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Hagelin Pin-wheel C-38 → C-37 → ← C-35
Pin-and-lug cipher machine
The C-36 is one of the first mechanical
pin-and-lug cipher machines
developed around 1939 by the Swede
Boris Hagelin
and sold by his company AB Cryptoteknik
in Stockholm (Sweden). It is larger than its
predecessor, the C-35.
There are versions with movable and fixed lugs.
The C-36 would eventually evolve into the
C-38 and
M-209 — the workhorse of the US Army during
WWII.
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Like the C-35
it has five pin-wheels, but the distribution of the lugs is
slightly different. The respective wheels have 17, 19, 21, 23
and 25 pins,
that can be configured by the user,
giving a maximum cipher period of 3,900,225 [1].
The initial version of this machine has fixed lugs on the bars,
but there were also versions with movable bars, such as the
one shown in the image on the right, with serial number 8-122.
It demonstrates that the machine was constantly being improved
at the time and that different versions were supplied to different
customers.
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A later version of the C-36, designated C-362,
was an improved version of the machine.
The machine contained a number of changes, but the most imported
difference was the fact that the lugs had been made movable,
like in the later C-38/M-209, making it more secure.
This brings the C-362 closer to the M-209, whilst the C-36
is closer to the design of the earlier C-35.
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The diagram below provides a quick overview of the features of the C-36.
The device is shown here with its cover open and with the hinged case lid
also open. At the front right are the five pinwheels that normally protrude
the case lid. At the rear is the drum, which has either fixed or
movable lugs, depending on the version. At the front left is the A-Z letter
selector/printer.
According to the number tag on the cover, the machine shown here is a C-36.
However, it has movable lugs, which would normally be a feature of the C-362.
This device was used by the French Army, during the Algerian War
from 1954 to 1962 [5]. After the war it ended up in the office of the French
military attaché in Gabon, who gave it as a present to a civil servant
in 1967.
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As with all Hagelin cipher machines, the C-36 was available in a number of
different versions and variants, sometimes customised for a particular client.
This C-36 shown above, is significantly different from the one below, and
both machines are different from the one on Wikipedia [1].
So far, the follow differences have been recorded (in no particular order or combination):
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C-36 Initial version C-36A Small manufacturing changes C-362 Movable lugs C-362A Small manufacturing changes
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- Enclosure: red/black or military green wrinkle paint
- Cylinder or cross-type lock.
- Knob or lever operated
- Fixed or movable lugs
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- Different distribution of the lugs on the bars
- Slightly larger more rounded case
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Device Portable mechanical cipher machine Class Pin-and-lug (pin-wheel) Inventor Boris Hagelin Manufacturer AB Cryptoteknik Model C-36 Year 1936-1939 Country Sweden Predecessor C-35 Successor C-37, C-38 / M-209 Pin-wheels 5 Segments 17, 19, 21, 23, 25 Period 3,900,225 Lock Cross, or cylinder Operation Knob or lever Lugs Fixed (movable on the C-362) Colour Red/black or (military) green Dimensions 183 x 137 x 78 mm Weight 2524 g Quantity unknown
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© Crypto Museum. Created: Wednesday 05 August 2009. Last changed: Monday, 15 January 2024 - 15:15 CET.
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