[Milsurplus] Code machine?

[Richard Brunner]

Re:
> It's a Hagelin C-36 cipher machine, which was used by the US military
> as a field cipher machine under the name M-209. .........

Don't sell its performance short.  Hagelin is a respected manufacturer of 
cipher machines, the famous German Enigma machine being an interesting 
variant.  Breaking the Enigma code was a major undertaking - the Germans had 
good reason to assume it was unbreakable.  Difficulty appears to be 
exponentially harder with more wheels; the germans started with three, then 
went to four, and I believe five wheels.  Every time they added a wheel 
decryption stopped for a long time...

It could be that the M-209 was simplified for easy use, as low level 
intelligence is more time sensitive - by the time it is deciphered it is 
useless.

Richard, AA1P