BID 590 Noreen |
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Her Name Was Noreen But She Was No Queen
By David Smith
Communicators in Foreign Affairs Canada (and elsewhere) knew this crypto device as Noreen but her official title was BID590. If you treated her gently, charged her batteries and had a good sense of rhythm, you just might get to like her. Then again, probably not!!!The Noreen crypto unit came into being in the early 1960's and saw service with Canada’s Foreign Affairs (External Affairs at the time) until the early 1980’s. Her passing was probably not mourned by many, but those who used her agreed she was a quantum leap forward from the days of book cyphers.
The BID 590 was a British designed crypto machine and was used by Canada's Foreign Service Communicators at various diplomatic missions to communicate with various government departments. (Photo courtesy COMWEB Museum)