Testery
Encyclopedia
The Testery was a section at Bletchley Park
, the British codebreaking station during World War II
. It was set up in July 1942 under Major Ralph Tester
to achieve Cryptanalysis of the Lorenz cipher
. The three original founding members, cryptographers, and linguists were Captain Jerry Roberts
, Captain Peter Ericsson, and Major Denis Oswald. All four were fluent in German. The Testery used hand decrypting methods to break Tunny traffic. Within one year of its foundation, the Testery had deciphered 1.5 million texts by these methods.
The logical structure of the Tunny system was worked out by mathematician Bill Tutte (William Thomas Tutte) in the Spring of 1942. Tunny had 12 wheels, and was more advanced, complex, faster and far more secure than the well-known 3-4 wheeled Enigma machine
. The Germans were convinced that the Tunny cipher system was unbreakable. Tunny was the cipher system which carried only the highest grade of intelligence: messages from the German Army Headquarters in Berlin and the top generals and field marshals on all fronts. Some were signed by Hitler himself. Tens of thousands of Tunny messages were intercepted by the British and broken at Bletchley Park by Captain Roberts and his fellow codebreakers in the Testery. These messages contained much vital insight into top-level German thinking and planning.
After the Testery had been breaking Tunny for a year by hand, the Newmanry
became active from July 1943 under Max Newman
. Mathematicians in the Newmanry used machine methods to speed up breaking Tunny. Early on, a machine called (Heath) Robinson was produced, to help speed up one stage — breaking of the chi wheels, but the Robinson was a bit slow and not too reliable. Fortunately, in February 1944 a new machine called “Colossus
” became operational; it was the world's first electronic computer. Colossus was designed and built in only ten months by Tommy Flowers
of the G.P.O. (Post Office). This had far greater capacity and speed than the Robinson and so the whole breaking process became much faster. The Colossus was essential for making the very fast counts needed to work out the “de-chis”, but the psi-wheels and motor-wheels were still broken by hand in the Testery.
The Testery was hand code-breaking Tunny for 12 months before the Robinson machine was produced and for 19 months before Colossus operated. With the help of the Newmanry, the Testery broke up to 90% of the traffic given to them to work on in the Colossus period.
The information provided by Tunny enabled the Allies to ascertain German movements, saving thousands of lives at critical junctures such as D-Day and the battle of Kursk in the Soviet Union. General Dwight D. Eisenhower
gave the best summary after World War II
. He said that "Bletchley decrypts shortened the War by at least two years". Tunny played a very important role in all of this, a war which was costing at least 10 million lives a year. A great deal of this was down to Bill Tutte.
The story of Enigma (declassified in the 1970s) is well known, but the story of Tunny, Germany's top-secret cipher machine, was only declassified a few years ago. Most of the cryptographers in the Testery died before they could tell their stories. On October 25th, 2011, a BBC documentary airs documenting the story of Tunny.
By the war's end in Europe
in May 1945, the Testery had grown to nine cryptographers, a team of 24 ATS, a total staff of 118, organised in three shifts working round the clock.
Bletchley Park
Bletchley Park is an estate located in the town of Bletchley, in Buckinghamshire, England, which currently houses the National Museum of Computing...
, the British codebreaking station 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...
. It was set up in July 1942 under Major Ralph Tester
Ralph Tester
Ralph P. Tester was an administrator at Bletchley Park, the British codebreaking station during World War II. He founded and supervised a section named the Testery for breaking TUNNY .-Background:...
to achieve Cryptanalysis of the Lorenz cipher
Cryptanalysis of the Lorenz cipher
Cryptanalysis of the Lorenz cipher was the process that enabled the British to read secret German military messages during World War II. The British Government Code and Cypher School at Bletchley Park decrypted many communications between the German High Command in Berlin and their army commands...
. The three original founding members, cryptographers, and linguists were Captain Jerry Roberts
Jerry Roberts
Captain Jerry Roberts was born at Wembley, London in November 1920. His father was a pharmacist and his mother an organist who played in the local chapel....
, Captain Peter Ericsson, and Major Denis Oswald. All four were fluent in German. The Testery used hand decrypting methods to break Tunny traffic. Within one year of its foundation, the Testery had deciphered 1.5 million texts by these methods.
The logical structure of the Tunny system was worked out by mathematician Bill Tutte (William Thomas Tutte) in the Spring of 1942. Tunny had 12 wheels, and was more advanced, complex, faster and far more secure than the well-known 3-4 wheeled Enigma machine
Enigma machine
An Enigma machine is any of a family of related electro-mechanical rotor cipher machines used for the encryption and decryption of secret messages. Enigma was invented by German engineer Arthur Scherbius at the end of World War I...
. The Germans were convinced that the Tunny cipher system was unbreakable. Tunny was the cipher system which carried only the highest grade of intelligence: messages from the German Army Headquarters in Berlin and the top generals and field marshals on all fronts. Some were signed by Hitler himself. Tens of thousands of Tunny messages were intercepted by the British and broken at Bletchley Park by Captain Roberts and his fellow codebreakers in the Testery. These messages contained much vital insight into top-level German thinking and planning.
After the Testery had been breaking Tunny for a year by hand, the Newmanry
Newmanry
The Newmanry was a section at Bletchley Park, the British codebreaking station during World War II. Its job was to develop and employ machine methods in Cryptanalysis of the Lorenz cipher. The Newmanry was named after its founder and head, Max Newman...
became active from July 1943 under 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...
. Mathematicians in the Newmanry used machine methods to speed up breaking Tunny. Early on, a machine called (Heath) Robinson was produced, to help speed up one stage — breaking of the chi wheels, but the Robinson was a bit slow and not too reliable. Fortunately, in February 1944 a new machine called “Colossus
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...
” became operational; it was the world's first electronic computer. Colossus was designed and built in only ten months by Tommy Flowers
Tommy Flowers
Thomas "Tommy" Harold Flowers, MBE was an English engineer. During World War II, Flowers designed Colossus, the world's first programmable electronic computer, to help solve encrypted German messages.-Early life:...
of the G.P.O. (Post Office). This had far greater capacity and speed than the Robinson and so the whole breaking process became much faster. The Colossus was essential for making the very fast counts needed to work out the “de-chis”, but the psi-wheels and motor-wheels were still broken by hand in the Testery.
The Testery was hand code-breaking Tunny for 12 months before the Robinson machine was produced and for 19 months before Colossus operated. With the help of the Newmanry, the Testery broke up to 90% of the traffic given to them to work on in the Colossus period.
The information provided by Tunny enabled the Allies to ascertain German movements, saving thousands of lives at critical junctures such as D-Day and the battle of Kursk in the Soviet Union. General Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...
gave the best summary after 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...
. He said that "Bletchley decrypts shortened the War by at least two years". Tunny played a very important role in all of this, a war which was costing at least 10 million lives a year. A great deal of this was down to Bill Tutte.
The story of Enigma (declassified in the 1970s) is well known, but the story of Tunny, Germany's top-secret cipher machine, was only declassified a few years ago. Most of the cryptographers in the Testery died before they could tell their stories. On October 25th, 2011, a BBC documentary airs documenting the story of Tunny.
List of senior executives and codebreakers on Tunny in the Testery
- Peter BenensonPeter BenensonPeter Benenson was an English lawyer and the founder of human rights group Amnesty International . In 2001, Benenson received the Pride of Britain Award for Lifetime Achievement.-Biography:...
codebreaker - John Christie codebreaker
- Tom Colvill general manager
- Peter Edgerley codebreaker
- Peter Ericsson shift-leader, linguist and senior codebreaker
- Peter HiltonPeter HiltonPeter John Hilton was a British mathematician, noted for his contributions to homotopy theory and for code-breaking during the Second World War.-Life:Hilton was born in London, and educated at St Paul's School...
codebreaker and mathematician - Roy JenkinsRoy JenkinsRoy Harris Jenkins, Baron Jenkins of Hillhead OM, PC was a British politician.The son of a Welsh coal miner who later became a union official and Labour MP, Roy Jenkins served with distinction in World War II. Elected to Parliament as a Labour member in 1948, he served in several major posts in...
codebreaker (later moved on to wheel setter) - Victor Masters shift-leader
- Denis Oswald linguist and senior codebreaker
- Jerry RobertsJerry RobertsCaptain Jerry Roberts was born at Wembley, London in November 1920. His father was a pharmacist and his mother an organist who played in the local chapel....
shift-leader, linguist and senior codebreaker - Ralph TesterRalph TesterRalph P. Tester was an administrator at Bletchley Park, the British codebreaking station during World War II. He founded and supervised a section named the Testery for breaking TUNNY .-Background:...
linguist and head of Testery - Jack Thompson codebreaker
By the war's end in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
in May 1945, the Testery had grown to nine cryptographers, a team of 24 ATS, a total staff of 118, organised in three shifts working round the clock.