The German Enigma Cipher Machine played a critical role in the history of WW-2. We have documented every aspect of the Enigma in our CD entitled The Story of the ENIGMA: History, Technology, and Decoding and in our new book: Inside ENIGMA and other Historic Cipher Machines. Ordering information is presented at the bottom of these linked summary and introduction pages.
Below, you will find some basic information about the Enigma as well as some of the Enigma Machines that we have been able to find after numerous intensive hunting trips to Europe.
THE OPERATION AND WIRING DIAGRAMS OF THE GERMAN ENIGMA CIPHER MACHINE:The theory and operation of the Enigma Cipher Machine and wiring diagrams and drawings of its components.
READING LIST & REFERENCES:
A short list of Internet Web Resources, Films, and Books devoted to the Enigma.
ENIGMA SIMULATOR SOFTWARE PROGRAM:(1000KB) This is an excellent basic graphical simulator of the Army 3-rotor German Enigma Cipher Machine written and copyrighted by Dirk Reimers ( dirk.reimers AT gmx.de ). It will run on a windows PC and provides a clear introduction to how the machine works. It is freeware and you may download, unzip, and use it at no cost.
ADVANCED ENIGMA SIMULATOR SOFTWARE PROGRAM: (3,200KB) This is an advanced and highly detailed graphical simulator of the German Army 3-rotor and Navy 4-rotor Enigma Cipher Machines written and copyrighted by Dirk Rijmenants. It allows control and observation of all parameters including rotor selection and position, ring setting, ground setting and plugboard jumpers as well as a display of plaintext and ciphertext. It provides a realistic and accurate simulation of all aspects of Enigma operation. It is freeware and you may download, unzip, install it using ‘setup.exe’ and use it at no cost. You may download the latest version at Dirk’s website: http://users.telenet.be/d.rijmenants/
ADVANCED ENIGMA CODEBOOK GENERATOR SOFTWARE PROGRAM: (2,200KB) This is an advanced and versatile Enigma Codebook Generator Software Program that can generate monthly codebooks for the German 3-rotor and Navy 4-rotor Enigma Cipher Machines. It was written and copyrighted by Dirk Rijmenants. It allows generation of monthly or an entire year of codebook pages for the Enigma that specify all of the day’s key parameters including rotor selection and position, ring setting, plugboard jumper settings and ground settings for every day of the chosen month. It provides a realistic and accurate simulation the actual codebooks and the pages may be printed at will. It is freeware and you may download, unzip, install it using ‘setup.exe’ and use it at no cost. You may download the latest version at Dirk’s website: http://users.telenet.be/d.rijmenants/