Artifact Details
![A brown, compact, and portable mechanical M-209 cipher machine](/static/101e07ad09ebf30d4defec1895345626/41aff/museum_m209_open_008.jpg)
Cipher machines allowed US soldiers to communicate without enemy forces understanding the message.
The M-209 is a mechanical cipher device designed by Boris Hagelin. Compact and portable, it used a series of rotors to encode and decode secret military messages. The US Army widely used the machine during World War II.
13.5 cm x 18 cm x 8 cm
(L x W x H)
Additional Photos
![A view of the cipher machine closed](/static/edbdcd712cbe4feef7408dfa5975861d/b2fe3/museum_m209_002.jpg)