Re: 'BOMBE-Rebuild' article & photos in Mail on Sunday

Martin and readers

You might be interested in the background to this middle page spread and 
how it was that it was less accurate than our Rebuild team would have 
liked.

It all started last week with the IMechE (Institution of Mechanical 
Engineers) making a heritage award the Turing Bombe. Because an original 
did not exist our accurate rebuild was accepted as a substitute for the 
originals. As you know none of the originals now exist.

The award ceremony took place in the Bombe Rebuild area last Tuesday 
with IMechE, British Computer Society and Bletchley Park Trust senior 
representatives present. Many of our Rebuild team were around to receive 
the award.

More importantly we had people in attendance who had worked on the 
original machine or were descendants of prominent BP W.W.II people.

Various photos were taken and it was the Associated Press copies that 
came to the attention of the Times on Sunday. It is these with the 
people present that were printed in the newspaper and displayed on the 
WEB site.

The first I heard about the Times on Sunday interest was around midday 
on Thursday when the BP office telephoned to say that their 
representative was already on his way to take photos. I was not able to 
get to BP in time to be of any use but the BP staff did very well in 
compensating. It is this excellent photo taken that day that became the 
full page picture on pages 46 and 47. Most will know that this is a rear 
view with the machine open for maintenance.

The text on page 46 is another matter altogether. This was put together 
by a Times on Sunday lady reporter following a very long telephone call 
on Friday around lunch time. Although the lady in question was clearly a 
very good reporter she had little or no knowledge of the subject. For 
example she was very insistent that she should know what the Bombe is 
made of? I said, numerous materials and a list that was too long for a 
newspaper article. She asked me for an example and that is why the 
Tufnol reference appear. She wanted to say that the machine frame was 
made of cast iron. I said it wasn't but this did not get changed.

And so it went on. Not enough time had been allowed for something so 
technical and although a great deal of reference material could have 
been made available this was not possible in the time left to us. The 
article 'went to bed' at 9.00 p.m.

As those who follow this subject will know the Bombe is not a computer. 
Dependant or your idea of what defines a computer, Colossus can be put 
into this category but not the Bombe. There are no silver dials and no 
bell and so it goes on.

As they say; don't believe everything you read in newspaper. Having said 
that, if one does not take too much notice of the technical detail this 
is marvellous publicity for the Park and our Project where I am told 
that visitor number are above forecast in spite of the recession.

Best regards

>29th March 2009
>
>The Wider View :
>Nazi codebreaker which shortened the Second World War by two years
>------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>By Mail On Sunday Reporter
>
>The rows of silver dials and tangle of scarlet wires look more like a
>telephone exchange.
>
>But this is the inside of the Turing Bombe, the part-electronic,
>part-mechanical code-breaking machine and forerunner of the modern
>computer, which cracked 3,000 messages a day sent on Nazi Enigma machines
>during the Second World War.
>
>There were 210 such bookcase-like Bombes that gave Britain advance warning
>of Hitler's plans and shortened the conflict by two years..../snip/
>
>
>http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1165535/
>The-Wider-View-Nazi-codebreaker-shortened-Second-World-War-years.html
>
>http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2009/03/28/article-1165535-041C8EA9000005
>DC-759_634x418_popup.jpg
>
>http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2009/03/28/article-1165535-0412A5EA000005
>DC-1_634x377_popup.jpg
>
>http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2009/03/28/article-1165535-0412A762000005
>DC-903_634x425_popup.jpg
>
>http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2009/03/28/article-1165535-041C7D35000005
>DC-708_634x448_popup.jpg
>

-- 
John Harper
Project Manager
Bombe Rebuild Project