|
 |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 ol. Edward Deeds, who served for many years as an executive of NCR, was educated as an electrical engineer and was a highly respected member of scientific circles in the 1930s. He was familiar with the advanced electronic research being conducted around the country and decided to begin similar research at the National Cash Register Company. In 1938 he hired Joseph R. Desch to begin an Electrical Research Laboratory. At Deeds’ direction, Desch conducted research to implement pioneering ideas in the use of tubes and circuitry in counting devices, with the idea of developing high-speed mathematical computing machines to augment or replace NCR’s mechanical registers and adding machines. In 1940, this research took a sudden turn when the Lab, because of its national reputation, started accepting a series of defense contracts for high-speed counters. Within two years, this work attracted the attention of the U. S. Navy. In a 1945 research report, Desch wrote that: “. . . they began to show interest in acquiring our services for other developments, resulting within a few months in the termination of our [other] work . . . and the application of all of our energies to the development of special highly secret navy equipment.” The Electrical Research Laboratory, taken over by the Navy, was renamed the U. S. Naval Computing Machine Laboratory (USNCML) and staffed by a combination of NCR employees and officers from Naval Communications Intelligence. The USNCML was responsible for the design and production of important cryptologic machines during World War II, including the “Bombe,” the workhorse of the U.S. Navy’s efforts against the German Naval Enigma code. The Bombe and other machines made at NCR brought together the talents of many of the pioneers in electronics producing the technological advances necessary during the war. Their efforts remained a highly classified secret for over 50 years. Late in the 1980s the National Security Agency and the U. S. Navy slowly, quietly and carefully began to release documents about NCR’s role in codebreaking, but even now it remains unknown to most of the American public. The web site, www.thebombe.com, was born in 2001 when the Dayton Daily News ran an 8-part series about Dayton’s role in code breaking in World War II, centering on the work of Joseph R. Desch. Through the last 12 years I’ve been privileged to “pick the brains” of many experts on cryptology, cryptanalysis and military history. As a result I wanted to provide an index of these sources for anyone curious to learn more about the subject. After the second reunion of the veterans of the project in October 2001 in Dayton, I realized that the site could be not just a reference to existing material, but a forum for emerging stories and information about the USNCML. The news soon will include a video documentary, made here in Dayton by reporter/producer Aileen LeBlanc and myself. Also, a book co-authored by DDN reporter Jim DeBrosse and Colin Burke will be published soon. The site will soon be revamped and updated to prepare for 2004, so check back often. Deborah Desch Anderson |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
