Development of the digital computer - II

The first truly electronic computers, ones that used vacuum tubes rather than electromechanical relays for switching, originated in connection with World War II (WWII). Computation became a major thrust in that war for two complex problems that could only benefit from faster computational machinery. One was the problem among the various combatants to be able to read the other side's radio messages. This goal required a capability for "code cracking." The radio traffic could be easily intercepted, but the contents were often protected by complicated encryption schemes. The other computation problem is more-mundane sounding, but was none-the-less an important one, i.e. developing trajectory tables for guns and, later, for missiles. Each new gun type required its own tables to tell the gunner at what angle the barrel should be elevated to hit a distant target.