Today I visited the USS Pampanito, a museum u-boat at Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco. I was especially interested in the encryption machine that is allegedly on display on this ship. My trip ended up as a disappointment.

After my visit to crypto collector Ralph Simpson on Monday, I spent the last three days at the RSA Conference in San Francisco. As many readers will know, the RSA Conference is the world’s leading cryptography event with over 40,000 attendants and hundreds of exhibition booths. I had the honor of giving a talk titled “Understanding and Explaining Post-Quantum Crypto with Cartoons“, along with other speakers such as Bruce Schneier, Adi Shamir, Ron Rivest, and Whitfield Diffie.

Source: Schmeh

My employer cryptovision had a booth at the exhibition. The following picture shows my co-workers Adam Ross and Lutz Feldhege.

Source: Schmeh

More pictures will soon be available on cryptovision’s Instagram site.

Today, I took the chance to visit one of San Francisco’s crypto sights (for others check the cryptologic travel guide): the museum u-boat USS Pampanito, located at Fisherman’s Wharf.

Source: Schmeh

Several people had told me that an ECM Mark II cipher machine, better known as SIGABA, was on display on this ship. The SIGABA was one of the best encryption machines of the Second World War. Contrary to the Enigma and many others, it was never broken.

Fisherman’s Wharf is one of San Francisco’s most popular tourist places and one of the most expensive ones, too. I paid 20 Dollars to get on board the USS Pampanito (not too bad for a 20-minutes experience) and walked my way through the u-boat.

Source: Schmeh

A well-made audio guide provided on an iPod (interesting to know that such a thing still exists) explained the ship and its history. The section I had waited for started as follows: “Look to your left into the Radio Room. The device that looks like a typewriter …”. These words were even written on a sign for orientation.

Source: Schmeh

The sentence about the device that looks like a typewriter continued: “… is an ECM Mark II.” It was followed by a short descrption of this machine and its role in the Second World War. When I Iooked into the Radio Room, I actually saw an item that looked like a typewriter.

Source: Schmeh

There was only one problem with this device: it was not an encryption machine, let alone an ECM Mark II (SIGABA). It was an ordinary typewriter.

I immediately went out to the guy who sold the tickets and told him about my disappointment. He didn’t understand what I was talking about. When I said that the device that looked like typewriter actually was a typewriter, he was confused. “Of course, this is a typewriter”, he replied, “but a special one that writes in a secret code.” So, I finally gave up and left the place. This was clearly a case of labeling fraud. Considering the fact that the cipher machine was the reason why I had visited the USS Pampanito, I really regretted to have spent $20 for getting on board.

Back in the hotel, I consulted Google about my problem and soon found the solution. On a website hosted by the San Francisco Maritme National Park Association, the following can be read:

From July of 1996 until November of 2004 one of the NSG [SIGABA] machines was on loan aboard Pampanito. After cleaning, lubrication and minor repair it was put on display. At the time it was returned to the Navy …

Apparently, there was an ECM Mark II on board the USS Pampanito – until the year 2004. As it seems, neither the audio guide nor the technology used to present it (i.e., the Apple iPod) has changed over the last 16 years. While the iPods still do their job, the audio guide appears to be outdated now.

The next thing I need to do is kick out the USS Pampanito of the Cryptologic Travel Guide.


Further reading: The M-138: a simple but good cipher device

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Kommentare (11)

  1. #1 Thomas
    29. Februar 2020

    @Klaus:

    Since the image is quite blurry: Was it an ordinary or a crypto Underwood (https://oztypewriter.blogspot.com/2014/08/the-crypto-underwood-typewriter.html) that you saw on board?

  2. #2 RPGNo1
    29. Februar 2020

    20 $ corresponds to about 18 €. A heavy sum.

    If you visit U 995 in Laboe, you pay 5 € as an adult.

  3. #3 gedankenknick
    29. Februar 2020

    @RPGNo1 #2
    But I cant remember there is an Engima-Device in U995 at Laboe. Not even a fake-enigma… 😉

  4. #4 Klaus Schmeh
    29. Februar 2020

    @Thomas:
    Thanks for the comment. I have never heard of the “Crypto Underwood”. Perhaps because it’s not really a cipher machine but a machine that translates Jappanese Morse code to European Morse code.

  5. #5 RPGNo1
    29. Februar 2020

    @gedankenknick
    Well, I definetely wouldn’t pay 18 € to visit a submarine. With or without a cipher machine (fake or real). 🙂

    BTW, the visit of Wilhelm Bauer (former U 2540, Type XXI uboat) costs 3,50 €.
    The entrance fee for HMS Otus is Sassnitz is 8 €.

  6. #6 Doc Cool
    Germany
    29. Februar 2020

    The audio guide needs an update to: “The device that looks like a typewriter is an ordinary typewriter looking a little like a SIGABA”

    Yes, kick it out of your travel guide.

  7. #7 Richard SantaColoma
    https://proto57.wordpress.com/
    29. Februar 2020

    I’m sorry for the loss of your $20 and the disappointment, but the story is actually pretty funny! I will also bet that you are the first person who even noticed this was just a typewriter… 99.9% of the visitors probably look at that old Underwood (I have a nicer one on my piano), and think, “Wow… a real cipher machine!”.

    And for the massive fees they collect, perhaps they ought to cough up the $$$ and buy one of their own.

  8. #8 Klaus Schmeh
    1. März 2020

    Nils Kopal via FaceBook:
    What a disappointment… sorry for you Klaus :/

  9. #9 Klaus Schmeh
    1. März 2020

    David Allen Wilson via FaceBook:
    The guide should have refunded you. But then again, I’d be a little leery of having a museum piece next to so much humidity and salt.

  10. #10 Klaus Schmeh
    1. März 2020

    Nils Kopal David via FaceBook:
    Allen Wilson you are right. I also think, best would be to put a replica for exibition on the ship. And not a typewriter and write that it is a Sigaba

  11. #11 Jerry McCarthy
    England, Europa...
    1. März 2020

    This reminds me a little of a visit I made to one of the houses, Max Gate, of the famous Dorset-based writer Thomas Hardy.

    In his writing room, which was supposed to contain “his” typewriter, there was what was obviously a Romanian typewriter (with Romanian alphabet). I was puzzled. I asked how it came to be that he would have used a Romanian typewriter.

    They were now puzzled too, and found their “expert” to talk to me. She admitted that it was “just a typewriter that they had in their stores”, but she commented that nobody had mentioned it in some five years, so they thought they’d got away with it 🙂 .

    Hey ho…