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B - 21
Crypto Machine
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B . 21
Entwicklungsbeginn : keine Angaben
Schlüsselsystem : keine Angaben
Arten der Chiffrierverkehre : keine Angaben
kryptologische Festigkeit : keine Angaben
Betriebsart : keine Angaben
Übertragungsart der Information : keine Angaben
Information :
Hagelin B-21
The B-21 was the first cipher machine developed by Boris Hagelin. He designed the machine in 1925 when he was working for the company A.B. Cryptograph of Arvid Gerhard Damm in Stockholm (Sweden). The B-21 was in production for many years, even after WWII when the company had moved to Switzerland. It was available in many different versions and variations.

At the request of the invenstors - the Nobel family - Hagelin was placed in the company in 1922 as a controller. From 1925 onwards, Hagelin was the acting director, whilst Damm was persuing business in France.

When the Swedish Army wanted to buy Enigma machines in 1925, Hagelin proposed his own machine: the B-21. It was based on Damm's initial patented design of the B-18, using two coding wheels. Hagelin improved the design by adding two of his famous pin-wheels to each of the coding wheels [1] .
Early B-21 machine by AB Cryptograph

Over the years, the design of the B-21 was changed and improved a number of times. The image above shows one of the first versions and was probably conceived in 1927, or shortly thereafter, as it still carries the original company name: AB Cryptograph. It is battery powered and is likely to have been modified at least once during its lifetime. It was delivered to L.M. Ericsson (the phone company) for use by its subsidaries in South America, hence the presence of the Ericsson label on the wooden transit case.

At the request of the French Army, an improved version of the B-21, the B-211, was developed. It featured a printer instead of the light bulbs. Eventually, the developments for the French Army led to a range of power-less designs, the so-called C-machines, starting with the C-35.