Bletchley Park- Buckinghamshire
http://www.bletchleypark.org.uk/
Duration: 10 hours
Bletchley Park is Britain’s World War II code-breaking centre, where Alan Turing cracked the Enigma code and where Colossus, the world’s first programmable electronic computer, was built. The first machine, the Mark I, built in 1943, contained 1500 valves, was the size of a living room, and weighed about one tonne. A further 9 machines (the Mark II) with 2400 valves were built in 1944. They were put to the task of finding cipher wheel settings and positions in order to crack the "Lorenz code" - a highly sophisticated cipher used by Hitler and his high command. So secret was the work that the title of "the worlds first programmable computer" went to America in 1946, and sadly, after the war, Winston Churchill ordered that the machines and most of their blue prints were destroyed. Consequently, Colossus made no effect in the advancement of computer technology, and Britain lost out on the computer age. Not everything was lost, and Bletchley now has a replica Colossus Mark II, being lovingly reconstructed out of the world’s rapidly diminishing supply of thermionic triodes. Bletchley also has some genuine Enigma machines as well as replicas of Turing’s “Bombes”, and there is also a fascinating computer museum on site, and much, much more. A must for anyone interested in computers or cryptology. An introductory talk and guided tour are included.