The Ohio women who assembled two-ton Nazi codebreakers without knowing it

Navy WAVES’ Secret Enigma-Breaking Mission in Dayton

In 1943, six hundred Navy WAVES came to Dayton with a task they couldn’t talk about. They worked round the clock at NCR’s Building 26, soldering wires to rotors while Marines stood guard.

These women built 121 massive “Bombe” machines that broke Nazi Germany’s Enigma code, each one weighing two tons. Yet for fifty years, they kept their oath of silence.

Only at a 1995 reunion did Betty Robarts and her fellow WAVES learn the truth – their work had helped sink Nazi U-boats and win the Battle of the Atlantic.

The secret workshop that changed the war now waits for you at Dayton’s National Aviation Heritage Area.

Navy Set Up a Secret Code-Breaking Lab in Dayton

The Navy built the Naval Computing Machine Laboratory at NCR’s Building 26 in November 1942. They picked Joseph Desch as Research Director because he knew a lot about electronic calculators from his NCR work.

The Navy teamed up with National Cash Register in Dayton, Ohio for a top-secret job: build an American version of the British Bombe to crack Germany’s new four-rotor Enigma machine.

The Germans had made the British three-rotor Bombes useless by adding a fourth rotor, leaving Allied ships open to surprise attacks.

Women in Uniform Moved into Wooden Cabins

The first 75 Navy WAVES came to Dayton on April 19, 1943, with 225 more arriving by May 3rd. These women lived at Sugar Camp, a former NCR training spot with 60 wooden cabins.

Each cabin fit 4 women, but during busy times, up to 12 women shared the space, sleeping in shifts while roommates worked. Armed Marines guarded all doors to Building 26.

Every day, the WAVES marched one mile from Sugar Camp to the NCR factory in military formation.

Soldering Wires Without Knowing Why

About 600 WAVES worked three shifts around the clock putting together huge Bombe machines. The women soldered 26 wires to alphabetized rotors, following exact instructions.

For security, each woman worked on just one part and never saw the complete machine. Betty Robarts and others used soldering skills they learned from their fathers or from training.

These machines were massive, weighing two tons each and measuring 10 feet long, 7 feet tall, and 2 feet wide.

Famous British Codebreaker Checked on American Progress

British codebreaker Alan Turing visited Dayton on December 21, 1942, to look at the American Bombe design. Turing had mixed feelings about the American approach but agreed it might work.

The American Bombe ran six times faster than the British version. Each American machine worked like 16 Enigma machines running backward at high speed.

By May 1943, the first two test Bombes, nicknamed “Adam and Eve,” were ready for testing.

Life Away from Home Had Its Perks

WAVES enjoyed Sugar Camp’s dining hall, swimming pool, and baseball diamond during free time. Dayton locals welcomed the WAVES, giving them rides in bad weather and inviting them to social events.

Twenty-four WAVES even married servicemen from nearby bases while working in Dayton. The women kept their strict secrecy oath and never talked about their work with anyone, not even roommates.

Their daily routine started with morning formation, marching while singing “I’ve Been Working on the Railroad.

Machines Rolled Off the Assembly Line

The lab built 121 working Bombes by the end of the war and shipped them to Washington D. C. Workers set up the machines at the Naval Communications Annex on Nebraska Avenue. Each Bombe had 64 wheels that copied Enigma rotors, plus thousands of electrical parts.

The production team included 600 WAVES, 100 Navy staff, and many civilian workers at NCR. American Bombes cracked German four-rotor naval Enigma messages that the British machines couldn’t solve.

German Submarines Lost Their Advantage

The decoded messages showed submarine spots and planned attacks in the Atlantic Ocean. This info let the Allies route convoys around U-boat wolf packs and target German submarines.

During one three-month period in mid-1944, the Allies sank 76 percent of German submarines working at the time. American Bombes helped sink about one-fourth of all U-boats from 1943 until the war ended.

May 1943 marked a turning point as U-boat losses grew higher than German submarine production.

Some WAVES Got to See the Finished Product

Many WAVES moved to the Naval Communications Annex in Washington to run the completed Bombes. These women finally saw the whole machines and understood how their parts fit together.

They kept working around the clock breaking German naval messages until the war ended. The Navy kept strict security, and staff couldn’t talk about their work.

Some WAVES got special commendation letters for doing an outstanding job.

The Secret Stayed Locked Away for Decades

Joseph Desch got the Medal for Merit from President Harry Truman in 1947 for his work. After the war, the Navy destroyed all but one Bombe to keep their code-breaking skills secret.

The WAVES went through a final oath ceremony that reminded them to keep quiet about their work for life. The women went back home and stayed silent about what they did during the war for fifty years.

Many got only standard honorable discharges with no mention of their crucial war efforts.

A Reunion Revealed the Truth After 50 Years

The WAVES held their first reunion in Dayton in September 1995, fifty years after the war ended. National Security Agency staff finally told them the true impact of their secret work.

Betty Robarts learned her machines helped defeat the U-boat threat and later said, “I cried for three months. ” The women found out their work cut the war shorter and saved thousands of Allied lives.

Sadly, many WAVES had died before learning how important their wartime service had been.

Dayton’s Code-Breaking Legacy Lives On

Building 26 was torn down by the University of Dayton in 2008 despite efforts to save it. Workers moved the last remaining Sugar Camp cabin to Carillon Historical Park in 2004.

The National Park Service named Dayton a World War II Heritage City in 2022. The only surviving American Bombe sits on display at the National Cryptologic Museum in Maryland.

A documentary called “Dayton Codebreakers” brought their amazing story to public attention, finally giving these women the recognition they deserved.

Visiting National Aviation Heritage Area, Ohio

You can learn about the Navy WAVES who secretly built codebreaking machines at the National Aviation Heritage Area at 1000 Carillon Boulevard in Dayton.

It’s open Monday-Saturday 9:30am-5:00pm and Sunday 12:00pm-5:00pm for $14 adults.

For free exhibits, check out Wright Memorial Public Library’s “Breaking the Code” display at 1776 Far Hills Avenue with an original Enigma machine, or visit Wright State University Special Collections for photos and documents about the secret operations.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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