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Joan Clarke - The woman who cracked Enigma code

webfact

By webfact
in World News

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webfact Grand Master Member

webfact

Posted
Posted

Joan Clarke, woman who cracked Enigma with Alan Turing
By Joe Miller

(BBC) Joan Clarke's ingenious work as a codebreaker during WW2 saved countless lives, and her talents were formidable enough to command the respect of some of the greatest minds of the 20th Century, despite the sexism of the time.

But while Bletchley Park hero Alan Turing - who was punished by a post-war society where homosexuality was illegal and died at 41 - has been treated more kindly by history, the same cannot yet be said for Clarke.

The only woman to work in the nerve centre of the quest to crack German Enigma ciphers, Clarke rose to deputy head of Hut 8, and would be its longest-serving member.

She was also Turing's lifelong friend and confidante and, briefly, his fiancee.

Her story has been immortalised by Keira Knightley in The Imitation Game, out in UK cinemas this week.

Full story: http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-29840653

bbclogo.jpg
-- BBC 2014-11-10

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Seastallion Platinum Member

Seastallion

Posted
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Posted

I know the article is about Joan, but it's a pity it glossed over Turing's demise. Alan Turing is a hero, an intellectual giant, and one whose death was avoidable if the mindset of the community had been more forward thinking.

  • Like 6
chuckd Diamond Member

chuckd

Posted
Posted (edited)

The article was about Ms. Clarke and her achievements.

She did a remarkable job and should be remembered for her contribution to the war effort both during and after the war.

Edited by chuckd
  • Like 1
Seastallion Platinum Member

Seastallion

Posted
Posted

The article was about Ms. Clarke and her achievements.

She did a remarkable job and should be remembered for her contribution to the war effort both during and after the war.

" I know the article is about Joan, but it's a pity it glossed over Turing's...... "

Please keep up. If you want to criticise, be more direct and have some substance to you criticism.

chuckd Diamond Member

chuckd

Posted
Posted

Actually, there was a thread about his posthumous pardon in the Gay sub-forum:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/691513-turing-pardoned/?hl=+alan%20+turing

I don't read the gay forum and my post was a comment on the article. The article glossed over Turing's greatness and the oppression leading to his death.

Glad to know he got some posthumous recognition.

OK, how about this.

Why should an article about Ms. Glass have anything in it about Turing and his problems in later life?

Certainly Turing contributed to the war effort, but so did Winston Churchill and he wasn't mentioned either.

Get a life and quit being so pedantic.

ezzra Star Member

ezzra

Posted
Posted

I like to me meet the man and get to Thailand to crack some of the Thai people enigmas,

like where is the Thai common sense gone, and why Thai people smile all day and still

yo feel as you have just been shafted by them....

  • Like 2
emilymat Silver Member

emilymat

Posted
Posted

I visited Bletchley Park earlier this year. I also worked there for a time on a course whilst in the army.

I have nothing but admiration for all those who worked there - in whatever capacity. It must have been sheer drudgery at times, but they stuck with it and definitely contributed to the shortening of WW2.

Seastallion Platinum Member

Seastallion

Posted
Posted

Actually, there was a thread about his posthumous pardon in the Gay sub-forum:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/691513-turing-pardoned/?hl=+alan%20+turing

I don't read the gay forum and my post was a comment on the article. The article glossed over Turing's greatness and the oppression leading to his death.

Glad to know he got some posthumous recognition.

OK, how about this.

Why should an article about Ms. Glass have anything in it about Turing and his problems in later life?

Certainly Turing contributed to the war effort, but so did Winston Churchill and he wasn't mentioned either.

Get a life and quit being so pedantic.

Stop being argumentative, The article mentioned Turing and mentioned his death. If you despise gay rights, that's your business, but I stand by what I said...it's a pity it was glossed over.

You get a life and stop being so crotchety.

  • Like 1
Scott Star Member

Scott

Posted
Posted

Let's stay on topic. The thread is about Joan Clarke. The lives of the two are intertwined in that they worked on the same project.

Please be civil.

chuckd Diamond Member

chuckd

Posted
Posted

Actually, there was a thread about his posthumous pardon in the Gay sub-forum:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/691513-turing-pardoned/?hl=+alan%20+turing

I don't read the gay forum and my post was a comment on the article. The article glossed over Turing's greatness and the oppression leading to his death.

Glad to know he got some posthumous recognition.

OK, how about this.

Why should an article about Ms. Glass have anything in it about Turing and his problems in later life?

Certainly Turing contributed to the war effort, but so did Winston Churchill and he wasn't mentioned either.

Get a life and quit being so pedantic.

Stop being argumentative, The article mentioned Turing and mentioned his death. If you despise gay rights, that's your business, but I stand by what I said...it's a pity it was glossed over.

You get a life and stop being so crotchety.

Sorry, Scott, but I am not going to let this comment stand unanswered.

" If you despise gay rights, that's your business,

I have made over 7,200 posts and I defy you to find one single post that I have made that is critical of gay rights. I won't let you impugn my reputation with your snide remarks.

I await your link to the post. You won't be able to find one.

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Norvid Explorer Member

Norvid

Posted
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Posted

It looks like some important facts need to be told about Enigma and code breaking history. There is a lot of false information going on in the movies and interest groups willing to tell lies instead of inconvenient for them truth. Internet, National Geographic Society and others are telling half-truth of many historical events to suit their own agenda. Here are facts:

http://www.codesandciphers.org.uk/virtualbp/poles/poles.htm

  • Like 3
HughJass Advanced Member

HughJass

Posted
Posted

funny how in this post feminist world we live in they had to come up with a woman who was equal to Alan Turing and of course make a movie out of it starring some Hollywood beauty (Keira Knightley) and no doubt rework the tale to fit their political agenda...fact is she was part of a team using the cryptanalytic process developed by Turing,thats not to say she wasnt clever but does it really warrant another movie about Bletchley Park when her character has featured in other adaptations of this tale?...can wait for the sequel where some African immigrant who was working in the backroom gets to shine

me313 Advanced Member

me313

Posted
Posted (edited)

How can Knightly portray anything more intellectual than a fashion magazine-reading catty cloying superficiality-witty blathering bigot hipster?

Edited by me313
quidnunc Silver Member

quidnunc

Posted
Posted

Actually, there was a thread about his posthumous pardon in the Gay sub-forum:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/691513-turing-pardoned/?hl=+alan%20+turing

I don't read the gay forum and my post was a comment on the article. The article glossed over Turing's greatness and the oppression leading to his death.

Glad to know he got some posthumous recognition.

There have been lots and lots and lots of articles and books and movies and a play about the achievements and misfortunes of Alan Turing. No need to rehash it in an article about a person who still is genuinely underappreciated.

German Viking Gold Member

German Viking

Posted
Posted

It looks like some important facts need to be told about Enigma and code breaking history. There is a lot of false information going on in the movies and interest groups willing to tell lies instead of inconvenient for them truth. Internet, National Geographic Society and others are telling half-truth of many historical events to suit their own agenda. Here are facts:

http://www.codesandciphers.org.uk/virtualbp/poles/poles.htm

As you provide the polish made the main work to break the code of the first Enigma M3, they found out a systematic, caused of a bored german soldier who used the machine while sending the same letter hundert times or more.

The Enigma never had sent the same letter again: for example if you liked to send the "E", then the Enigma used any letter to encryt the "E" but never the letter "E" himself.

This was the first real break thru, but without a codebook hopeless. The polish has start in 1928 until they came in1938 to this conclusion, then they involved the french, but this was not real going further.

In the middle of 1939 was also the english informed about the development of the polish.

All 3 main forces in germany used the same Enigma machines, but different codes, every system is only as good as their crypting codes are.

The english could relative fast decryt the Codes of the german "Heer" and the "Luftwaffe", but the "Marine" codes also used by the "U Boots" was much more complicated. The "Deutsche Marine" developed for example for the

weather news a special code they created abbreviations.

For example: a "R" on the third position meant "+11 C in the Air".

but in the artic sea meant the same letter same position "-14 C in the Air".

or a "M" on the fifth position "average high waves from the south".

The english had the luck and could capture U 110 before it sunk on the 9. may 1941 and found their codebook in good conditions.

From this moment the german UBoot force had big losses.

The first Enigma M3 could create 150 Billion of possible combinations.

End of februaby 1942 the german used a new enigma M4 which multiplayed the combinations x 1000.

From this moment the english was out of business until end of october 1942 and the german UBoots sunk a lot of ships.

On 30. october 1942 the english captured U 559 in the medditerean sea, with a full intact new enigma M4 the english was about 6 weeks later in business again.

For sure the ppl in Blechtley Park made good work, but without the help of the polish on the first hand and later the find of the 2 codebooks and the new Enigma M4 of U 559 they could never solve these problems.

German Viking Gold Member

German Viking

Posted
Posted

Everyone knows that America cracked Enigma. It was in the movie. tongue.png

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0141926/

... and sadly despite Clinton apologising many Americans actually still believe all that. Imagine if the Brits made a movie depicting them as building Saturn V (not von Braun!) and 'landing' on the moon. whistling.gif

For sure Wernher von Braun was a real american by birth and he never worked in Peenemünde(V1, V2) like a big part of his team in houston. whistling.gif

German Viking Gold Member

German Viking

Posted
Posted

Everyone knows that America cracked Enigma. It was in the movie. tongue.png

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0141926/

... and sadly despite Clinton apologising many Americans actually still believe all that. Imagine if the Brits made a movie depicting them as building Saturn V (not von Braun!) and 'landing' on the moon. whistling.gif

For sure Wernher von Braun was an american by birth and never worked in Peenemünde

(V1, V2 also as a big part of his team in Houston also.

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