[Boatanchors] Code speed 5, 000 characters per second, now thats fast!

[William L Howard]

Colossus first worked at two-bit level 
Intercepted message was punched into ordinary teleprinter paper 
Message was read at 5,000 characters per second 
Contained 1,500 vacuum valves 
Could carry out 100 Boolean calculations at any one time
Source: The Colossus Rebuild Project 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/3754887.stm