Codebreakers: Bletchley Park's Lost Heroes - Films Media Group

Three Codebreakers (01:24)

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Alan Turing was the man who broke the enigma code in 1939. But, this was only half of the story about codebreaking that saved millions and took years off of WWII. The story of Tutte and Flowers, who broke a much more difficult code, has faded into history.

House of Secrets (02:57)

Bletchley Park's codebreaking history begins in 1939. Scientists Tutte and Flowers worked on a code called Tunny. The last surviving WWII codebreaker revisits Bletchley Park.

Enigma: Tunney's Precursor (03:53)

We learn the history and importance of Enigma, "a formidable opponent." Increasingly, wireless transmissions were used to communicate with large, moving armies. In 1941, a "strange sound" began to be picked out in the ethers of wireless communication. This code system moved the information war into new territory.

The Secret Writer (03:49)

Bletchley Park recruited mathematicians as codebreakers. Hitler's Enigma was outdated and the Tunny made it possible to send a vast amount of information from operator to receiver. Learn how the Lorenz cipher machine was constructed.

Code and the Third Reich (02:30)

There were less than 30 Tunny receivers, yet the territory between the sender and the receivers covered the entire reach of the Third Reich. The Tunny was a code that no one understood, generated by a machine that no one had seen.

Research and Development (01:48)

Viewers learn about the early years of the life of Bill Tutte. Bletchley Park hired Tutte when he was 24 years old.

"The Break" (06:33)

A break in the decoding of Tunny came when a German operator sent the same message twice without changing the encryption. The two messages had slight differences because of operator error. Legendary codebreaker John Tilton had the first try at the code. We see how some of the code was broken.

"The Break" - Code Patterns (04:42)

Frustrated by their inability to crack Tunny, senior codebreakers gave their project to Tutte. We see how he broke the 4,000-word message into columns, and further, he discovered a rotation in the code and finally made a correct deduction about the number of spokes in the first wheel.

Military Intelligence (03:06)

Even though Tunny was being deciphered by hand, the British uncovered vast information about German troop movements. England was able to warn Russia about the German threat. German defeat turned the tide of the war.

Machine Man (05:16)

Putting Bill Tutte's theories into practice would lead to one of the technological breakthroughs of WWII. It was not revealed until 60 years later. Tommy Flowers converted patterns into electronic circuits--a massive project--and the machine worked the first time. His machine was called Colossus, the first semi-programmable computer.

D-Day (04:04)

The most important information garnered from the Tunny system in the run-up to D-Day was German battle order. It was also clear that the Normandy coast would be less well-defended. Over time, the British began to understand how Hitler's mind worked.

Maintain the Silence (02:19)

After the War, all of the Bletchley Park participants were sworn to secrecy. During the Cold War, the Russians used Tunny. In 1946 the Americans announce the creation of ENIAC, the world's first computer. Already, the true history of computers was being corrupted.

Post-War Achievements (03:04)

Tutte moved to Canada and was involved in computer science, graph theory, and mathematics. In 1982, Tommy Flowers spoke at the Museum of Digital technology, yet he was constrained by the Prime Minister to keep most of Bletchley's secrets intact.

Recognitions (04:13)

We learn more about recognitions given to Tutte and Flowers. Tutte was invited into the Royal Society whereas Flowers was not. These two men died within four years of each other.

Credits: Codebreakers: Bletchley Park’s Lost Heroes (00:48)

Credits: Codebreakers: Bletchley Park’s Lost Heroes