Bombe

Bombe machine

Bombe, also styled bombe, electromechanical code-breaking machine created by cryptologists in Britain during World War II to decode German messages that were encrypted using the Enigma machine. The Bombe was derived from a device called the bomba—Polish for “bomb”—that was invented in Poland during the 1930s. Alan Turing developed the Bombe in 1939 at Bletchley Park, and the first Bombe machine was installed there in March 1940. Hundreds of Bombes were eventually built, including versions by the U.S. military. The Bombes were an important intelligence tool for the Allies, who used the machines to turn the tide of World War II against Nazi Germany.