Lieutenant Francis Anthony Blair Fasson, GC (17 July 1913 – 30 October 1942), known as Tony Fasson,[1] was a Royal Navy officer. He was posthumously awarded the George Cross "for outstanding bravery and steadfast devotion to duty in the face of danger" when on 30 October 1942 in action in the Mediterranean Sea he captured codebooks vital for the breaking of the German naval "Shark" Enigma cipher from the sinking German submarine U-559.[2]
Fasson was born in the village of Lanton, Roxburghshire, the son of Francis Hamilton Fasson, a captain of the Scottish Horse, and Lilias Clara Fasson (née Bruce).[3] His uncle Robert Robertson Fasson RN was a commander in the Royal Navy.[4]
On 15 September 1935[6] he was attached to the Royal Air Force with the temporary rank of flying officer to train as a pilot at the No. 1 Flying Training School, RAF Leuchars. He returned to the navy on 16 June 1936[7] and joined the minesweeping sloop Salamander on 18 July 1936, receiving promotion to lieutenant on 16 September 1936. From 19 April 1937 he served aboard the escort vessel Shoreham in the East Indies, before joining the destroyer Windsor as first lieutenant on 5 August 1938.[3]
Fasson was appointed first lieutenant of the destroyer Hostile on 20 July 1939, and saw action in her on 10 April 1940 during the First Battle of Narvik, after which he received a Mention in Despatches.[8] In early 1941 Fasson was posted to HMS Nile, the naval headquarters in Alexandria, Egypt, finally returning to sea duty in March 1942 as first lieutenant of the destroyer Petard.[3]
Fasson and Able Seaman Colin Grazier, along with NAAFI canteen assistant Tommy Brown, jumped from the Petard[10] to the deck of the U-559 and entered the sinking submarine, which had water pouring in through seacocks left open by the Germans. Working in complete darkness, fully aware that the submarine could sink without warning at any time, Fasson and Grazier located documents which Brown carried up to men in a whaler. They continued searching until the submarine suddenly foundered – "sank like a stone," [citation needed] drowning Fasson and Grazier; Brown survived. Fasson and Grazier were subsequently awarded the George Cross, while Brown received the George Medal. The awards were published in the London Gazette on 14 September 1943.[11]
The codebooks that Fasson, Grazier, and Brown retrieved were immensely valuable to the code-breakers at Bletchley Park, who had been unable to read U-boat Enigma for ten months. The captured material allowed them to read the cyphers for several weeks, and to break U-boat Enigma thereafter.[12]
^ ab"The Fasson Enigma". discovertheborders.co.uk. 2012. Retrieved 30 October 2012.
April 10, 2024
tony, fasson, lieutenant, francis, anthony, blair, fasson, july, 1913, october, 1942, known, royal, navy, officer, posthumously, awarded, george, cross, outstanding, bravery, steadfast, devotion, duty, face, danger, when, october, 1942, action, mediterranean, . Lieutenant Francis Anthony Blair Fasson GC 17 July 1913 30 October 1942 known as Tony Fasson 1 was a Royal Navy officer He was posthumously awarded the George Cross for outstanding bravery and steadfast devotion to duty in the face of danger when on 30 October 1942 in action in the Mediterranean Sea he captured codebooks vital for the breaking of the German naval Shark Enigma cipher from the sinking German submarine U 559 2 Francis Anthony Blair FassonGCNickname s TonyBorn 1913 07 17 17 July 1913Lanton ScotlandDied30 October 1942 1942 10 30 aged 29 Mediterranean SeaBuried32 30 N 33 00 E 32 500 N 33 000 E 32 500 33 000Allegiance United KingdomService wbr branch Royal NavyRankLieutenantUnitHMS Rodney HMS Salamander HMS Shoreham HMS Windsor HMS Hostile HMS PetardBattles warsWorld War II Mediterranean and Middle East theatre Mediterranean War Sinking of German submarine U 559 AwardsGeorge CrossMention in Despatches Contents 1 Biography 1 1 Death 2 Memorials 3 ReferencesBiography editFasson was born in the village of Lanton Roxburghshire the son of Francis Hamilton Fasson a captain of the Scottish Horse and Lilias Clara Fasson nee Bruce 3 His uncle Robert Robertson Fasson RN was a commander in the Royal Navy 4 Fasson was educated at Jedburgh Grammar School 5 and entered the Royal Navy on 6 September 1930 serving aboard the battleship Rodney as a midshipman until June 1933 Promoted to acting sub lieutenant on 1 September 1933 he attended the Royal Naval College Greenwich and received promotion to sub lieutenant on 16 May 1934 before being assigned to the light cruiser Curacoa on 5 January 1935 3 On 15 September 1935 6 he was attached to the Royal Air Force with the temporary rank of flying officer to train as a pilot at the No 1 Flying Training School RAF Leuchars He returned to the navy on 16 June 1936 7 and joined the minesweeping sloop Salamander on 18 July 1936 receiving promotion to lieutenant on 16 September 1936 From 19 April 1937 he served aboard the escort vessel Shoreham in the East Indies before joining the destroyer Windsor as first lieutenant on 5 August 1938 3 Fasson was appointed first lieutenant of the destroyer Hostile on 20 July 1939 and saw action in her on 10 April 1940 during the First Battle of Narvik after which he received a Mention in Despatches 8 In early 1941 Fasson was posted to HMS Nile the naval headquarters in Alexandria Egypt finally returning to sea duty in March 1942 as first lieutenant of the destroyer Petard 3 Death edit On 30 October 1942 Petard in conjunction with the destroyers Pakenham and Hero the escort destroyers Dulverton and Hurworth and an RAF Sunderland flying boat of 47 Squadron based in Port Said attacked and badly damaged the German submarine U 559 The crew of the U 559 abandoned their vessel with 7 dead and 38 survivors 9 Fasson and Able Seaman Colin Grazier along with NAAFI canteen assistant Tommy Brown jumped from the Petard 10 to the deck of the U 559 and entered the sinking submarine which had water pouring in through seacocks left open by the Germans Working in complete darkness fully aware that the submarine could sink without warning at any time Fasson and Grazier located documents which Brown carried up to men in a whaler They continued searching until the submarine suddenly foundered sank like a stone citation needed drowning Fasson and Grazier Brown survived Fasson and Grazier were subsequently awarded the George Cross while Brown received the George Medal The awards were published in the London Gazette on 14 September 1943 11 The codebooks that Fasson Grazier and Brown retrieved were immensely valuable to the code breakers at Bletchley Park who had been unable to read U boat Enigma for ten months The captured material allowed them to read the cyphers for several weeks and to break U boat Enigma thereafter 12 Memorials editFasson is commemorated with plaques at Bedrule Kirk and the Jedburgh British Legion Club while his George Cross is held by the Scottish National War Museum at Edinburgh Castle 12 References edit Michael Ashcroft George Cross Heroes 2010 Fasson Francis Anthony Blair TracesOfWar com 2012 Retrieved 30 October 2012 a b c d Houterman Hans 2012 Royal Navy Officers 1939 1945 F unithistories com Retrieved 30 October 2012 Fasson grave Grange Cemetery Sons amp Daughters Jedburgh Grammar School jedburghgs co uk 2012 Retrieved 30 October 2012 No 34203 The London Gazette 1 October 1935 p 6141 No 34300 The London Gazette 30 June 1936 p 4165 No 34868 The London Gazette Supplement 7 June 1940 p 3502 Helgason Gudmundur The Type VIIC boat U 559 German U boats of WWII uboat net Retrieved 30 October 2012 Sebag Montefiore Hugh 2000 Enigma The Battle for the Code United Kingdom United States John Wiley amp Sons p 286 ISBN 0 471 49035 0 No 36169 The London Gazette 14 September 1943 p 4073 a b The Fasson Enigma discovertheborders co uk 2012 Retrieved 30 October 2012 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Tony Fasson amp oldid 1188974063, 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