Many years were spent looking for a replacement for Atlas. The search started in earnest in 1967 with the aim of purchasing a system 20 times Atlas in power. Being a national facility, there was strong pressure to purchase a UK system for the Atlas Computer Laboratory.
There was a need for a machine 10 to 15 times the power of Atlas in the short term with room for substantial upgrades in power.
The ICL 1906A was installed at the Atlas Computer Laboratory as the front-end to a new 20-Atlas power system that would be purchased later. Several 1906A computers had already been delivered to university sites and the academic sector jointly spent considerable effort improving the software available on the 1906A. The work at the Atlas Laboratory should be seen in the context of that joint activity.
The aim for this section of the site is to give details of the software and hardware developments that took place on the Chilton 1906A.
A good place to look for details of the ICL 1900 Series is: http://www.icl1900.co.uk/