Bletchley park WW2 secret codebreaking site, Bletchley,
The below is an extract from notes prepared by GCHQ, kindly supplied by the museum trust.
"The main Enigma processing and reporting area at BP. In Dec 1941 Block D was conceived as a two-storey building to house the Hut 3, 6 and 8 organisations.**In the event, it was decided to make it single storey, so as to complete it more quickly, particularly since there was no shortage of building space, the land then belonging to Capt Faulkner, the BP Clerk of Works or “Depot Foremanâ€.**Block D had a net office area of some 40,000 square feet and was, at the time of completion in Jan 1943, the largest building at BP. The land was requisitioned from Faulkner on 30 Apr 1942 and work was to start May 11 1942. In late 1942, Maj Duncan Shaw, the BP Local Defence Officer (LDO), proposed that Blocks D and F and the Canteen Stores should have machine gun posts on their roofs to repulse any attacks by low-flying enemy aircraft and by Feb 1944 there was a “weapons tower†on the roof of at least Block D.**The block was completed Jan 1943 at a cost of £45,000 and was fitted with the Sturtevant Pneumatic Tube System and the Sovex Belt Conveyor System. Huts 3,6 and 8, together with SIXTA, moved into the block in mid-Feb 1943, thus making it the most important block in the Park. After moving in, the Huts 3, 6 and 8 organisations would often b referred to as 3(D), 6(D) and 8(D) respectively. Block D had its own teleprinter room by at least Sept 1943.**In Oct 1943 the net floor space in Block D was stated to be approx 53,000 sq.ft, which was allocated as follows:
“Hut 3â€:* 18,800 sq.ft (in at least Rooms 13-31, according to information dated Jan 1944)
“Hut 6â€:* 29,230 sq.ft (in at least Rooms 65-70)
“Hut 8â€:* 4,830 sq.ft (in at least Rooms 91 and 92)
Like Block C, Block D also had its own standby generator for its machinery.**In May 1945 the TICOM organisation was set up in Block D and in June a TICOM Document Centre was established in Room 4 by Lt Eachus, USN, where, from July onwards, TICOM material was available for perusal by interested GCCS staff, including staff employed in diplomatic tasks at Berkeley St. The Intelligence Exchange, (IE), moved from Hut 4 into Rooms 19-29 of Block D in July 1945.**John de Grey, Head of IE, was then located in Room 29."
I only live 10 mins away so ive mooched all over the place, block D has only recently been open, someone pulled the boarding off a window, something that's not a good thing in my veiw, as unlike block C this block is not trashed beyond repair, and could possibly be restored.
Much of it is storage for the museum of computers,dank and dusty rooms and rooms full of old computer junk, and unless your a vintage computer geek there is nothing much of interest in there.
No pictures of D block in war time that I can find, but this one looks like it fits the kind of rooms in there
Dare'nt go in room 101 !
Rotors on the replica of the bombe computer.
The below is an extract from notes prepared by GCHQ, kindly supplied by the museum trust.
"The main Enigma processing and reporting area at BP. In Dec 1941 Block D was conceived as a two-storey building to house the Hut 3, 6 and 8 organisations.**In the event, it was decided to make it single storey, so as to complete it more quickly, particularly since there was no shortage of building space, the land then belonging to Capt Faulkner, the BP Clerk of Works or “Depot Foremanâ€.**Block D had a net office area of some 40,000 square feet and was, at the time of completion in Jan 1943, the largest building at BP. The land was requisitioned from Faulkner on 30 Apr 1942 and work was to start May 11 1942. In late 1942, Maj Duncan Shaw, the BP Local Defence Officer (LDO), proposed that Blocks D and F and the Canteen Stores should have machine gun posts on their roofs to repulse any attacks by low-flying enemy aircraft and by Feb 1944 there was a “weapons tower†on the roof of at least Block D.**The block was completed Jan 1943 at a cost of £45,000 and was fitted with the Sturtevant Pneumatic Tube System and the Sovex Belt Conveyor System. Huts 3,6 and 8, together with SIXTA, moved into the block in mid-Feb 1943, thus making it the most important block in the Park. After moving in, the Huts 3, 6 and 8 organisations would often b referred to as 3(D), 6(D) and 8(D) respectively. Block D had its own teleprinter room by at least Sept 1943.**In Oct 1943 the net floor space in Block D was stated to be approx 53,000 sq.ft, which was allocated as follows:
“Hut 3â€:* 18,800 sq.ft (in at least Rooms 13-31, according to information dated Jan 1944)
“Hut 6â€:* 29,230 sq.ft (in at least Rooms 65-70)
“Hut 8â€:* 4,830 sq.ft (in at least Rooms 91 and 92)
Like Block C, Block D also had its own standby generator for its machinery.**In May 1945 the TICOM organisation was set up in Block D and in June a TICOM Document Centre was established in Room 4 by Lt Eachus, USN, where, from July onwards, TICOM material was available for perusal by interested GCCS staff, including staff employed in diplomatic tasks at Berkeley St. The Intelligence Exchange, (IE), moved from Hut 4 into Rooms 19-29 of Block D in July 1945.**John de Grey, Head of IE, was then located in Room 29."
I only live 10 mins away so ive mooched all over the place, block D has only recently been open, someone pulled the boarding off a window, something that's not a good thing in my veiw, as unlike block C this block is not trashed beyond repair, and could possibly be restored.
Much of it is storage for the museum of computers,dank and dusty rooms and rooms full of old computer junk, and unless your a vintage computer geek there is nothing much of interest in there.
No pictures of D block in war time that I can find, but this one looks like it fits the kind of rooms in there
Dare'nt go in room 101 !
Rotors on the replica of the bombe computer.
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