November 2021 

Many visitors to Bletchley Park are familiar with the story of breaking Enigma and reading German and even Japanese codes. But equally important work was done on Italian ciphers.

Not only were the Codebreakers able to read Italian naval messages, before and during the war, but this information was used to decisive effect in the Battle for North Africa, and the ultimate defeat of Italy in 1943.

In this It Happened Here episode, Bletchley Park’s Research Historian Dr David Kenyon reveals the secrets of one of Bletchley Park’s lesser-known decryption successes.

As always, grateful thanks go to Dr Ben Thomson for voicing our archival documents.

Featuring the following contributors from our Oral History Archive:

Mavis Batey

Rozanne Colchester

Image: HM Fulmine from the Private Archive of Burzagli Family (Public Domain)

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