COPElAND & BOwEN | 9
1941 Breaks into current U-boat transmissions for the first time, giving merchant
convoys crossing the North Atlantic a means of avoiding the U-boats.
Bletchley Park is now able to read U-boat messages almost as quickly as the
Germans.Summoned to Whitehall for official congratulations and £200 bonus.
Proposes marriage to Joan Clarke, his colleague in Hut 8, but later calls
it off.With three other leading cryptanalysts he writes to Prime Minister Churchill
complaining about shortages and bottlenecks at Bletchley Park. Churchill
memos his Chief of Staff: ‘ACTION THIS DAY Make sure they have all
they want on extreme priority’.Explores the concept of machine intelligence; discusses chess-playing
algorithms with Jack Good.(^1942) Sees his bombes help defeat Rommel in North Africa.
Joins the Research Section’s battle against a new German cipher codenamed
‘Tunny’. Invents a method called ‘Turingery’ for breaking the priceless Tunny
messages – some signed by Hitler himself.
Discusses machines for Tunny breaking with Max Newman.
Discusses machine intelligence with Donald Michie. Foresees machine
learning. Further explores machine chess.
Leaves Bletchley Park for the United States and liaises with US Navy
codebreakers in Washington, DC.
Visits the National Cash Register corporation in Dayton, Ohio, to advise on
design of American bombes.