Bletchley Park

The role of Alan Turing’s pioneering Bombe machines has been revealed in a new codebreaking display at the World War Two site in Buckinghamshire.

Original blueprints and components of Alan Turing's Bombe machines are amongst the star exhibits in a new permanent exhibition, Hut 11A: The Bombe Breakthrough, which is now open to the public. 

The exhibition is housed in the newly restored wartime building at Bletchley Park, and features a working Bombe model and delivers new insight into the technological codebreaking advances that were made during World War Two.

Hut 11A: The Bombe Breakthrough explains the challenge presented by the Nazi's Enigma system and how the group of Allied codebreakers based at Bletchley Park devised a machine to crack it. For the first time, visitors will also be able to find out about how the machines were built and maintained.

The interactive display also includes the first ever replica of the Polish Bomba machine, unseen since World War Two, and an exploration of the contribution that Polish codebreakers made to cracking Enigma.

Sir John Dermot Turing, Trustee of the Bletchley Park Trust and nephew of Alan Turing, commented: “When you think about World War Two and machines, you tend to think about the development of things like radar. We very rarely think about the secret machines, but the big challenge of the Second World War was how to read the German enemy's messages. 

“The Allies had to come up with a mechanical method of whizzing through, as fast as possible, the permutations of the Enigma machine. It's very exciting to be able to have a new exhibition at Bletchley Park about Bombe machines that is actually in the building in which they were operated.”

Entrance to the exhibition is included in the main ticket price, which offers free unlimited visits for 12 months. 

Group tickets rates and packages are available at Bletchley Park for those with 12 or more members.

For more information, visit www.bletchleypark.org.uk.

Topics