Singlet

A singlet (with the hood off) at an exhibition in Bletchley Park (2005). The ten rotors arranged next to each other are clearly visible (back left).

The rotor set in close-up

The Singlet (also: BID / 60 ) was a British rotor cipher machine that was developed around 1949 and 1950, during the early days of the Cold War . It was designed as a replacement for the Typex and Combined Cipher Machine (CCM) used in World War II and was used by the British Secret Service until the 1980s.

Principle and structure

The principle of the Singlet is similar to the Enigma used by the German Wehrmacht in World War II . However, it is much more advanced and, in contrast to the only three or four rollers on the German machine, uses ten rotors arranged next to one another . This results in a significantly higher combinatorial complexity and a significantly improved cryptographic security. Also, the singlet uses rotors with 36 contacts on each side (and not just 26 like the Enigma). The rotors are similar or may even be identical to those of the KL-7 .

Exhibits

Only one single surviving copy of the singlet cipher machine is known. This (with the serial number 13) was shown in May 2005 at the exhibition Enigma and friends in Bletchley Park . An exhibit currently on public display is not known.

Web links

Commons : Singlet  album with pictures, videos and audio files

• Crypto Museum , accessed May 19, 2017.
• Jerry Proc , accessed May 19, 2017.
• Photo of a singlet with additional rotors in a (blue) box for up to 14 rotors, accessed on May 19, 2017.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Crypto Museum (English), accessed on May 19, 2017.
2. ↑ ^{a b} Jerry Proc , accessed May 19, 2017.