CIPHER MACHINES AND CRYPTOLOGY
Hagelin BC-52 Simulator
Home History Hagelin B-21 Hagelin CX-52 M-209 Simulator BC-52 Simulator


This software is an accurate simulation of the Hagelin BC-52, one of the most famous Cold War era crypto machines. After the success of the C-38 and M-209 as tactical cipher devices, Hagelin developed a cipher machine for high level military and diplomatic encryption. In 1952 Hagelin Cryptos (Crypto AG) introduced the C-52 and, as Devours and Kruh wrote, 'caused ripples throughout the cryptanalytic community'. The C-52 raised the security of pin-and-lug devices to another level.

The machine had 6 irregular moving pinwheels, selected from a set of 12, and the number of drum bars was extended to 32, of which 5 were also used to advance the wheels. When lugs and pins are selected carefully the C-52 provides even in this computer era a powerful encryption. The combination of C-52 and the keyboard, denoted B-52, was named BC-52. Within short time the BC-52 was purchased by more than 60 countries and remained popular until today.

This very realistic Hagelin BC-52 Cipher Machine Simulator enables you to encipher and decipher messages and apply the key settings as you would with an actual machine. You can select between the C-52 and CX-52 model and customize the machine in various ways. There's also a formatted clipboard and an Autotyping function. The program includes a detailed help file containing the enciphering procedures, how to set the machine and all technical details (Click the screenshot to enlarge the picture).

Runs on all Windows™ versions and with WINE on Linux or Parallels Desktop on MAC.

All feedback or comments are most welcome by e-mail or by visiting the Guestbook.

Download the simulator

Download the Hagelin BC-52 Sim v4.1 (Zip 1838 KB) Please check the readme file before installation!
Some users experience problems with the help file. They can
download a help file pdf here PDF Format
Check the integrity of the downloaded software with
SHA-256.

Discover also the Enigma, TSEC/KL-7 and US M-209 cipher machine simulators!

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© Dirk Rijmenants 2004. Last changes: 27 April 2022

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