Preview

What Is Alan Turing Contribution To The War

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1507 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
What Is Alan Turing Contribution To The War
Alan Turing was an English codebreaker stationed in Bletchley Park, Englands codebreaking center. Even though he was stripped of his reputation later in life, his modification of the Bomba, as well as his other contributions, saved more lives and shortened the war more than any other effort. He broke the German Naval Enigma code, as well as adding the vital modifications to the Polish “Bomba” that brought about the English “Bombe” that saved so much time and so many lives throughout the war. Some people might argue that something else, such as the manhattan project or Allied espionage groups, would have shortened the war and saved more lives than Alan Turing's contributions. Outside of the war, he made many contributions to the world of computer …show more content…
The Allies, specifically a Polish Cryptographer named Marian Rejewski, invented the Bomba in 1938, one year before the Bombe which was a very much enhanced version of the Bomba. Though mechanically different, they basically did the same thing, which was finding the encryption key that the was put into the German Enigma at that time. The reason that the Bombe was so much faster and more efficient than the Bomba, is that, unlike the Bomba, it skipped the keys that would likely yield no results, instead of testing each and every single one. Alan Turing finished the design of the the Bombe in the late months of 1939, at the UK Government Code and Cypher School, inspired by the Bomba. The first Bombe was completed early 1940, and was named Victory.() The Bombe could check the enigma rotor positions much quicker than any human could, having to do it by hand, and made Bletchley Park a “code breaking factory”() Even though there were other devices like this machine, the Bombe is the most important and well known, because of the information that it brought through was so crucial and important, and it won them many …show more content…
President Harry S. Truman said about the bomb, “We have used it in order to shorten the agony of war, in order to save the lives of thousands and thousands of young Americans."() The atomic bombings signified the end of the war, and the end of the axis bloc altogether(), but there were other things that could have shortened the war more than that, other things such as great generals and strategists. For example, Joseph Stalin, or Winston Churchill, and George S. Patton were some of the finest examples of generals and strategists during World War Two. Another thing that could’ve shortened the war quite a bit would be the espionage units of either side, like Fritz Kolbe or Martin Quigley Junior who provided information such as D-Day landing plans or exposing enemy spies which barred him from his job at the Government Communications

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    World War II was a global war from 1939 to 1945. Japan surrendered on 15 August 1945, which brought the total victory of the Allies. Right before Japan’s surrender, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima and another one on Nagasaki. The atomic bombs caused great damage to Japan and killed estimated 129000 to 246000 people. However, the bombings helped to bring the war to an end. Whether President Truman should make the decision to drop the bombs is still a topic to debate. Due to the fact that it was the best decision Truman could make, the bombs ended the war, and reduced the loss at that time, President Truman was justified in his decision to drop the bombs on japan.…

    • 753 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Manhattan Project was a secret project of the making of the atomic bombs used during WWII.…

    • 387 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The race to develop the atomic bomb had begun around the 1940's. World War II was still taking place, and its creation would change the game of war forever. Whoever could create it first would have the power to threaten to destroy entire regions and roll over their enemies. The information that was found during research was vital, and worth so much. Spies at the time were playing a very dangerous game because of the seriousness of the information they were giving away. A few were arrested and put in jail for years, one of them being Klaus Fuchs, a Russian spy who was arguably the most damaging during the development of the Atomic Bomb in Britain and the United States.…

    • 668 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    On August 6th, 1945, the United States dropped the first ever Atomic weapon on Hiroshima, Japan. 140,000 people lost their lives, most of which were civilians. President Truman was in charge of this major decision, and he made the correct choice. The alternative solutions were much too costly for the United States, both in expenses and American casualties. Another reason Truman’s decision is justified was due to the declination of the fair ultimatum recieved by Japan. Also it was important to the well being of the world to keep the Soviets out of Japan. Dropping the Atomic Bomb was the most reliable and definite way to end the war.…

    • 498 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    During World War II the United States government propelled a $2 billion venture. This venture, known as the Manhattan Project, was a push to deliver a nuclear bomb. This venture was gone up against by gathering nuclear researchers from everywhere throughout the world. President Truman's choice to drop the atomic bomb on the urban areas of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were the immediate reason for the finish of World War II in the Pacific.…

    • 634 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The decision to drop two atomic bombs on Japan in August of 1945 was made by a complex group of technological, political and military influences. History has it that the bombs were dropped in order to save American lives by avoiding the invasion of Japanese homelands, at least, that was what President Truman told the American public at the time. “For years, this simple view has been challenged by a seemingly more sophisticated academic perspective that the bombs were wrongfully used against innocent civilians, did not genuinely factor into the surrender of Japan, and would have better served the war effort as part of a diplomatic “carrot and stick” package.” (Beason 1). Some argue that the first bomb may have been required to achieve Japanese surrender, but the second one was a needless act of barbarism. According to Admiral William D. Leahy, the President’s Chief of Staff, “The use of this barbarous weapon at Hiroshima and Nagasaki was of no material assistance in our war over Japan. The Japanese were already defeated and ready to surrender…” (Beason 1). However, I have many facts to counteract all of these criticisms and to support President Truman’s decision to drop the atomic bomb.…

    • 1290 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Warfare would be forever changed after the introduction of nuclear weaponry and through the United State’s unprecedented newfound power, they would play a major role in the conflicts to come. The atomic bombings introduced an age of nuclear weaponry, and resulted in the increased tensions between the Soviet Union and the United States after the Potsdam Conference, which eventually lead to the Cold War. Had Truman not decided to show Stalin the extents of his country’s power, and been backed by the confidence of this nuclear failsafe at the Potsdam conference, tensions may not have risen to such an all time high in the years to come, however one thing that is for sure is that the destruction caused by these bombs not only heightened international conflicts, but also had detrimental effects to residents who survived the bombings. Even today, Hiroshima and Nagasaki have higher concentrations of radiation and diseases which arose after the bombings continue to ail those who live there. Hiroshima and Nagasaki never truly will always be in the shadow of the atomic bomb, and the decimation of these cities will go on in history as one of Truman’s biggest…

    • 940 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Use of the Atomic Bomb The Manhattan Project was a secretive project created by the government to get ahead in the push for a nuclear bomb. After its completion, the atomic bomb was secretly tested in the New Mexico desert. The bomb was a success and next came the hardest decision of Harry S. Truman’s life. He was president at the time and he had to decide whether or not the bomb should be dropped.…

    • 839 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The world’s greatest physicists and mathematicians took part in commanding the efforts during World War II, the project was projected to cost a heaping $20 billion due to the production of the first uranium and plutonium bombs. Albert Einstein influenced the beginning of the Manhattan Project. In collaboration with Leo Szilard, Einstein wrote a letter to President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1939, to inform him of possible German nuclear weapons research and proposing that the United States began its own research into atomic energy. The American quest for nuclear explosives was driven by the fear of Germany’s very own Adolf Hitler and the fact that he would invent and gain military advantage. This project took a little less four years, the first atomic bombs were designed and built at a site in Los Alamos, New Mexico. The Manhattan Project produces three bombs: the first bomb known as “Gadget” and was used as a test model. Due to the enormous expense and slow production rates for explosive material, no further tests were conducted. The second bomb, known as “Little Boy” was detonated over the city of Hiroshima in August 6, 1945 during World War II, and the final bomb, “Fat Man” was detonated over the city of Nagasaki three days later. Which led to Emperor Hirohito to announce his country’s surrender. Nuclear facilities were built at Oak Ridge, Tennessee and Hanford, Washington. The main assembly plant was built at Los Alamos, New Mexico. The reason it was named the Manhattan Project was to trick enemy countries into thinking any development would be taking place in Manhattan, New York. The government was taking a chance to take enemy fire or possible bombing of an innocent state. This was made to believe that there was some sort of project taking place in a location that had nothing to do with…

    • 652 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    “The atom bomb was no great decision... It was merely another powerful weapon in the arsenal of righteousness” (President Harry Truman). Most people believe that World War II started in 1941 when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, in actuality it started on September 1, 1939 when Germany attacked Poland (Rosenberg).While World War II was a horrible and extremely deadly war, with roughly 56,125,262 people who died, that seemed to serve no purpose it brought with it many technological advancements that we still use today (Hitler Historical Museum, 1996-1999). World War II not only helped the world come up with…

    • 1407 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Bletchley Park was the center of where all the Enigmas were being cracked and used to defeat the Axis powers. Any intelligence that was given to the British by the Enigmas was considered and called Ultra. At the start of World War II not a lot of progress was being made or being put to use. However, in 1940 there was a little impact on the destruction of the Enigma, two German Luftwaffe ciphers were cracked. Later, it would be decided that all focus at Bletchley Park would basically go toward the Naval Enigmas. Britain felt like if they were focused on breaking the naval codes they could figure out all the whereabouts of the German U-boats and direct American boats that were carrying supplies away from their path. Although, the only way this could even be possible is with the help of Alan Turing and his machine called the bombe. Alan's machine was basically the first ever form of a computer. Alan had such a huge impact that by the time he had cracked the Enigma in 1943 his machine was producing 84,000 messages each month, otherwise considered two messages every minute (Copeland). Turing’s machine was based off all the Enigmas combined, it was engineered to cycle through 17,567 combinations of letters in two hours (Rakus- Andersson, 93). As a…

    • 1527 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In World War Two, one of the most significant determining factors in the outcome of the conflict was the battle fought without conventional weaponry. Although the Second World War was fought between the Allies and the Axis Powers with weapons like tanks, aircrafts, U-Boats, machine guns there was another war that was being fought underneath the surface of what was happening on land, in the air, or underwater. That was the war of encryption. With encryption being used as a major weapon for the Germans after the First World War, it became a major priority for the Allies to decrypt the messages that were being communicated by the Germans with their encryption machine called the Enigma. Alan Turing was a mathematician who contributed greatly in…

    • 179 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Atomic Bomb Dbq

    • 485 Words
    • 2 Pages

    It is clear how many see the atomic bomb as inhumane, but the fact that it gave the US many advantages made it a successful tragedy. The atomic bomb brought peace to the US, and ended total war. It changed war attacks for present day war. Most importantly the atomic bomb ended World War…

    • 485 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “Science has taught us how to put the atom to work. But to make it work for good instead of for evil lies in the domain dealing with the principals of human duty. We are now facing a problem more of ethics than physics.” - Bernard M Baruch. There were two atomic bombs that were dropped during World War II. There were few survivors after the atomic bombs were dropped. Both of the atom bombs had nicknames. They were dropped three days apart from each other. The first bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. The second was dropped on Nagasaki. The atomic bombs are what ended the war.…

    • 881 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The creation of the bomb was actually started before the war- early 1941, because the president and his generals were wary of Hitler’s movements in Germany- however; it did not proceed with much intensity until December 1941 when the attack on Pearl Harbor occurred, which caused the USA to enter into the war. Named “The Manhattan Project”, it was led by J. Robert Oppenheimer, an accomplished physicist, and it united scientists from all over the world, not just Americans. The scientist were working on producing Nuclear Fission, which is spiting atoms to create a chain reaction that produces enormous amounts of heat; therefore rendering it very explosive if combined with the right materials, and hoping to keep their advancements secret, since the main facility at Los Alamos, New Mexico was practically swarming with foreign spies. In fact, nearly every country had a “Manhattan” equivalent- engineers working franticly to be the first to harness the destructive power of the atom. And, on July 16th 1945 at 5:29am, the USA won. At Trinity Test Site, somewhere deep in New Mexico, the world’s first atomic bomb exploded, unleashing a destructive power that was more intense than a raid by 2,000 B-52s( bomber planes). History had been made, and with that explosion, the realization hit people that one man could, in effect, control the whole world, a realization that partially contributed to the Cold War , a state of general distrust and fear(although no actual battles where fought)between the Soviets and the Americans…

    • 971 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays