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By all means report the stolen ENIGMA machine if it turns up, but don't
shoot on sight! I believe there is at least one Enigma in the USA
legitimately -- in the Keith Melton Collection. He has had it for many years
and I believe it is the one he illustrated in his book THE ULTIMATE SPY
BOOK. I remember Keith telling me many years ago about when he bought his
Enigma, and flew to Germany to pick it up. Parts of Keith's collection is
sometimes exhibited to government agencies (no names, no pack drill).
Keith has been a serious collector for many years and when I sold off my
collection of secret agent stuff, some of it went into his collection. The
WWII brass ring with the top that unscrews that is on the cover of his book
(and pp. 111 + 126) looks VERY familiar! Unfortunately, a lot of stuff that
I used to collect quite legally is now PROHIBITED in Canada due to our
rapidly changing laws so I had to sell it off to US collectors before our
government could seize and destroy it. Neat stuff like US Govt .32 Colts,
knuckeduster knives such as the BC-41 and Middle East Commando Knife,
British S.O.,E. issue gravity knife, Little Joe cross-bow arrows, dagger
hidden inside a wooden dip pen etc.
What is Enigma? It is a WWII German cipher machine (NOT a code machine as
some call it). It enciphers and deciphers each letter in a message. It
looks something like a black typewriter in a wooden box. There are large
sprocket wheels in its top wheels like an adjustable date stamp. When the
operator types a letter's key, the signal is changed by the machine and a
totally different letter appears on the message. Easy enough you say, but
the machine can also decipher the message - if the setting of the wheels is
known. The Germans thought it was an unbreakable method of enciphering
messages. As I recall, the Poles helped the British to capture one and at
Bletchly (British Code and Cipher School is I believe the cover name) this
is where the main work was done. The first computer was used to break the
system. The British could not reveal that they had broken the ciphers, or
the Germans would have stopped using the machines and invented something
even tougher with disastrous results for the Allies. The information was
VERY carefully used and allowed Allied Generals to 'read the other
gentlemen's mail'. The US did this with the Japanese ciphers - MAGIC is what
that project was called I believe. Lots of books out there on the subject.
Any by Keith Melton or David Kahn (THE best authority on this subject) are
EXCELLENT.
The Chairperson of a National Exhibition Centre that I was Director of had
worked as a young lady at Bletchly during the war. She later moved to
Saskatchewan, Canada.
Relevance to the MV list?
- Enigmas were sometimes carried on German vehicles for decoding the
General's messages. (Talk about the ultimate MV accessory! )
- Keith Melton's collection also includes a totally original WELBIKE with
the WD number still on the sides of the fuel tanks (An MVPA member told me
about it, I could not afford it so told Keith about it, and then kicked
myself when he sent me a photo of his new acquisition.)
- Keith also has an original "SLEEPING BEAUTY" WWII British submersible
motorized canoe as used by saboteurs! It may be the only one left in
existance. During testing of these amazing little craft, one operator was
reported to have looped the loop under water in his!
Colin Macgregor Stevens
MVPA Member 954 (since 1977)
Editor MAPLE LEAF UP (Est. 1977) newsletter
of Western Command Military Vehicle Historical Society
Pitt Meadows, British Columbia, Canada
E-mail: colin@pacdat.net
Personal web site: http://bcoy1cpb.pacdat.net
1944 Willys MB
1942 BSA airborne bicycles (2)
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