# Looking For A Virtual Enigma

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-virtual-enigma/569839>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [February 2, 2011, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-virtual-enigma/569839 "2011-02-02T00:08:52Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\
**Post date:** [February 2, 2011, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-virtual-enigma/569839/1 "2011-02-02T00:08:52Z")

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**Other** than the one found on **Nova**. On that one you can’t change the rotors. There are three and on the real machine I believe there were 4. Only “A” is available.

I’ve always been interested in codes and cyphers and especially in Germany’s Enigma.

I worked with the KW 26 encryption machine while in the USAF in the 70’s. Man, was that a mutha to deal with! Points had to be cleaned repeatedly…

So… anyone know of a virtual Enigma that is true to the original?

Thanks

Q

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**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\
**Post date:** [February 2, 2011, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-virtual-enigma/569839/2 "2011-02-02T00:51:34Z")

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There were many, many different varieties of Enigma machine in use by Germany. In the military, only the German Navy used a four-rotor machine. The Luftwaffe and the army had slightly different versions of the three-rotor design.

The Crypto museum has a great [Enigma Family Tree](http://www.cryptomuseum.com/crypto/enigma/tree.htm) showing all the mass-produced models.

[Here](http://people.physik.hu-berlin.de/~palloks/js/enigma/index_en.html) is a page with Javascript simulations of several models. Some allow the wheels to be changed.

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**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\
**Post date:** [February 2, 2011, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-virtual-enigma/569839/3 "2011-02-02T00:58:31Z")

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**Yes!**

Exactly what I was looking for, **friedo** , thanks! 🙂  
I’m gonna have a lot of fun with all of these!

And for what it’s worth, I don’t agree with the description under your nick!

Q

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**Author:** ![Deflagration](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3ab097/32.png) [@Deflagration](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deflagration)\
**Post date:** [February 2, 2011, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-virtual-enigma/569839/4 "2011-02-02T06:19:09Z")

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There is another one [Here](http://www.bletchleypark.org.uk/content/enigmasim.rhtm#)

As an aside - I had a relative who worked with the Enigma codes at Bletchley Park during the war. Her work was so secret that it’s only in the last year or so that we have found this out.

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**Author:** ![TerpBE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc8723/32.png) [@TerpBE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TerpBE)\
**Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-virtual-enigma/569839/5 "2011-02-03T21:27:57Z")

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I initially misread this title as “Looking for a Virtual Enema”, and had to open it out of curiosity.