John Harper (engineer)

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John Harper (born November 11, 1937 ) is a retired British engineer specializing in computer science . He is interested in the history of cryptography , in particular the Turing bomb , an electromechanical machine used by British codebreakers to break the German Enigma key rotor machine in Bletchley Park (BP), England, during World War II .

Life

Front view of the Turing Bomb in Bletchley Park
Rear view of the Turing Bomb in Bletchley Park

John was born in West Ealing , a district of the British capital, London , and worked for the British computer manufacturer International Computers Limited (ICL). During his spare time, he led a team of up to 60 volunteers for more than ten years from 1995, which under the title " The Turing Bombe Rebuild Project " ( German  " Turing bomb reconstruction project" ) is the reconstruction of a replica true to the original this deciphering machine was the goal and completed in 2007. On July 17th of that year, the fully functional replica of a Turing bomb was officially inaugurated by Edward, the Duke of Kent , in a small ceremony in the presence of John Harper and a few former Wrens (female employees who had operated the bombs during the war ) Put into operation. It is exhibited at the original location and open to the public.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Gordon Welchman: The Hut Six Story - Breaking the Enigma Codes . Allen Lane, London 1982; Cleobury Mortimer M&M, Baldwin Shropshire 2000, p. 11. ISBN 0-947712-34-8
  2. ↑ Enigma replica 'homage to heroes' (English). Retrieved June 29, 2016.
  3. ↑ The Royal Switch on ( Memento of August 28, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) (English)
personal data
SURNAME Harper, John
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British engineer
DATE OF BIRTH November 11, 1937