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Able Seaman Colin Grazier, GC was posthumously awarded the George Cross for the "outstanding bravery and steadfast devotion to duty in the face of danger" which he displayed on 30 October 1942 in action in the eastern Mediterranean when capturing codebooks vital for the breaking of the German naval "Shark" Enigma cipher from the sinking U-559.〔(- WW2 Awards - Colin Grazier )〕 ==30 October 1942== On the night of 30 October 1942 an enemy submarine was reported north of Port Said. The HM Destroyers ''Pakenham'', ''Petard'', ''Dulverton'', ''Hero'', and ''Hurworth'' were ordered to proceed from Alexandria to relieve the HMS ''Echo'' who had been searching for the submarine (which was German U-boat ''U-559''). HMS ''Petard'', assisted by Wellesley aircraft of the No. 47 Squadron, located the u-boat and attacked the submarine with depth charges for nearly ten hours and finally forced the stricken boat to the surface at around 1040pm. The U-boat was caught in ''Petard'' 's search-lights,and the German crew, with Captain Hans Heidtmann, were taken on board under guard, but not before they had opened seavalves and petcocks in order to scuttle the submarine before abandoning it. HMS ''Petards now sought volunteers to swim over and search the damaged submarine. Lieutenant Francis Fasson RN said that he would go aboard.〔(The Capture of the Wetterkurzschlüssel and Kurzsignalheft from U-559 )〕 He stripped off his clothes and jumped into the cold sea. Colin Grazier also volunteered and followed him across. The two men were then joined by 16-year-old NAAFI canteen assistant Tommy Brown, and they began the task of searching the rapidly sinking u-boat for any vital documents, code books or machinery.〔(U559 )〕 The two senior men, Fasson and Grazier, entered the submarine and passed all the information they could get their hands on to Brown who was waiting on the conning tower. Suddenly the submarine lurched and slipped beneath the waves, taking Grazier and Fasson with it. Their daring mission though remained a secret for over 30 years due to the Official Secrets Act. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Colin Grazier」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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