LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's GCHQ spy agency celebrated the 80th anniversary of Colossus on Thursday, putting the spotlight on a code-breaking computer which helped defeat Hitler's Germany and was so significant it was kept secret for decades.
Colossus, which was still being used by the spy agency in the early 1960s, was developed by Tommy Flowers.
The new images released on Thursday include a blueprint of Colossus and a photograph of Women's Royal Naval Service workers operating it.
The first Colossus was delivered to Bletchley Park, then the home of the top secret Government Code and Cypher School, on Jan. 18 1944.
The unit was renamed in 1946 as the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), a Cheltenham-based agency that eavesdrops on the world to protect British security.
Persons:
Hitler's, Hitler, Colossus, Anne Keast, Butler, Tommy Flowers, Alan Turing's, Sarah Young, William Maclean
Organizations:
Allied, Royal Naval Service, Cypher, Government Communications Headquarters
Locations:
Hitler's Germany, Bletchley, Cheltenham