D-Day carrier pigeon cipher
The D-Day carrier pigeon cipher is an encrypted message found in 2012 attached to the skeleton of a carrier pigeon that was inside a home chimney in Bletchingley, Surrey, in the southeast United Kingdom. The message was handwritten on a Pigeon Service form and consists of 27 five-letter groups, with the first and last group identical. The message was addressed to "XO2," which is thought to be Bomber Command, and is signed "W Stot Sjt." It is believed to have been sent from France on June 6, 1944 during the World War II D-day invasion. As of November, 2012, the message had not been deciphered. Britain's GCHQ, the successor to Bletchley Park has asked for any information the public might have about the message.[1]
The cipher text reads:
- AOAKN HVPKD FNFJW YIDDC
- RQXSR DJHFP GOVFN MIAPX
- PABUZ WYYNP CMPNW HJRZH
- NLXKG MEMKK ONOIB AKEEQ
- WAOTA RBQRH DJOFM TPZEH
- LKXGH RGGHT JRZCQ FNKTQ
- KLDTS FQIRW AOAKN 27 1525/6
The form indicates that two copies of the message were sent. Additional notations, in a color different from the code groups and signature, are "NURP 40 TW 194" and "NURP 37 OK 76."[2] These identify the specific birds used. NURP stands for "National Union of Racing Pigeons."[3]
References
- ^ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/defence/9697929/Wanted-for-one-last-mission-call-for-Bletchley-Park-codebreakers-to-crack-the-D-Day-pigeon-cipher.html
- ^ http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/11/23/15384954-experts-unbreakable-code-message-found-on-wwii-carrier-pigeon
- ^ http://www.ciphermysteries.com/2012/11/23/dead-ww2-pigeon-a-ring-of-truth