WWII Enigma machine sells for over half a million dollars at auction — one of the rare four-rotor 'M4' models

A rare WWII Enigma machine, one of the four-rotor 'M4' models, was sold at auction for over half a million dollars, double its estimated price. This fully operational machine with lead-acid batteries is one of only eight working models left. The Enigma machines played a crucial role in the development of computers and were used by the German military for encryption. The auctioned M4 model posed a challenge for code breakers at Bletchley Park, leading to the development of the Turing Bombe to decipher its messages. Additionally, the article mentions the development of the Colossus, the first programmable electronic digital computer, designed to break the Lorenz cipher used by the German High Command during WWII.