Mystery Cipher Machine
This is a 2-wheel mystery cipher machine with letters on one wheel and numbers on the other:
Wheel 1 - ABCDEFGHIJKLMONPQRYZ (yes, the O and N are out of order and STUVWX are missing)
Wheel 2 - 034579104630240&18 (the first 0 is inscribed sideways)
The face of wheel 1 is inscribed, "TO THOSE WHO WAIT" and "1942". Wheel 2 is inscribed "I MISS HER SMILE" and the reverse side has an "H" inside a circle.
It appears to be rather crudely inscribed with the numbers evenly spaced but some of the letters are not lined up with the numbers. The last photo is a Craftsman ratchet with the same circle H logo as is on the cipher machine. These ratchets were made in the Husky factory from 1935-1945.
Since the entire alphabet is not present, it was most likely used to encipher numbers, such as for codes, targeting or weather data. Any ideas on what this cipher machine was used for would be greatly appreciated. Please send replies to ralph@ciphermachines.com.
Wheel 1 - ABCDEFGHIJKLMONPQRYZ (yes, the O and N are out of order and STUVWX are missing)
Wheel 2 - 034579104630240&18 (the first 0 is inscribed sideways)
The face of wheel 1 is inscribed, "TO THOSE WHO WAIT" and "1942". Wheel 2 is inscribed "I MISS HER SMILE" and the reverse side has an "H" inside a circle.
It appears to be rather crudely inscribed with the numbers evenly spaced but some of the letters are not lined up with the numbers. The last photo is a Craftsman ratchet with the same circle H logo as is on the cipher machine. These ratchets were made in the Husky factory from 1935-1945.
Since the entire alphabet is not present, it was most likely used to encipher numbers, such as for codes, targeting or weather data. Any ideas on what this cipher machine was used for would be greatly appreciated. Please send replies to ralph@ciphermachines.com.
