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American Cryptology during the Cold War - The Black Vault

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<strong>The</strong> best general-purpose computer in <strong>the</strong> early days was an IBM product, <strong>the</strong> 701,<br />

designed in partnership with NSA. NSA leaned toward magnetic tape ra<strong>the</strong>r than disks,<br />

and <strong>the</strong> 701 had <strong>the</strong> first truly functional tape drives controlled by vacuum columns.<br />

<strong>The</strong> 701 was followed by <strong>the</strong> IBM 705, which became <strong>the</strong> mainstay for general-purpose<br />

computing. Coming on line in <strong>the</strong> mid-1950s, <strong>the</strong> 705 was a nonfixed-word-Iength<br />

machine. It had <strong>the</strong> best sorter around, an assembler (called a "transembler") that<br />

mimicked punched card machines. <strong>The</strong> 705 had a major impact on data processing, and it<br />

made it possible to begin processing massive volumes of data rolling in from <strong>the</strong> rapidly<br />

expanding network ofcollection sites around <strong>the</strong> world. 20<br />

Parallel to <strong>the</strong> general-purpose processors was a line of special-purpose scientific<br />

machines. Notable was <strong>the</strong> IBM 704, which had a 36-bit word, punched card input, and<br />

tape drives for storage. 21<br />

<strong>Cryptology</strong> still needed a general-purpose system.· A committee, formed to review <strong>the</strong><br />

demise ofNOMAD, specified <strong>the</strong> requirement for a system that could be ofuse to both traffic<br />

analysts and cryptanalysts. For <strong>the</strong> traffic analyst, it would have to have large storage,<br />

have a file capability for collateral information, and be ca able of sorting quickly. For <strong>the</strong><br />

cr tanal st it should be able to tackle<br />

To achieve <strong>the</strong> requisite flexibility, <strong>the</strong> system would require a general-purpose<br />

mainframe with special-purpose peripherals. <strong>The</strong> project was called FARMER. 22<br />

At <strong>the</strong> time, IBM was working on a project to extend <strong>the</strong> performance of its latest<br />

product, <strong>the</strong> 704, by a factor of 100. <strong>The</strong>y called it STRETCH. IBM approached both NSA<br />

and <strong>the</strong> Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), <strong>the</strong> two government agencies that it felt would<br />

have <strong>the</strong> most use for such a system. AEC agreed to proceed, but NSA ultimately decided<br />

that it wanted something specifically optimized for cryptologic applications. However,<br />

IBM was on <strong>the</strong> right track, NSA concluded, and awarded Big Blue contracts for research<br />

in high-speed memory (SILO) and to design a general processing system for Agency use<br />

(PLANTATION, later called RANCHO).23 <strong>The</strong> entire project was eventually folded into a<br />

gigantic effort to develop a large-scale computer. It was called HARVEST.<br />

<strong>The</strong> most difficult part of <strong>the</strong> project turned out to be designing <strong>the</strong> magnetic tape<br />

drives. Under a project called TRACTOR, IBM developed new tape drives and a unique<br />

automatic cartridge loading system having 100 times <strong>the</strong> speed of <strong>the</strong> IBM Type 721 tape<br />

drives <strong>the</strong>n in use. Each of <strong>the</strong> three TRACTOR units managed two tape drives, and it<br />

automatically retrieved and hung data tapes in a robotic environment that was <strong>the</strong> wonder<br />

of<strong>the</strong> U.S. government. It made for great <strong>the</strong>ater and was on <strong>the</strong> mandatory show-and-tell<br />

tour for years.<br />

Ib) (1)<br />

Ib) (3) -P.L. 86-36<br />

Ib) (3) -50 USC 403<br />

Ib) (3) -18 USC 798<br />

NOT REI E ASA BT E TO FOIUiiIQ~HfA'PI8rHthB<br />

202

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