List of the Enigma production codes

This is an early Enigma I , manufactured by Heimsoeth & Rinke , as the jla shows on the nameplate (see enlarged section below).

The nameplate of the above machine shows the serial number 604 , the manufacturing code jla and the year of manufacture 40 (for 1940).

The nameplate of this Enigma-M4 shows the serial number 15943, the manufacturing code aye for Olympia Büromaschinenwerke AG and the year of manufacture 44 (for 1944).

(Formerly secret) list of the production characteristics of the Enigma performs on the nameplate of the Enigma machines specified production characteristics (abbreviation of three small letters on) and related manufacturing facilities as well as their address.

The production marks are so-called " camouflage marks ", that is, coded manufacturer names . These were used in the period from 1940 to 1945 for reasons of secrecy on military equipment (weapons, ammunition, explosives, machines and equipment) with the intention of denying war opponents information about production facilities, locations and services, and reconnaissance and destruction as well as espionage and To prevent sabotage as much as possible.

After the Enigma had initially only been manufactured by Chiffriermaschinen-Aktiengesellschaft (ChiMaAG) and from 1934 by its successor Heimsoeth & Rinke (H&R) in Berlin, production was distributed under license to different plants during the Second World War .

Abbreviation	output	plant	place	Street	comment
-	-	Chiffriermaschinen AG (ChiMaAG)	Berlin	Steglitzer Str. 2 (today Pohlstrasse )	Predecessor company of H&R
aye	Oct 1940	Olympia Büromaschinenwerke AG	Erfurt	Mainzerhofplatz	Manufactured under license by H&R
bac	Feb. 1941	Ertel factory	Munich	Westendstrasse 160	Manufactured under license by H&R
gvx	July 1941	Konski & Krüger (K&K)	Berlin	Chausseestrasse  117	Manufactured under license by H&R
jla	Sep 1941	Heimsoeth & Rinke (H&R)	Berlin	Uhlandstrasse  136	-
jmz	Sep 1941	Atlas Werke AG	Bremen	Steinhöft 11	Manufactured under license by H&R

In the course of the war, the High Command of the Army (OKH) produced no less than 15 issues of the then secret list of production codes for weapons, ammunition and equipment . In doing so, the “stock of letters” was gradually expanded.

output	Letter area
Nov 1940	aaa-azz
Feb. 1941	baa – bzz
March 1941	caa – czz
Apr. 1941	daa – dzz
May 1941	eaa – ezz
June 1941	faa – fzz
July 1941	gaa – gzz
Aug 1941	haa-hzz
Sep 1941	yeah – jzz
Oct. 1941	a – z and aa – zz
June 1942	kaa – kzz
Sep 1943	laa – lzz
Dec 1943	maa – mzz
Aug 1944	naa – nzz
Oct. 1944	oaa-ozz

literature

• High Command of the Army ( Chief of Army Armaments and Commander of the Reserve Army ) Heereswaffenamt Wa Z 2: List of production codes for weapons, ammunition and equipment . (Sorted by letter groups). Ed .: Karl R. Pawlas. Publizistisches Archiv für Militär- und Waffenwesen, Nürnberg 1977, ISBN 3-88088-214-2 (Original title: List of production codes for weapons, ammunition and equipment . Berlin 1944. Reproduction true to the original).
• Michael Heidler: German production numbers until 1945 . German secret armament codes until 1945 (=  visor edition ). 4th corrected and supplemented edition. VS Medien, Bad Ems 2016, ISBN 978-3-944196-18-3 (German, English).

Web links

• Manufacturing codes, Enigma Manufacturing Codes (English). Retrieved October 10, 2016.
• Enigma Manufacturers (English). Retrieved October 10, 2016.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Manufacturing codes, Enigma Manufacturing Codes (English). Retrieved November 16, 2016.