The Bendix G-15 was a vacuum tube computer produced by the Bendix Corporation in 1956. It was unique for its time because of its size and pricing compared to other computers of the era. At only 5 x 3 feet and a cost of about $60,000 for a working model, it was an affordable computer and was marketed to the scientific and industrial sectors. Although it’s designer had worked with Alan Turing and the ACE and SWAC computers, it was phased out when Control Data Corporation took over the company’s computer division in 1963.
A serial-architecture machine like the ACE, it used a magnetic drum but was unable to retain memory when it was shut down. It had over 180 vacuum tube packs and included peripherals like a typewriter, photoelectric tape reader, and a high speed paper tape punch. Around 400 were produced and it was used heavily in civil engineering.
