AVA Radio Company
Encyclopedia
The AVA Radio Company was a Polish
electronics
firm founded in 1929 in Warsaw
, Poland. AVA designed and built radio equipment for the Polish General Staff's Cipher Bureau
, which was responsible for the radio communications of the General Staff's Oddział II (Section II, the General Staff's intelligence
section).
After the Cipher Bureau's mathematician
-cryptologist Marian Rejewski
in late December 1932 deduced the wiring in the German
military Enigma
rotor cipher machine, AVA built Enigma "doubles" as well as all the electro-mechanical equipment designed at the Cipher Bureau to expedite decryption of Enigma ciphers.
, Antoni Palluth
, Ludomir Danilewicz
, and his younger brother Leonard Danilewicz
. The company took its name from the combined radio callsigns of the Danilewicz brothers (TPAV) and Palluth (TPVA). When the company was being formed in 1929, the Danilewicz brothers were short-wave "ham
s" and students at the Warsaw Polytechnic.
In 1927, Fokczyński had opened a small radio workshop on Warsaw
's New World Street. Sporadically he had received orders from the Cipher Bureau, whose Captain Maksymilian Ciężki
knew Fokczyński from his 1919–22 army service. Beginning in 1929, the modest shop, ten minutes' walk from the General Staff building, which housed the Cipher Bureau
, was transformed into AVA. The company subsequently moved to new facilities in southern Warsaw's Mokotów
district.
Early on, the fledgling company was severely under-capitalized. All four directors, however, had other jobs; and soon the Cipher Bureau came to the rescue with an order for eight 10-watt short-wave radio stations, which became the embryo of Section II's radio network. AVA also won other clients, including the Polish Navy
and Professor Lugeon of the Warsaw Meteoroglogical Institute, for whom AVA built, to his design, an atmoradiograf that registered disturbances in the atmosphere; this, Leonard Danilewicz later recalled, was the unheralded beginning of radioastronomy.
The General Staff's Cipher Bureau
was responsible for the radio communications of the General Staff's Section II (Intelligence section). The Cipher Bureau entrusted the design and construction of the equipment to AVA. The work was carried out on a cost-plus
basis, to the benefit of both AVA and the General Staff.
In December 1932, the Cipher Bureau's mathematician-cryptologist Marian Rejewski
reconstructed the wiring of the German Enigma machine
. The Poles' subsequent reading of German cipher
s laid the foundation for the western Allies' Ultra
cipher-breaking operations, beginning seven years later, during World War II
. Now, in January 1933, just as Hitler was coming to power in Germany, AVA quickly produced a "double" of the Enigma machine; by mid-1934, it had made over a dozen.
In 1934 or 1935, AVA built the cyclometer
, a device designed by Rejewski to prepare a "card catalog
" that facilitated the decryption of Enigma messages. In 1938 AVA built the "cryptologic bomb," invented by Rejewski about October 1938. This was an electrically powered aggregate of six Enigmas that took the place of some one hundred workers. Six bombs were built before September 1939.
Actual assembly of the cyclometers, "bombs" and LCD
cipher machines was carried out not at the AVA facilities but in Room 13 (the "Clock Room") at the Cipher Bureau in the General Staff building—and, from 1937, at the new Cipher Bureau center in the Kabaty Woods
south of Warsaw. No one had access to this room except the head of the Cipher Bureau, Gwido Langer
, the head of its German section (B.S. 4), Maksymilian Ciężki
, and personnel employed there: Antoni Palluth
, Ludomir Danilewicz
, his younger brother Leonard
, Edward Fokczyński
, and the specialist in precision mechanics, Czesław Betlewski.
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
electronics
Electronics
Electronics is the branch of science, engineering and technology that deals with electrical circuits involving active electrical components such as vacuum tubes, transistors, diodes and integrated circuits, and associated passive interconnection technologies...
firm founded in 1929 in Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
, Poland. AVA designed and built radio equipment for the Polish General Staff's Cipher Bureau
Biuro Szyfrów
The Biuro Szyfrów was the interwar Polish General Staff's agency charged with both cryptography and cryptology ....
, which was responsible for the radio communications of the General Staff's Oddział II (Section II, the General Staff's intelligence
Military intelligence
Military intelligence is a military discipline that exploits a number of information collection and analysis approaches to provide guidance and direction to commanders in support of their decisions....
section).
After the Cipher Bureau's mathematician
Mathematician
A mathematician is a person whose primary area of study is the field of mathematics. Mathematicians are concerned with quantity, structure, space, and change....
-cryptologist Marian Rejewski
Marian Rejewski
Marian Adam Rejewski was a Polish mathematician and cryptologist who in 1932 solved the plugboard-equipped Enigma machine, the main cipher device used by Germany...
in late December 1932 deduced the wiring in the German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
military Enigma
Enigma machine
An Enigma machine is any of a family of related electro-mechanical rotor cipher machines used for the encryption and decryption of secret messages. Enigma was invented by German engineer Arthur Scherbius at the end of World War I...
rotor cipher machine, AVA built Enigma "doubles" as well as all the electro-mechanical equipment designed at the Cipher Bureau to expedite decryption of Enigma ciphers.
History
AVA's four directors were Edward FokczyńskiEdward Fokczyński
Edward Fokczyński was one of the four directors of the AVA Radio Company, an electronics firm established in Warsaw, Poland, in 1929. AVA produced radio equipment for the Polish General Staff's Cipher Bureau, which was responsible for the radio communications of the General Staff's Intelligence...
, Antoni Palluth
Antoni Palluth
Antoni Palluth , was a civilian employee in the German section of the Polish General Staff's interbellum Cipher Bureau.-Life:...
, Ludomir Danilewicz
Ludomir Danilewicz
Ludomir Danilewicz was a Polish engineer and, for some ten years before the outbreak of World War II, one of the four directors of the AVA Radio Company in Warsaw, Poland...
, and his younger brother Leonard Danilewicz
Leonard Danilewicz
Leonard Stanisław Danilewicz was a Polish engineer and, for some ten years before the outbreak of World War II, one of the four directors of the AVA Radio Company in Warsaw, Poland...
. The company took its name from the combined radio callsigns of the Danilewicz brothers (TPAV) and Palluth (TPVA). When the company was being formed in 1929, the Danilewicz brothers were short-wave "ham
Amateur radio operator
An amateur radio operator is an individual who typically uses equipment at an amateur radio station to engage in two-way personal communications with other similar individuals on radio frequencies assigned to the amateur radio service. Amateur radio operators have been granted an amateur radio...
s" and students at the Warsaw Polytechnic.
In 1927, Fokczyński had opened a small radio workshop on Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
's New World Street. Sporadically he had received orders from the Cipher Bureau, whose Captain Maksymilian Ciężki
Maksymilian Ciezki
Maksymilian Ciężki was the head of the German section of the Polish Cipher Bureau in the 1930s, during which time the Bureau decrypted German Enigma messages....
knew Fokczyński from his 1919–22 army service. Beginning in 1929, the modest shop, ten minutes' walk from the General Staff building, which housed the Cipher Bureau
Biuro Szyfrów
The Biuro Szyfrów was the interwar Polish General Staff's agency charged with both cryptography and cryptology ....
, was transformed into AVA. The company subsequently moved to new facilities in southern Warsaw's Mokotów
Mokotów
Mokotów is a dzielnica of Warsaw, the capital of Poland. Mokotów is densely populated. It is a seat to many foreign embassies and companies...
district.
Early on, the fledgling company was severely under-capitalized. All four directors, however, had other jobs; and soon the Cipher Bureau came to the rescue with an order for eight 10-watt short-wave radio stations, which became the embryo of Section II's radio network. AVA also won other clients, including the Polish Navy
Polish Navy
The Marynarka Wojenna Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej - MW RP Polish Navy, is the branch of Republic of Poland Armed Forces responsible for naval operations...
and Professor Lugeon of the Warsaw Meteoroglogical Institute, for whom AVA built, to his design, an atmoradiograf that registered disturbances in the atmosphere; this, Leonard Danilewicz later recalled, was the unheralded beginning of radioastronomy.
The General Staff's Cipher Bureau
Biuro Szyfrów
The Biuro Szyfrów was the interwar Polish General Staff's agency charged with both cryptography and cryptology ....
was responsible for the radio communications of the General Staff's Section II (Intelligence section). The Cipher Bureau entrusted the design and construction of the equipment to AVA. The work was carried out on a cost-plus
Cost-plus contract
A cost-plus contract, also termed a Cost Reimbursement Contract, is a contract where a contractor is paid for all of its allowed expenses to a set limit plus additional payment to allow for a profit. Cost-reimbursement contracts contrast with fixed-price contract, in which the contractor is paid a...
basis, to the benefit of both AVA and the General Staff.
In December 1932, the Cipher Bureau's mathematician-cryptologist Marian Rejewski
Marian Rejewski
Marian Adam Rejewski was a Polish mathematician and cryptologist who in 1932 solved the plugboard-equipped Enigma machine, the main cipher device used by Germany...
reconstructed the wiring of the German Enigma machine
Enigma machine
An Enigma machine is any of a family of related electro-mechanical rotor cipher machines used for the encryption and decryption of secret messages. Enigma was invented by German engineer Arthur Scherbius at the end of World War I...
. The Poles' subsequent reading of German cipher
Cipher
In cryptography, a cipher is an algorithm for performing encryption or decryption — a series of well-defined steps that can be followed as a procedure. An alternative, less common term is encipherment. In non-technical usage, a “cipher” is the same thing as a “code”; however, the concepts...
s laid the foundation for the western Allies' Ultra
Ultra
Ultra was the designation adopted by British military intelligence in June 1941 for wartime signals intelligence obtained by "breaking" high-level encrypted enemy radio and teleprinter communications at the Government Code and Cypher School at Bletchley Park. "Ultra" eventually became the standard...
cipher-breaking operations, beginning seven years later, during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Now, in January 1933, just as Hitler was coming to power in Germany, AVA quickly produced a "double" of the Enigma machine; by mid-1934, it had made over a dozen.
In 1934 or 1935, AVA built the cyclometer
Cyclometer
The cyclometer was a cryptologic device designed, "probably in 1934 or 1935," by Marian Rejewski of the Polish Cipher Bureau's German section to facilitate decryption of German Enigma ciphertext.-History:...
, a device designed by Rejewski to prepare a "card catalog
Card catalog (cryptology)
The card catalog, or "catalog of characteristics," in cryptography, was a system designed by Polish Cipher Bureau mathematician-cryptologist Marian Rejewski, and first completed about 1935 or 1936, to facilitate decrypting German Enigma ciphers.-History:...
" that facilitated the decryption of Enigma messages. In 1938 AVA built the "cryptologic bomb," invented by Rejewski about October 1938. This was an electrically powered aggregate of six Enigmas that took the place of some one hundred workers. Six bombs were built before September 1939.
Actual assembly of the cyclometers, "bombs" and LCD
Lacida
The Lacida was a Polish rotor cipher machine. It was designed and produced before World War II by Poland's Cipher Bureau for prospective wartime use by Polish military higher commands.-History:...
cipher machines was carried out not at the AVA facilities but in Room 13 (the "Clock Room") at the Cipher Bureau in the General Staff building—and, from 1937, at the new Cipher Bureau center in the Kabaty Woods
Kabaty
Kabaty is the southernmost neighborhood of the city of Warsaw, located in its Ursynów district. Until the late 1980s it was a small village located south of Warsaw, between Warsaw and the Kabaty Woods...
south of Warsaw. No one had access to this room except the head of the Cipher Bureau, Gwido Langer
Gwido Langer
Lt. Col. Karol Gwido Langer was chief of the Polish General Staff's Cipher Bureau from at least mid-1931.-Life:...
, the head of its German section (B.S. 4), Maksymilian Ciężki
Maksymilian Ciezki
Maksymilian Ciężki was the head of the German section of the Polish Cipher Bureau in the 1930s, during which time the Bureau decrypted German Enigma messages....
, and personnel employed there: Antoni Palluth
Antoni Palluth
Antoni Palluth , was a civilian employee in the German section of the Polish General Staff's interbellum Cipher Bureau.-Life:...
, Ludomir Danilewicz
Ludomir Danilewicz
Ludomir Danilewicz was a Polish engineer and, for some ten years before the outbreak of World War II, one of the four directors of the AVA Radio Company in Warsaw, Poland...
, his younger brother Leonard
Leonard Danilewicz
Leonard Stanisław Danilewicz was a Polish engineer and, for some ten years before the outbreak of World War II, one of the four directors of the AVA Radio Company in Warsaw, Poland...
, Edward Fokczyński
Edward Fokczyński
Edward Fokczyński was one of the four directors of the AVA Radio Company, an electronics firm established in Warsaw, Poland, in 1929. AVA produced radio equipment for the Polish General Staff's Cipher Bureau, which was responsible for the radio communications of the General Staff's Intelligence...
, and the specialist in precision mechanics, Czesław Betlewski.
See also
- Biuro SzyfrówBiuro SzyfrówThe Biuro Szyfrów was the interwar Polish General Staff's agency charged with both cryptography and cryptology ....
(Cipher Bureau) - Marian RejewskiMarian RejewskiMarian Adam Rejewski was a Polish mathematician and cryptologist who in 1932 solved the plugboard-equipped Enigma machine, the main cipher device used by Germany...
- Enigma machineEnigma machineAn Enigma machine is any of a family of related electro-mechanical rotor cipher machines used for the encryption and decryption of secret messages. Enigma was invented by German engineer Arthur Scherbius at the end of World War I...
- Cryptanalysis of the EnigmaCryptanalysis of the EnigmaCryptanalysis of the Enigma enabled the western Allies in World War II to read substantial amounts of secret Morse-coded radio communications of the Axis powers that had been enciphered using Enigma machines. This yielded military intelligence which, along with that from other decrypted Axis radio...
- UltraUltraUltra was the designation adopted by British military intelligence in June 1941 for wartime signals intelligence obtained by "breaking" high-level encrypted enemy radio and teleprinter communications at the Government Code and Cypher School at Bletchley Park. "Ultra" eventually became the standard...
- LacidaLacidaThe Lacida was a Polish rotor cipher machine. It was designed and produced before World War II by Poland's Cipher Bureau for prospective wartime use by Polish military higher commands.-History:...
External links
- Laurence Peter, How Poles cracked Nazi Enigma secret, BBC News, 20 July 2009