For sell a VERY rare HC-9 Cipher Machine
The HC-9 is a true marvel of mechanical engineering. Although much of its principles are based on the knowledge of Hagelin machines of the same era, the mechanical construction of the HC-9 is completely different. Apparently, the designer had to circumvent the existing Hagelin patents, whilst at the same time trying to make the operation simpler, by avoiding the use of pin-wheels.
HC-9 was a mechanical cipher machine built byAB Transvertexin Stockholm (Sweden) in the early 1950s. It was developed from a 1940s design by company CEO Vigo Waldemar Lindstein, for use by the Swedish Army. The HC-9 resembles the design of theHagelin pin-wheel machines.
Contrary to wheel-based cipher machines of the same era, such as theGerman Enigma machine, the HC-9 belongs to the class of pin-wheel machines, just like the earlyHagelin machines.
Unlike the Hagelin machines however, it features apunched card(inserted at the back) that replaces the pins of the pin-wheels. It also has a window with a rotatingalphabet ruler
The machine measures 18 x 15 x 7 cm; roughly the same size as a HagelinM-209. The machine was used for low-level tactical messages and remained in service until the late 1970s.
Unlike theHagelin M-209, the HC-9 does not print the enciphered text directly to paper. Instead each letter has to be translated by reading it from a window at the front of the machine. Behind the window is a drum with 16 reciprocal alphabets. Depending on the current cryptographic key, one of the 16 alphabets will be rotated into place when the trigger knob is activated.
Like the earlyHagelin machines, the HC-9 belongs to the class of pin-and-lug cipher machines. The presence or the absence of a pin at a certain position on a cipher wheel, determines the state of that wheel as part of the overall complex mechanical encryption algorithm.
On Hagelin machines, such as theM-209, the user needs to set the pins of each wheel to a desired state by using tweezers. This is a time consuming process with much room for error. On the HC-9, a punched paper card is used instead of the pins. The card is placed behind a door at the back of the machine (shown on the pictures).
Machine is working but is a item with more than 60 years because of this sold as is no guarantees any question please ask.
