Making sense of ULTRA by Simon Kemp

Simon Kemp is a semi-retired IT software engineer with experience over various industries including defence, retail, leisure, veterinary and border control as well as training delivery on various technical subjects. He is both a member at MAVC and guide at BBMF and delivers lectures on military topics. Current projects include the writing of motorsport and WWII blogs, building an application for Formula One data analysis and future lecture preparation along with software support for long term clients using his membership and invoicing systems.

Knowing what your adversary is doing is of inestimable value – whether you’re in conflict or not. So, the ability to read their minds gives you a huge advantage. The First World War showed the importance of communication between forces. It also gave us a glimpse of the type of war that might be fought in the future: with battles that are fluid, over larger areas, with rapidly changing circumstances that would need quick responses. Then there was the use of aircraft, whether for spotting, or attacking. How would we communicate between all these elements? We also had the development of wireless transmission so that this information could be send back and forward between tactical officers in the field and the strategic planners at base thereby generating a large volume of encrypted traffic all available for eavesdropping over the airwaves. Yes, we needed to capture the dots and dashes, and then to decode it. But what should we then do with that enormous volume of information – amounting to thousands per day? Some would be of little of no value while other pieces would be gold dust to our battlefield forces. This presentation examines how we managed to get maximum value from the decrypted messages and what lessons had to be learned along the way.

The lecture will be held in the Peter Scoley Hall and is free for members. Non-members - £5 which includes tea/coffee and biscuits.
Tickets available at the door.
Doors open at 7pm for a 7.30pm start.
For more information on becoming a member of MAVC please visit our website.

You may also like the following events from Metheringham Airfield Visitor Centre:

• This August, 24th August, 10:00 am, VE Day & VJ Day 80th Anniversary Commemorative Event in Lincoln

Also check out other Workshops in Lincoln.