Cracking the Luftwaffe Codes: The Secrets of Bletchley Park

Bletchley Park, or Station X, was home to the most famous codebreakers of the Second World War. The 19th century mansion was the key center for cracking German, Italian and Japanese codes, providing the allies with vital information. After the war, many intercepts, traffic-slips and paperwork were burned (allegedly at Churchill's behest). The truth about Bletchley was not revealed until F. Winterbotham's The Ultra Secret was published in 1974. Against seemingly insurmountable odds, codebreakers including Alan Turing, Gordon Welchman and Jim Rose had devised methods to allow them to read enemy codes, often within hours of the messages being received. New technology was invented to automate the deciphering of messages. Colossus, the world's first semi-programmable computer was invented at Bletchley to aid the decoding of Lorenz ciphers, used by the German High Command to send their most highly-classified and importantßcommunications. The codebreakers also had tremendous success in defeating the Luftwaffe's AuKa codes. In The Secrets of Bletchley, former WAAF (Women's Auxiliary Air Force) Gwen Watkins brings to life the reality of the German Air Section. Her memoir is the first account of this crucial division. In a highly informative, lyrical account, she details her eventful interview, eventual appointment at the µthe biggest lunatic asylum in Britain', methods for cracking codes, the day-to-day routine and decommisioning of her section. Lord Asa Briggs is a renowned historian who also served at Bletchley Park.