[Milsurplus] NSA Museum

[Ray Fantini]

I have occasion to transit around Baltimore Maryland several times per year. Located on rout 32 and the intersection of interstate 95 is the National Security Agency (NSA) and on one corner of their complex is the National Cryptologic Museum. Couple times in the past I have tried to stop at their museum but it was closed, the hours are Monday thru Friday 9 to 4 and a couple Saturdays 10 to 2. This Friday I was finally able to visit.  The Museum opened in 1993 and has a very impressive collection. There are a cipher systems, tables and machines dating back to the time of the Egyptians, and equipment artifacts that you can only see in books. They have a civil war union code book along with a confederate cipher machine, historical papers like the Zimmerman telegram the very first US radio intercept station from the WW1, not just one or two but every example of the enigma machine along with one set up that you are encouraged to use for yourself, the Japanese Jade and Purple machines along with the system that was used to decode the original Japanese message on the planed attack on Pearl Harbor, the Bombe and much more. In the technology wing you can see three different supercomputers and a number of other data products and an example of every encoding system from the KY-1 up to current technology for voice and data along with several radios. There are also several direction finding exhibits including a system set up in the Vietnam exhibit and a couple of the world war two HF DF systems and their role in the battle of the Atlantic. I only spent an hour their but am already planning a return trip when I can spend more time. If you are in the Baltimore Washington area you should plan on visiting. I am including a web link so you can look at their web site, their address is: http://www.nsa.gov/museum/index.cfm#exhibits
And if you do visit check out the “Hall of Honor”, the exhibit on the U.S.S. Liberty is particularly interesting, it’s amazing what your friends can do and get away with.
Ray Fantini KA3EKH