"On This Date in Cryptologic History" Calendar
1987: Death of Joseph Desch - innovative engineer for the National Cash Register Company
Joseph Desch was an innovative engineer for the National Cash Register Company (NCR). The U.S. Navy contracted NCR in March 1942 to design and build its Bombes, which were machines used for processing the German navy's four-rotor Enigma-based messages. NCR selected Joseph Desch, head of its electrical research laboratory, to be the principal engineer on the project. The Bombes Mr. Desch designed at the NCR became a vital cryptanalytic tool in the war against Germany's U-boats and an important component of Allied victory in Europe in #WWII. Joseph Desch died #OTD in 1987. He was inducted into the NSA/CSS Hall of Honor in 2011. The last original four-rotor Bombe resides in the National Cryptologic Museum.
Click the link below to learn more via Mr. Desch's Hall of Honor page.
