'U-571'

For those who love submarine movies, Universal studios has done something to gladden your hearts. U-571 (the U stands for "unterseeboot," the German word for submarine), the latest entry into a long line of sub flicks, is a movie based on a real event, the capture of an Enigma machine from a U-boat during World War II.

The Enigma machine was an encoding device that was Germany's answer to the problem of securely communicating with vessels at sea without the enemy overhearing. The Enigma, looking like a portable typewriter, consisted of a complicated series of electrical connections based on several internal drums or cams that were switched every day according to a preset schedule.

When a letter on the Enigma keyboard was pressed, say the letter "A", the machine would produce an electronic signal for any letter but "A" based on whatever set of drums was in the machine that day. The sentence "Mary had a little lamb," would come out looking something like "Zdko bso y ggetwa kyuc."

The receiver of the meaningless-looking string of letters would punch them into his Enigma machine and come out with the original message. Because of the continually changing set of drums, Enigma issued millions of ever changing signals that left even the best code breakers working for the Allies at a loss.

This unbreakable secrecy gave the German u-boat commander, Admiral Donitz, the ability to organize his U-boats into what he called "Wolfpacks." These groups of subs, ten to fifteen in a pack, would be directed at convoys of ships suppling England. So effective was this strategy that it threatened to end England's ability to fight the war. Knowing where the Wolfpacks were was the only way to save England, so the capture of an Enigma machine became of paramount importance.

U-571's story is a fictitious one based on the real actions taken by a British ship in capturing the Enigma. HMS Bulldog on May 9, 1941 engaged U-110 and depth charged the sub to the surface. While the commander of U-110 desperately tried to scuttle the sub officers from the Bulldog made a dash down the conning tower and into the control room. The men from the Bulldog prevented the sinking of the sub and captured it's Enigma machine. The machine's secrets were learned and the U-boat threat in the Atlantic was broken, but so powerful was the encrypting ability of the Enigma machine that it's detailed inner workings still remain classified today.

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