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30-421: Air Force Cross may refer to: Air Force Cross (South Africa) Air Force Cross (United Kingdom) Air Force Cross (United States) Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Air Force Cross . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to

60-485: A "sail-away" party on deck. However, rough seas caused the party to be held inside in the Four Seasons lounge; most passengers chose to stay in their cabins. While trying to make up lost time, Oceanos encountered rough seas. The storm worsened as the evening progressed and when the first sitting of dinner was served, the waiters could hardly carry the trays of food without dropping something. Earlier repairs to

90-526: A Greek board of inquiry for fleeing the ship without helping the passengers. Dateline NBC aired a documentary of the incident on 23 May 2010. The sinking is the subject of a song called "Oceanos" by Celtic rock band Coast . It was also discussed in an episode of Nova on 18 April 2012, entitled, "Why Ships Sink", which focused mainly on the Costa Concordia accident (whose commanding officer also fled while passengers were still aboard). Hills

120-417: A Jill who had been performing with his wife Tracy in the lounge, explored below decks, discovered that Oceanos appeared to be sinking, and were informed by the cruise director, Lorraine Betts, that the captain had given the order to abandon ship and some crew had already left in a lifeboat. They began launching the remaining lifeboats, with up to 90 people in each, but were unable to start their engines. When

150-446: A cruise director – was interviewed by Jane Garvey for BBC Radio 4 's series Life Changing . The Oceanos wreck lies at a depth of between 92 m (302 ft) and 97 m (318 ft), about 5 km (2.7 nmi; 3.1 mi) offshore. Divers have visited her, but strong currents make the dive difficult. Photographs taken in 2002 show that the bridge section has collapsed. The MTS Oceanos and another Epirotiki ship,

180-518: A position of relative safety, as opposed to skillfully reacting to an unforeseen situation of mortal danger. The proposed criteria were described in the draft warrant as excellent airmanship or outstanding ingenuity or skill during emergencies or unusual situations in the air. When the other three Arms of the Service subsequently proposed that an Army Cross (CM), a Navy Cross (CN) and a Medical Service Cross (CC) should be instituted simultaneously,

210-641: A vertical position. The ship then toppled over towards her starboard side and disappeared beneath the waves. The final minutes of her sinking were captured on video and broadcast by ABC News . All 581 people on board were saved. Entertainment manager Robin Boltman was credited with gathering the passengers in the lounge and playing music to calm them. Among the entertainers onboard was the South African cabaret performer, Alvon Collison, who later reported that he had begun singing an impromptu repertoire as

240-431: Is 32 millimetres wide and white, with a 12 millimetres wide centre band consisting of a 5 millimetres wide light blue band, a 2 millimetres wide yellow band and a 5 millimetres wide light blue band. Conferment of the decoration was discontinued in respect of services performed on or after 27 April 2003. Since inclusion in the table itself is impractical, the actions cited for follow below the table. The list of recipients

270-646: Is a South African military decoration which was instituted by the Republic of South Africa in 1987. It was awarded to members of the South African Air Force for bravery. The decoration was discontinued in 2003, but backdated awards can still be made for acts of bravery during this period. The Union Defence Forces (UDF) were established in 1912 and renamed the South African Defence Force (SADF) in 1958. On 27 April 1994, it

300-477: Is not complete. MTS Oceanos MTS Oceanos was a French -built and Greek -owned cruise ship that sank in 1991 when she suffered uncontrolled flooding. Her captain, Yiannis Avranas , and some of the crew were convicted of negligence for fleeing the ship without helping the passengers, who were subsequently rescued thanks to the efforts of the ship's entertainers, who made a mayday transmission, launched lifeboats, and helped South African Marines land on

330-459: The Dutch cargo ship Nedlloyd Mauritius , which had responded to the distress call. An inflatable had to be launched to rescue some passengers who panicked and jumped into the water. Oceanos rolled onto her starboard side and sank bow first approximately 45 minutes after the last person was airlifted from the deck, with her bow striking the seabed 308 ft below the surface, bringing the stern to

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360-483: The Marseilles – Madagascar – Mauritius service. Jean Laborde went through many different owners and name changes ( Jean Laborde , Mykinai , Ancona , Eastern Princess ) in the succeeding decades. In 1976, she was acquired by Epirotiki Lines of Greece and registered under the name of Oceanos . Oceanos was briefly featured in the 1985 film Sky High and with another Epirotiki ship, Apollon XI , in

390-629: The fantail and he said "I think he was in deep, deep shock." Hills reportedly rescued Avranas' dog and released his canary. A South African Navy Diver testified that the captain had insisted on being taken ashore by the first helicopter. Boltman told a newspaper: "Later in the morning, Captain Avarnasi ( sic ) even contacted me from shore to ask how things were going." Captain Avranas received extensive media coverage as an example of unprofessional behaviour whilst in command. He stated that he left

420-476: The 1986 film Hardbodies 2 . Under charter by TFC Tours, Oceanos – initially delayed by a bomb threat – set out from East London , South Africa on 3 August 1991, and headed for Durban . Captain Yiannis Avranas (born c. 1940) had been an officer for twenty years and a seaman for thirty. Oceanos headed into 40- knot winds and 9 m (30 ft) swells . Usually, there would have been

450-505: The Cross was awarded for exceptional courage, leadership, skill, ingenuity or tenacity in dangerous or critical situations. A Bar, instituted in 1993, could be awarded in recognition of further similar displays of courage, leadership, skill, ingenuity or tenacity in danger. The Air Force Cross was first awarded in 1991, to 27 Puma helicopter pilots and flight engineers who were involved in the rescue operation to airlift passengers and crew from

480-658: The South African Air Force emblem in the centre on a light blue roundel, 18 millimetres in diameter. The reverse has the pre-1994 South African Coat of Arms , with the decoration number impressed underneath. The bar was struck in silver and has a Protea emblem embossed in the centre. The same bar was used to indicate multiple awards of the Pro Virtute Medal , Army Cross , Air Force Cross, Navy Cross , Medical Service Cross , Southern Cross Medal (1975) and Pro Merito Medal (1975) . The ribbon

510-424: The engine room. Once the engines stopped, the ship had rolled over to the point that in the lounge, which is where the passengers had gathered, crockery and cutlery began sliding off the tables and potted plants fell over. No alarm or announcement had been given that the ship was in trouble; with other entertainers working on the cruise, Moss Hills , a musician from Zimbabwe and former member of Four Jacks and

540-426: The intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Air_Force_Cross&oldid=1015336956 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Air Force Cross (South Africa) The Air Force Cross , post-nominal letters CA (Crux Aeronautica),

570-714: The listing and sinking ship MTS Oceanos , on the Transkei Wild Coast on 4 August 1991. The position of the Air Force Cross in the official order of precedence was revised three times, to accommodate the institution or addition of new decorations and medals, first upon the integration into the South African National Defence Force on 27 April 1994, again when decorations and medals were belatedly instituted in April 1996 for

600-687: The proposed award criteria of all four crosses were amended to outstanding ingenuity or skill in the utilisation and control of personnel, weaponry or other equipment in dangerous situations and, in the case of the Air Force Cross, not necessarily restricted to flying. The Air Force Cross, post-nominal letters CA (Crux Aeronautica), was instituted by the State President in 1987. The cross was initially awarded for exceptional ingenuity, resourcefulness and skill, and extraordinary leadership, dedication, sense of duty and personal example and courage in mortal danger, in non-combatant situations. After 1993,

630-414: The scene, and provided the ship's coordinates to the South African authorities. Rescue helicopters began arriving three hours later, and winched passengers and remaining crew to safety, with Hills continuing in charge of the orderly evacuation. Thirteen of the sixteen helicopters were South African Air Force Pumas , nine of which hoisted 225 passengers off the deck. They were assisted by the lifeboats of

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660-499: The ship first to arrange for a rescue effort, and then supervised the rescue from a helicopter because "the batteries on the crew's walkie-talkies had died, meaning that he had no communications with his crew or with other rescue craft". He was quoted soon after the sinking as saying, "When I order abandon the ship, it doesn't matter what time I leave. Abandon is for everybody. If some people like to stay, they can stay." In 1992, he and five other officers were convicted of negligence by

690-573: The ship from naval helicopters. All 571 passengers and crew survived. Epirotiki Lines had lost two other ships within the three years preceding the sinking: the company's flagship Pegasus only two months before, and MV Jupiter , three years before. Oceanos was launched in July 1952 by Forges et Chantiers de la Gironde in Bordeaux , France as Jean Laborde , the last of four sister ships built for Messageries Maritimes . The ships were used on

720-479: The ship was sinking, in an effort to keep the passengers' spirits up. In his characteristic style, he managed to weave a comical moment into his narrative of the tumultuous events, telling reporters that he had started singing " Bye Bye Miss American Pie ", when he suddenly realised that the next line was going to be "This'll be the day that I die" and quickly switched to another song. Hills later said that searching for Captain Avranas, he had discovered him smoking on

750-463: The ship's worsening list to starboard made it unsafe to continue, Hills and several passengers went to the bridge to look for the crew, but found it unmanned. They used the radio phone to broadcast a mayday distress call until Moss received a response. By the next morning rescuers found Oceanos adrift just off Coffee Bay , on the Wild Coast . Two small ships in the vicinity were first on

780-553: The two former non-statutory forces, the Azanian People's Liberation Army and Umkhonto we Sizwe , and again when a new series of military decorations and medals was instituted in South Africa on 27 April 2003, but it remained unchanged on all three occasions. [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] The Air Force Cross is a pointed cross, struck in silver, to fit in a circle 45 millimetres in diameter, with

810-483: The waste disposal system had not been completed, which meant that a vital ventilation pipe which ran through the watertight aft bulkhead and the non-return valves were not replaced. It is believed that after a series of freak waves slammed against the ship, the pipe's shell plating burst open and began filling the compartment with seawater. At about 9:30   p.m., a muffled explosion was heard and Oceanos lost power. The ship started taking on water, rapidly flooding

840-558: Was integrated with six other independent forces into the South African National Defence Force (SANDF). When a new South African set of decorations and medals was instituted on 6 April 1952, to replace most of the British awards which had been used to date, South African equivalents of, amongst others, the British Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) and Air Force Cross (AFC), were omitted. This omission

870-494: Was interviewed in the special, and related that some years later he had been on board when the MS Achille Lauro of Star Lauro sank. The rescue featured in episode 4 of Shockwave , first aired 21 December 2007. The NPR radio show and podcast Snap Judgment featured an account of the sinking by Moss Hills. The show Extreme Weather: The Survivors featured a segment on the sinking. In 2022, Hills – who later became

900-437: Was only belatedly addressed near the end of the 1966-1989 Border War, when the institution of the Air Force Cross (CA) was proposed. As proposed, the decoration was intended for award only to air crew, who displayed exceptional courage and leadership during dangerous or critical situations while airborne, where an award for bravery was not suitable, based on the premise that bravery involves knowingly entering mortal danger from

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