RIP Bob Balls MBE

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CharlieOneSix
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RIP Bob Balls MBE

#1 Post by CharlieOneSix » Thu Dec 12, 2019 10:42 am

The Fleet Air Arm Officers' Association has posted that Bob Balls died in September. He was an ex-RN helicopter pilot but it was with Bristow that he carried out the most amazing rescue of oil workers from the Ocean Prince in 1968.
In the early hours of 6 March 1968, in the North Sea the Ocean Prince was experiencing gale-force conditions, with 50-foot waves and winds in excess of 80 knots. The rig was on the receiving end of an extreme battering by the elements and, with every large wave, was lifted up and heavily dropped back onto the sea floor. The 45 crew on board could see cracks opening in the main deck and structural beams and notified shore personnel that the rig was in danger of breaking up. Of the various authorities contacted, only Capt. Robert Balls of Bristow, the rig's regular chopper pilot, set out immediately to rescue the crew.

By 0710 hours, the portside pontoon broke in half and a main deck support split, allowing the whole port-aft area containing the drillfloor, derrick and radio room to collapse into the sea. Flying conditions were in excess of recommended helicopter limits but, shortly thereafter, the Bristow's chopper made its first landing on the rig and airlifted 18 of the crew to the neighbouring Constellation rig. Two more journeys were made to extract the remainder of the rig's crew. Less than an hour after the last pick-up, the entire rig broke up and sank into the stormy seas.
The photos show the Ocean Prince in happier days, then breaking up in the storm and finally sinking:
Ocean Prince.jpg
Ocean Prince.jpg (4.85 KiB) Viewed 6547 times
Breaking Up.jpg
Breaking Up.jpg (7.69 KiB) Viewed 6547 times
Sinking.jpg
Sinking.jpg (7.48 KiB) Viewed 6547 times

Published in the Second Supplement to The London Gazette of Friday 12th July 1968

To be Additional Members of the Civil Division of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, for Gallantry:

Captain Robert Charles BALLS, Helicopter Pilot, Bristow Tetney Heliport Base, Grimsby.

During a severe storm the drilling barge “Ocean Prince", on station 100 miles out in the North Sea, was pounded by waves estimated at about 50 feet. A request was made about 6.0 a.m. to commence a precautionary evacuation of the barge. Captain Balls took off alone in a Wessex helicopter from Scarborough Heliport. About an hour later, while still en route, he learnt by radio that the drilling derrick on the barge had collapsed and he decided against trying to take all members of the crew ashore. He transferred two loads of passengers from " Ocean Prince " to another rig situated about 18 miles away. The landings and take-offs were particularly hazardous in the prevailing weather because the legs of the platform projected above the level of the helipad. In order to lift the maximum number of persons the pilot flew with the minimum fuel on board and refuelled on the rig. With the wind gusting to 90 miles per hour and the risk that the landing platform might capsize, exceptional courage and skill were necessary before and during the operations on " Ocean Prince". But for Captain Balls' initiative, bravery and splendid airmanship in planning and safely carrying out this risky operation as he did, all 45 members of the crew of " Ocean Prince" would probably have lost their lives, since the rig broke up and sank a few hours after the last group of men had been lifted clear.
The helicopter pilots' mantra: If it hasn't gone wrong then it's just about to...
https://www.glenbervie-weather.org

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