Computer Advances Pioneered by Cryptologic Organizations

When the modern electronic computer proposals pioneered by von Neumann, Eckert, Mauchly, and others in the 1940s were under development, the Army and Navy predecessors of today's National Security Agency were quick to realize that their great power and versatility promised exciting improvements in cryptologic applications. Many of the NSA-supported projects were among industry "firsts," and features in several commercial computers directly followed NSA's lead. A survey of the computer developments made by and for NSA is given here, beginning with ATLAS, delivered in December 1950 by Engineering Research Associates, and culminating in the massive LIGHTNING research program.