Anoraks Corner by Tony Sale
Your in deep trouble. Here is how it was broken.

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Tony Sale's
Codes and Ciphers
LAV HEE WTL BDF KCZ WSD KPR KKC CZW JYH ZEZ MQL YTS BMX KCE FVB TVP DVC WJF ZQA DER PPE FKX ZVC HNV LWQ DBV KBX YRC VJZ PGO ZNG GIA XYW ZWP XMZ LSD GSS GKL UXS PGY AHR BFH VIR BML SRK XVO ZPG IVM RQH JZC DTX HTT ZQQ RXP EKA RKP BTF SOC ALQ ZKK AGU BFX KVF SGQ HZE TUO IHN FKR CCF SDY MUY XMK WFG FKO KEP RRM HXS MVH SSS KFB UZU GIH RNZ PRG UBP MEA CEH OFZ EFA BUG SUI GOI GEM QMI ZJC TYS AGK FXT OLZ SLI YFB FUL DBO CYI BNO ZJF EWS OGP YGT YTA WYX QZZ CAG DSL CBP KZQ PKE CLW DRC KDQ JKG CDQ VHK LUR SDI PGH HYW RYC VBT QHR HUF VJM XTF DZB PJF STG OYV MMZ IYG LZC TCK HXG BXA LBJ MSJ SEQ KLY NHL EFO FLU RIH MHP FDL MMZ NJR QPA UZG JEN PXN GFM GSC FAG OTA KOM STM WSX OUJ KCN VRG QPU KLH AAD JPF HPX AWY DIF SAT OVA OND QND DRP TGM TDX NCO IZG XPZ LRT XVI PLC AAG UAE CRU JOR SMQ XQO SFX RED QEV RDJ BHL GAE THM YBZ KLA MCJ CCN BSU RUB HHG YZY XFE TMK QDK NTP MUO KHV MGU ZSN HGP TGU AGR TBV XKU GGC MJV MQI CYZ APQ BGW ZWO XFD WSX BIA HXF VEZ DPZ RJA ZJB LNX KZK WYM WLB FJP XDN AKN ZMM AGB QIL KCT NBC WNI
UWL QUD TUQ EYD YDE HND IBW WUP XLL LYT MLY KUZ EYD RCU MCN VRI GLN JPD JEW AJJ IFK KJM YJA PIJ KDD UAJ BGN MVP HWJ HCL AGY YVJ QBQ LDU QXB TCZ BPO DCH KCL UYZ QDZ WYS JLK CYY WUV CWP GUP NZE MYC LEW DEL QOW TBD QGC TJJ YQH SLQ UMP JTA WRF RMY PFD ZFU CTW DBN XRI PUE YQI EQD NKC IVB YFM UCM WHY YLB FRB BOF FLC ZWF FOC NSD MIU YLB YVN OWA LFL WFX BJH WWU JNG TFE MUZ YIQ WOQ TSX DXN IRV YAW AMW BKD OUV TMW KDK VOM DJF YFP HWK YFK PGT QTZ JLO FME ZKN RJN YSB WGO QAF ZDL AIL BPD EON VTM SNC VJD GNZ UNM PMU CEX COV OGO KNU VJX WTC SCV ZUE EUP CRC AUM CKN SZQ NQM MCU XKP WME BRF OJG QQT FWZ KXK KJM UIM SLT PCC AWO JPK GTJ UOP REN SPP HNS EGH ZBH TKV IJW WXJ NVS BTK BXX KFM DNZ PCY JVN UCF XMO XNP WIZ UQE KGS WYJ AXB BIT DNC DQD DME JYA QZN BLH JXW YNT XET KZZ DPX AYS ZZJ SEJ TMG NYP UNX LWS ZAB HUC CWI NHA NFK SCI VAW HDG QEH PPD IYV TZD GQM HNI XTU CVX CRY GCF YXT YNH RWL EHY AGU NDR FED RCO RBN TQL BUR HPW PQU PQD

One message is:

PG4 AN OKH 24/11 1300 140 HYN TCJ BJV

DDWGP UCTGP HVPXA PJEDG FJSRP BGVZM LUOUJ HDZJQ

UGMWW PTJZT YNSLC QVQND JJGHO MOKCB FMCEN VSGUV

DVXUJ LJZSJ OLPUH UARPK PBYUX DESXR WZPVU ADXXX

HKFMQ HDKZK VBHBY GIYPL

The date of November 1938, and the presence of indicators different for each message, suggests the use of Henryk Zygalski's Sheets.

First extract and list all the sets with repeat letters, first in the 1 and 4 positions in the enciphered message keys, then in 2 and 5 and finally in 3 and 6. Leaving out any with a last indicator letter in the range A to F because wheel 2 is on the right hand side and it's turnover at F must be avoided.

You get:
same letters at 1,4

OGP YGT YTA

PXN GFM GSC

SAT OVA OND

KZK WYM WLB

MVP HWJ HCL

MIU YLB YVN

PMU CEX COV

FWZ KXK KJM

NVS BTK BXX

BIT DNC DQD

CWI NHA NFK

XTU CVX CRY

HPW PQU PQD

 same letters at 2,5

RXP EKA RKP

CEH OFZ EFA

PGH HYW RYC

TCK HXG BXA

HGP TGU AGR

UWL QUD TUQ

BPO DCH KCL

RMY PFD ZFU











 same letter at 3,6

BUG SUI GOI

FJP XDN AKN

IRV YAW AMW

YFP HWK YFK

HNS EGH ZBH

AYS ZZJ SEJ
Now you need to find the ring settings consistant with these sets.
To do this you need the Zygalski Sheet generator from the Tool Box. Click here to either download it or get it from your disc:\anoraks\tools. If you are off line, make sure you are reading this page from disc:\anoraks.

To enable you to do the sheet overlaying in a reasonable time, you are given that the wheel order is 132 and that the first letter of the ring setting is B. (In real life with no prior knowledge you might have had to do 157 stackings on a bad day!!!)

So now enter the first indicator for 1,4, OGP and click on Next Sheet.

Now enter the rest of the indicators, generating an overlay each time. Holes dissappear and when one hole is left, the resultant rings: BAH shows on the top data line.

So now you know that the inner base settings of the Enigma machine for this day were: 132 . BAH. But that leaves the steckers to find.

You have a lot of information in the complete set of indicator/enciphered message key sets. For instance in the first set, RXP EKA RKP, you know that some unknown letter entered at position 2 enciphered into K and again enciphered into K at 5.

So now you need an Enigma machine. Click here or on three wheel Army/Air Force Enigma in the tool box. Set the Enigma machine to wheels 132 and rings BAH. No steckers.

Turn the wheels to the first indicator, RXP and key in single letters starting with Q, five times looking to see if the same lamp lights on 2 and 5. If it does, note down the lamp that lights and the letter being keyed. Work through the whole keyboard doing this. You will get two pairs of letters, E C and V Z which show this effect. But you know that the output letters were originally K, so K must be steckered to either E, C, V or Z.

Now you just have to accumulate evidence from all the other indicators in this way. A lot of work? Yes but remember you are beating a 150,million,million,million search space. Who said it would be easy??

With practice, which the Poles and later the British had, you can see which indicators are going to confirm or disprove any stecker hypothesis.

Here is the set of results on an alphabet.

............E......................................
............Z......................................
..........D.G.......Z.....A.....................Q..
..........F.O.......V.....F.....................K..
..Z.W.H...T.C.U...P.E.....A.S.M.........M...U.A.W..
..R.K.M...Z.Z.X...V.C.....I.U.J.........L...Y.H.Y..
A.B.C.D.E.F.G.H.I.J.K.L.M.N.O.P.Q.R.S.T.U.V.W.X.Y.Z

Taking first the confirmations, CK HX JP YW.
Next secondary deductions, DM because H is committed, then UL because M is committed, then OS because U is committed. Likely, GZ means BR because Z committed. That leaves NI or NA with F self steckered.

So install steckers CK HX JP YW DM UL OS GZ BR and try deciphering enciphered message keys with the test that the same three letters should decipher from the first and second cipher sets.
The first set, RXP . EKA RKP gives VEZ for the first set and VEW for the second. Now steckering A to N fixes this, VEW VEW. This confirms NA as the correct stecker.

Now the Enigma machine can be completely configured and the message deciphered.



PG4 AN OKH 24/11 1300 140 HYN TCJ BJV

DDWGP UCTGP HVPXA PJEDG FJSRP BGVZM LUOUJ HDZJQ

UGMWW PTJZT YNSLC QVQND JJGHO MOKCB FMCEN VSGUV

DVXUJ LJZSJ OLPUH UARPK PBYUX DESXR WZPVU ADXXX

HKFMQ HDKZK VBHBY GIYPL
You may need to print this then go look for tools.


This page was originally created by the late Tony Sale, the original curator of the Bletchley Park Museum,