During World War Two, Hut 8 housed the codebreaking unit that broke German Naval Enigma messages and where important figures such as Hugh Alexander and Alan Turing, the founding father of the modern computer, worked. It was formed in January 1940 and initially consisted of elite codebreakers such as Peter Twinn, Oliver Strachey, Hugh Foss, Tony Kendrick and Joan Clarke. By December 1940, 41 people worked in the Hut eventually rising to a peak of 140 although Hut 8s team was small compared to other Huts. Hut 8 passed its decrypts to the Naval Section in Hut 4, for translation, intelligence extraction and transmission to the Admiralty. The Naval Codebreaking achieved in Hut 8 was made possible by the capture, in 1942, of Enigma codebooks from the German U-boat U-559 by three brave British sailors on board HMS Petard.
