{"id":4904,"date":"2012-11-26T10:53:15","date_gmt":"2012-11-26T14:53:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=4904"},"modified":"2012-11-26T10:55:15","modified_gmt":"2012-11-26T14:55:15","slug":"coded-message-from-wwii-carrier-pigeon-structured-like-numbers-station-communique","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2012\/11\/coded-message-from-wwii-carrier-pigeon-structured-like-numbers-station-communique\/","title":{"rendered":"Coded message from WWII carrier pigeon structured like numbers station communiqu\u00e9"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

The message contains the all-too-familiar 5 character groupings we’re used to hearing in numbers station broadcasts<\/p><\/div>\n

This news story<\/a>\u00a0about a recently discovered WWII carrier pigeon message has been floating around the Internet over the past few days.<\/p>\n

(Source: CNN<\/a>)<\/p>\n

Not even the British spy agencies that inspired James Bond can solve the mystery of a secret World War II message recently found on the skeleton of a carrier pigeon in a house chimney.<\/p>\n

The meaning of the encoded message apparently died about 70 years ago with the wayward pigeon that David Martin found in his smokestack in Bletchingley, Surrey County, England.<\/p>\n

Martin recently discovered the bird’s remains with the surprisingly intact message inside a small red canister attached to a leg bone.<\/p>\n

[…]Hand-written on a small piece of paper labeled “Pigeon Service,” the note consists of five-letter words. Those words don’t make sense: The jumble begins with “AOAKN” and “HVPKD.” In all, the message consists of 27 five-letter code groups.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Indeed, the only hope the UK intelligence agency, the GCHQ<\/a>, stands in deciphering the message (click here to see the full message<\/a>) would be to find the appropriate, specific decipher\u00a0key. Most likely, this message–like numbers station (a.k.a. spy numbers) messages–was a one-time\u00a0communiqu\u00e9, with a one-time decipher key. This type of encryption is incredibly effective as they provide little to no context for deciphering.<\/p>\n

But again, that’s a part of the magic and mystery many of us find so fascinating about numbers stations<\/a>. \u00a0The messages are (still) everywhere and broadcast publicly, yet, we have no clue of the meaning.<\/p>\n

If you’ve never heard a numbers station, check out this audio of the numbers station, “The English Man” I\u00a0recorded\u00a0earlier this year<\/a>:<\/p>\n