THE WOMEN "CODE BREAKERS" (CRYPTOLOGISTS) IN WORLD WAR II

 

The most written about women cryptologists in the war worked in Betchley Park, Buckinghamshire, England. When tensions grew between Europe and Asia in 1937, a Government Code and Cypher School was developed here with mostly male professors from Oxford and Cambridge teaching. As it grew, more staff was needed, so they began to look for women mathematicians, linquists, physicists, and even crossword puzzle experts who were thought to have good lateral thinking skills. Women were largely recruited from the WRENS, the Women's Royal Naval Service. This group, which was 75% women of about 10,000 employees were highly successful and, according to several websites, their work "is credited with shortening WW II by between two and four years." (warhistoryonline.com)

But did you realize that we had several top secret places in the U.S. that were also working to  break enemy codes. One was in Dayton, Ohio at the NCR - National Cash Register Company - who began receiving federal contracts in 1942  There, WAVES were building and operating the Navy Cryptanalytic Bombe, an electromagnetic device used to break four rotor messages being sent from German U-boats. Six hundred WAVES on three shifts worked this project 24-7, building the machines and reading electric diagrams. One source said that at the time, they really didn't understand what they were building, yet they built 121 machines.

At that time Germany and the other Axis countries were constantly changing codes with their machine, Enigma. The Bombe machine we built could eventually crash that code, thanks to the work in England, saving thousands of U.S. soldiers from enemy ship and plane attacks. It was a very high security job, and even after the war, many women kept the secret.

The Bombe Machine

The "Code Girls" of Arlington Hill, Virginia were the other group put to work deciphering enemy messages and breaking new codes. Again, the WACs and the WAVEs were highly involved and recruited. This job required an oath of secrecy and a penalty of death for leaking information. High scores on a Civil Service Exam were a priority, especially in mathematical and engineering areas, and then schooling was needed in geography and history, Morse code, and radio and cryptology. Their personal lives were also highly investigated with references checked. They wore no uniforms as they didn't want to draw attention to themselves. 

The Japanese code was broken easily, although the Japanese thought it foolproof, so they never changed it much during the war. Once the Bombe was built and the German codes rotation mastered, the U.S. had a very strong upper hand.  The women worked 24-7 with no days off and no attention to their accomplishments during or even after the war. They were proud citizens, devoted to saving lives.

Ada Stempler, a successful cryptologist, once stated: " We had been taught that no secret is kept for long and no code was so difficult that it wouldn't eventually be broken."

Dianne Kline, Researcher