The US Bombes, NCR, Joseph Desch, and 600 WAVES: the first reunion of the US Naval Computing Machine Laboratory

The code-breaking activities of the British Government Code and Cipher School at Bletchley Park have dominated our understanding of the secret war to infiltrate the message system of the German forces in Europe between 1939 and 1945. This is the story of the US Navy's response to the need to gain intelligence to win the battle of the Atlantic in 1941 and 1942, the competitive development of mechanical code-breaking systems known as Bombes, and the contributions of NCR engineer Joseph Desch and 600 Navy WAVES (Women Appointed for Volunteer Emergency Service).