History of Locks
Publicity photo of a batch of finished Tangential locks with keys in triplicate c1930 ’ s .
Bode Panzer Logo in the form of a safe badge . via this device ; this essentially ruling out manipulating the lock . In fact even without the lafette it would still be unlikely to defeat this lock .
The Tangential lock without the lafette was fitted to the safe like compartments on battleships and submarines used to secure the Enigma machine , code books and rotors . Originally the Enigma equipment , machine , rotors and code books , were kept under seal ; German Naval Command issued instructions to secure the compartments with a lock , with some commanders also keeping the seal in addition to providing a lock on all three compartments as suggested by the captain of the battleship Hessen citing “ If an unauthorised person succeeded despite all security measures in obtaining the key to
Tangential key from a Bode Panzer catalogue clearly showing quadruple bit arrangement .
the new lock it would in that case be difficult , often impossible , to detect this unauthorised intervention ”. It ’ s interesting to note that it took some three months for the US navy to open the locks on a captured U-boat ! The lock un-pickable and the barrier materials formidable but the contents were important to retrieve intact hence the cautious approach .
As the war progressed so did Alan Turing ’ s team at Bletchley Park who became more successful in deciphering the various levels of German military messages ; of interest to locksmith historians is that Winston Churchill had a special dispatch box , buff in colour , with the decoded messages delivered to him each day , the key to this special box was worn on his finger in a special ring .
Close up of the bit showing the multitude of cuts , angles and facets – impossible to read and memorise .
Barrier Materials used by Boda Panzer making their safes particularly difficult to penetrate .
Locksmiths working on these safes in the immediate post war years struggle with opening them , the locks not capable of clean opening and the barrier material very slow going . The codes succumbed to deciphering but the locks were , and remain , even more of a challenge .
An example of the U-boat style lock will be exhibited at the forthcoming MLA EXPO21 in October this year , and a safe version with lafette is on display at MLA HQ Heritage Room . We are still looking for an example of the Enigma machine , rotors and codes to compliment our displays with the two Bode Panzer locks ; in the mean time we continue to research the back stories of this historical lock .
Brian Morland , Curator of the History of Locks Museum and Archive , welcomes comments on historical locks . Do make contact with your comments , memories and suggestions , email : brian @ emorlands . com .
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