Heath Robinson was a machine used by British codebreaker

Codebreaker

Codebreaker may refer to:*A person who performs cryptanalysis*The Codebreakers, a 1967 book on history of cryptography by David Kahn*Codebreaker , a 1981 puzzle-based computer game, originally released for the Atari 2600...

s at Bletchley Park

Bletchley Park

Bletchley Park is an estate located in the town of Bletchley, in Buckinghamshire, England, which currently houses the National Museum of Computing...

 during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 to solve messages in the German teleprinter

Teleprinter

A teleprinter is a electromechanical typewriter that can be used to communicate typed messages from point to point and point to multipoint over a variety of communication channels that range from a simple electrical connection, such as a pair of wires, to the use of radio and microwave as the...

 cipher used by the Lorenz SZ40/42 cipher machine; the cipher and machine were called "Tunny" by the codebreakers, who named different German teleprinter ciphers after fish

Fish (cryptography)

Fish was the Allied codename for any of several German teleprinter stream ciphers used during World War II. Enciphered teleprinter traffic was used between German High Command and Army Group commanders in the field, so its intelligence value was of the highest strategic value to the Allies...

. It was the predecessor to the electronic Colossus computer

Colossus computer

Not to be confused with the fictional computer of the same name in the movie Colossus: The Forbin Project.Colossus was the world's first electronic, digital, programmable computer. Colossus and its successors were used by British codebreakers to help read encrypted German messages during World War II...

. It was dubbed "Heath Robinson" by the Wrens who operated it, after cartoonist William Heath Robinson, who drew immensely complicated mechanical devices for simple tasks, similar to Rube Goldberg

Rube Goldberg

Reuben Garrett Lucius Goldberg was an American cartoonist, sculptor, author, engineer and inventor.He is best known for a series of popular cartoons depicting complex gadgets that perform simple tasks in indirect, convoluted ways. These devices, now known as Rube Goldberg machines, are similar to...

 in the USA.
The machine was designed by Max Newman

Max Newman

Maxwell Herman Alexander "Max" Newman, FRS was a British mathematician and codebreaker.-Pre–World War II:Max Newman was born Maxwell Neumann in Chelsea, London, England, on 7 February 1897...

. C. E. Wynn-Williams designed the electronic counters, and engineers at the Post Office Research Station

Post Office Research Station

The Post Office Research Station at Dollis Hill, London, was first established in 1921 and opened by Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald in 1933.In 1943 the world's first programmable electronic computer, Colossus Mark 1 was built by Tommy Flowers and his team, followed in 1944 and 1945 by nine...

engineered other parts of the machine. Current encrypted traffic was read for the first time in July 1942.