z to A and from M to N.
Enigma-Z The transfer takes place on all three reels at the transition from 9 to 0
Enigma-T ("Tirpitz") The transfer takes place when changing from the specified letter to the alphabetically following letter
I (T) E, K, Q, W, Z 5 transfer notches
II (T) F, L, R, W, Z 5 transfer notches
III (T) E, K, Q, W, Z 5 transfer notches
IV (T) F, L, R, W, Z 5 transfer notches
V (T) C, F, K, R, Y 5 transfer notches
VI (T) E, I, M, Q, X 5 transfer notches
VII (T) C, F, K, R, Y 5 transfer notches
VIII (T) E, I, M, Q, X 5 transfer notches
Defense Enigma (G) The transfer takes place when changing from the specified letter to the alphabetically following letter
I (G) A, B, C, E, F, G, I, K, L, O, P, Q, S, U, V, W, Z 17 transfer notches
II (G) A, C, D, F, G, H, K, M, N, Q, S, T, V, Y, Z 15 transfer notches
III (G) A, E, F, H, K, M, N, R, U, W, X 11 transfer notches

Reversing roller D

The reversing roller D (also: reversing roller Dora, abbreviation: UKW D, called "Uncle Dick" by the British) is a special VHF, which is characterized by the fact that its wiring - in contrast to all other rollers of the Enigma - could be changed by the user depending on the key. It was used from January 1, 1944 by the German Air Force for the Enigma I in some key areas in France and Norway.

Gap filler rollers

A significant innovation that would have significantly improved the cryptographic security of the Enigma, but which came too late to be used during the war, were the so-called "gap filler rollers" ( see photo under web links ). These new types of rotors made it possible to “set any type and number of switching gaps on each roller”. The settings could have been changed depending on the key and thus contributed significantly to the cryptographic strengthening of the machine. The American Target Intelligence Committee (TICOM) confiscated all information about the gap filler roller towards the end of the war and carefully kept it under lock and key for many years. If it could have been manufactured and used in sufficient numbers, the British code breakers would probably have been out of the running, especially if the gap filler roller had been used in combination with the reversing roller D as planned .

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Anders Wik: Enigma Z30 retrieved. Cryptologia, 2015, p. 4. doi : 10.1080 / 01611194.2015.1055387 .
  2. ↑ José Ramón Soler Fuensanta, Francisco Javier López-Brea Espiau and Frode Weierud: Spanish Enigma: A History of the Enigma in Spain . Cryptologia. Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. Taylor & Francis, Philadelphia PA 34.2010,4 (October), p. 310. ISSN  0161-1194 .
  3. ↑ Special Enigma in the Crypto Museum , accessed on January 31, 2019.
  4. ↑ José Ramón Soler Fuensanta, Francisco Javier López-Brea Espiau and Frode Weierud: Spanish Enigma: A History of the Enigma in Spain . Cryptologia. Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. Taylor & Francis, Philadelphia PA 34.2010,4 (October), p. 313. ISSN  0161-1194 .
  5. ↑ Anders Wik: Enigma Z30 retrieved. Cryptologia, 2015, p. 3. doi : 10.1080 / 01611194.2015.1055387 .
  6. ↑ Michael Pröse: Encryption machines and deciphering devices in the Second World War - the history of technology and aspects of the history of IT . Dissertation at Chemnitz University of Technology, Leipzig 2004, p. 43f.
  7. ^ Army Security Agency: Notes on German High Level Cryptography and Cryptanalysis . European Axis Signal Intelligence in World War II, Vol 2, Washington (DC), 1946 (May), p. 2. Accessed: August 24, 2018. PDF; 7.5 MB ( memento from June 11, 2014 in the Internet Archive )