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REF ID:A273620 

CLASS: Cipher .Maohine (Electro-mechanical) 

SYSTEM: Monogra.phic Substitution, Polyalphabetic (Related Sequences) 

METHOD: Circuit Rotor Maze, Through Path, Notch Motion Control 

NAME: Hebern "Super Code" Machines 

DEVELOPMENT: 

Jpvented by Edward H. Hebern. Application for basic patent filed in the 

United States, 20 November 1923, and assigned to International Code Machine 

Company of Reno, Nevada. Also patented in Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, 

Great Britain, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland. 

A limited number of the various models of this machine were manufactured 

by the Hebern Electric Code Company and its successor, named above. Of the 

two models known to have been sold commercially, the first appeared in the 

latter part of 1923, the second in 1932. 

PATENTS: 

u. s. 1,683,072 (E. H. Hebern, 4 September 1928, Cl. 35-4). Basic patent 

on a non-printing cipher mactd.ne with five circuit rotors. 

u. S. 1,861,857 (E. H. Hebern, 7 June 1932, Cl. 197-4). Two machines 

described in this patent, one a light-board and the other ~ printing 

model, are improved versions of the above. 

IESCRIPTION: 

The original (1923) model of the Hebern "Super Code" is a keyboardoperated, electro-mechanical cipher machine employing five circuit rotors with 

odometric motion. It is somewhat smaller in size than a portable typewriter, 

enciphered or deciphered characters are indicated by being illuminated on a 

light-board, and cu?Tent is supplied from a dry cell battery. The principal 

cryptographic components include: 

(1) Five twenty-six-point, random-wired circuit rotors, similar in 

construction to the Hebern "Electric Code" rotor (q.v.), except that no limitation is placed on the wiring scheme. 

(2) A rotor basket consisting of two endplates and four separators 

with ball-type spring contacts, by means of which current is conducted from 

rotor to rotor through the cipher unit. 

(3) An encipher-decipher switch. 

(4) Two control wheels, loosely mounted on the same shaft as the 

rotors, which through mechanical linkages cause the automatic displacement of 

the f1 ve rotors • 

'nle means by which the stepping of the rotors is accomplished is shown 

diagrammatically in Figure 1. Each control wheel is a composite member, consisting of a ratchet wheel with twenty-six teeth and a cam disk with a single 

notch at one point on its periphecy. Depression of any key causes the universal bar to rotate a rocker shaft (1) to which four pawls (2), (3), (4) and (5) 

are attached. Each time a key is depressed, Control Wheel l and Rotor 5 are 

advanced one position by pawls (2) and (3) respectively. Pawls (4) and (5) 

are prevented f'rom engaging Rotors 1 and 3 by blocking arms (6) and (7). However, when the notch on Control Wheel 1 is presented at the effective position, 

cu follower (8) !alls into it, shaft (9) rocks fornrd and bloclcing arm (10) 

@'pproved for Release by NSA on 09-12-2013 pursuantto E.O. 1352a 
REF ID:A273620 

then allows μawl (11) to engage one of the ratchet teeth of Control 1lheel 2. 

~awl (11) is attached to a sleeve (12) which is free to rotate over shaft (1), 

and when the pawl (11) is released as described above, blocking ann (6), also 

attached to sleeve (12), in turn releases pawl (4). Thus, the next depression 

of a key causes both Control Wheel 2 and Rotor 1 to advance one step. Similarly, when the notch on Control Wheel 2 is presented at the effective position, 

cam follower (lJ), attached to sleeve (14) on sr~ft (9), falls into it and 

blocking ann (7), attached to the same sleeve, releases pawl (5) to step 

Rotor J. Rotors 2 and 4 are not affected by the stepping mechanism and can 

only be advanced manually. The cycle of the machine produced automatically 

is therefore 263 or 17,576. In the patent (U. s. l,68J,072), two additional 

control wheels and associated mechanical linkages have been supplied, so that 

all five rotors are moved automatically and the cycle is 265. Accordinf. to the 

specification, Rotor J is stepped every time and the others are advanced one 

position for each revolution of its predecessor in the cascade, arranged as 

follows: Rotor 1, Rotor 5, Rotor 2, Rotor 4. 

An encipher-decipher switch, consisting of a movable contact board with 

fifty-two contacts which can assume either of two positions in relation to 

tl'lo sets of fifty-two fixed contacts, is supplied. Half of the movable contacts are wired to the keyboard and half to the indicating lamps; half of the 

fixed contacts are wired (in pairs) to the left endplate of the rotor maze 

and the other half are wired (in pairs) to the right endplate. 1be effect 

produced bJ shifting the movable contact board from one position to the other 

is to reverse the direction of the current paths through the rotor ma.~e. 

Variable keying elements include the set of five rotors selected from a 

stock of six or more supplied with the machine, the order in which they are 

arranged (each rotor being capable of insertion in either a nonnal or "upsided01Jn" position), and the initial alignment of rotors and control wheels for a 

particular message encryption. 

In the 1932 model of the "Super Code", the light-board of the earlier 

model has been replaced by an automatic printer (operated from a 110 volt D.C. 

power supply), and the rule of motion has been changed so that the stepping of 

the rotors is no longer odometric: any two of the five rotors may move continuously, a third rotor moves one step per 26 depressions on the keyboard, 

and the two remaining rotors move one step after 650 keys have been depressed. 

The mechanism which causes the rotors to adyance is shown diagrammatically 

in Figure 2 and consists of a ratchet cradle upon which are mounted two dog 

bars carrying three dogs, five rotor-stepping pawls, three ratchet pawls, two 

cam followers·, and an arrangement (not shown) for releasing all pawls while 

the rotors are being set. Two identical control wheels, similar in construction to those of the first model, are located to the left of the rotor maze 

and are loosely mounted on an extension of the shaft which carries the rotors. 

Each control wheel is composed of a ratchet wheel with twenty-six teeth, each 

tooth designated by a letter of the alphabet, and a cam disk with a single 

notch extending between the teeth labeled "Y" and "Z". The front dog bar has 

two dogs mounted upon it which can be placed in any two of five active positions, designated by the letters A, B, c, D, E. The back dog bar carries only 

one dog, and also provides five active positions, designated by the letters 

V, W, X, Y, Z. The five rotor-stepping pawls are mounted on a shaft located 

beneath the two dog bars, and each pawlm.s two notches on it (not shown) one 

situated to engage a dog on the front bar, the other to engage a dog on the 

back bar. 'lhe dogs are individually slid.able on their bars, and when a dog on 

either bar is in position it will normally prevent the pawl immediately beneath 

it from stepping the associated rotor. 

The three ratchet pawls (1), (2) and (3) are mounted on the same shaft as 

the rotor-stepping pawls. Of these, ratchet pawl (1) moves Cont170l Wheel 1 
REF ID:A273620 

forward one ste~ each time a key is depressed; that is its only function. P~tchet pawl (2) carries a projection on its left side to which a c&m follower 

(4) is attached. Except when this cam follower drops into the notch on Control 

Wheel 1, ratchet pawl (2) is inoperative. However, when this happens (once per 

26 enciphennents), pawl (2) performs two functions: it engages Control Wheel 2 

to move it forward one position and, through a mechanical linkage with the back 

dog bar, it neutralizes the blocking action of the back dog so that the rotorstepping pawl temporarily associated with this dog is allowed to engage its 

rotor and advance it one step. Ratchet pawl (J) has a cam follower (5) attached to it and riding on the cam surface of Control Wheel 2. When the notch on 

this wheel is presented at the effective position, cam follower (5) drops into 

it, allows ratchet pawl (J) to step Control Wheel 2 and neutralizes the blockine action of the front dogs, thus pennitting the rotor-stepping pawls temporarily associated with these dogs to step the proper two rotors. The two rotol'\-

stepping pawls which are not associated with any of the three dogs will, of 

course, step their rotors every time. The type of rotor movement produced b1 

this machine is av ariety of so-called "quasimetric" motion in which (with no 

overlapping dogs) there are two fast, one medium and two slow rotors, the 

particular positional arrangement of the "senior" and "junior" rotors in the 

cascade depending on the setting of the three dogs on the front and back dog bars. 

In U • .S. Patent 1,861,857 a light-board and a tape-printing model of 

another machine is described which, though similar to the 19J2 "Super Code", 

provides greater flexibility of motion control and differs in one important 

aspect: the control wheels have been eliminated and the notches which govern 

the motion have been placed on the peripheries of the rotors themselves. .1 

stepping pawl and a cam follower are provided for each rotor and are loosely 

mounted on a shaft underneath a set of four dog bars. Each of these bars has 

ten positions in which dogs, in the fonn of removable pins, may be placed. 

Usually two pins are placed in each bar, one associated with a given rotol'\-

stepping pawl and the other with the cam follower of a different rotor. In 

Figure 3 the essential features of this assembly are shown. The blocking 

action of the two pins on a dog bar causes the rotor-stepping pawl to remain 

inoperative except when the cam follower drops into the notch on its rotor, 

in which case the pawl is released (the dog bar being rotated slightly) and is 

thereby allowed to step the rotor temporarily associated with it. At least one 

rotor always steps after each enciphenuent, but by using more than two pins on 

any or several of the dog bars, a variety of different effects can be achieved 

(e.8., one rotor may be moved by the notches on two or more other rotors, the 

notch on one rotor may step two or more different rotors, etc.). 

In the printing model of this machine as described in the patent, tape 

copy of both plain and cipher texts is produced. Two sets of type bars, activar 

ed by electromagnets, are used and the plain and cipher letters are simultaneously printed, one above the other, on a single paper tape which is subsequently split into its plain a!1d cipher components by means of a set of shearing 

rollers. Cipher text is automatically spaced in five-letter groups by conventional mechanical means. Plain text is spaced according to word lengths by 

connecting the space bar to an infrequent key lever (e.g., "Z"); in decipherment, the 11 211 type bar is rendered inoperative by means of a blocking arm acting upon the armature of its electromagnet, and therefore a space will appear 

in the deciphered text at all points where the letter "Z" would ordinarily occur. 

(A Hebern "Su.per Code" machine, 192J Model is available for inspection 

in the ASA Museum.) 
REF ID:A273620 

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CONTROL WHE.f.L 2 · -CONTROL WHEEL I 

VJIVEhSAL isAR 

LEFT ; •lorLt\TE RIGHT EliOPLATE 

FIGIJhf 

FIGURE 2 

HE"PERU "sur·LR CODE" MACHINES 

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REF ID:A273620 

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