Sir, That Bletchley Park shortened the war by two years was first suggested by Sir Harry Hinsley, who spent the war there as a cryptanalyst (letter, Mar 13). He speculated on the possibility of the atomic bomb being used on Germany, concluding that “the prospects of it being dropped as the solution are quite high” — had not the shortening of the war made its use unnecessary.
That atomic weapons were not used in Europe may be the greatest legacy of Bletchley’s codebreakers.
Dr John Doherty
Vienna