Republic of Malta The Maltese cross is displayed as part of the
Maltese civil ensign, the
Maltese naval jack and
presidential standard has a Maltese cross in each corner. The Maltese euro coins of 1- and 2-euro denomination carry the Maltese cross. It is also the trademark of
KM Malta Airlines, Malta's national airline. The Maltese cross was depicted on the two-
mils coin in of the
Maltese lira in 1972, and on the reverse of one- and two-
Euro coins introduced in January 2008.
Military and civil orders , founded in 1561 , founded in 1572 as an amalgamation and successor of the Order of Saint Lazarus with the
Order of Saint Maurice, founded in 1434. • Australian Military awards, the Distinguished Service Cross and Conspicuous Service Cross are modified versions of the Maltese Cross. The
Distinguished Service Cross was introduced in 1991 and is awarded for distinguished command and leadership in warlike operations. The
Conspicuous Service Cross (CSC) is awarded only for outstanding devotion to duty, or outstanding achievement in the application of exceptional skills, judgement or dedication, in non-warlike situations. • Austria's two highest decorations, the
Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria and the
Austrian Decoration for Science and Art, have the eight-pointed cross as their basis. • In
Belgium, the eight-pointed cross is the basis of two of the country's royal orders of merit, the
Order of Leopold and the
Order of Leopold II. '' • The
Order of Bravery is the highest military decoration of the
Kingdom of Bulgaria and of the
Republic of Bulgaria and the most esteemed Bulgarian order. • The
Pour le Mérite, Imperial Germany's highest award for military valor, was a blue-enameled, eight-pointed cross with golden eagles between the arms. It was founded in 1740 by the francophile Prussian King
Frederick the Great, and was adorned with the French legend
Pour le Mérite ("For merit") in gold. Awards of the military class ceased with the dissolution of the
Hohenzollern monarchy at the end of World War I in November 1918. • The coats of arms of the former duchy of
Mecklenburg-Strelitz and the former
Mecklenburg-Strelitz district contained an eight-pointed cross. Several towns in Northern Germany have an eight-pointed cross on their coats of arms, including
Malchin,
Mirow,
Moraas,
Rastow, and
Sülstorf.
Heitersheim and
Bad Dürrheim in Southern Germany also have an eight-pointed cross on their arms. • In the
Netherlands, the eight-pointed cross forms the basic form for the three highest royal orders of merit: the Orders of the
Netherlands Lion,
Orange-Nassau and the
Gold Lion of the House of Nassau. • In
Latvia, the eight-pointed cross forms the basis for the collar of the
Order of the Three Stars. • In
Norway, the eight-pointed cross is the symbol used in the
Order of St. Olav. • In the
Philippines, the eight-pointed cross is a part of the pendant of the
Quezon Service Cross, which is the highest honor that can be conferred in the republic. It is also found in the
Order of Sikatuna, and
Order of the Golden Heart. • In
Poland, the eight-pointed cross forms the basis for the country's four highest awards of merit: the
Order of the White Eagle,
Virtuti Militari, the
Order of Polonia Restituta and the
Order of the Military Cross. • In
Portugal, the eight-pointed cross forms the basis for the country's
Order of Merit. • The cross forms the basic form for some Spanish orders such as the
Order of Charles III, the
Order of Isabella the Catholic, the
Order of Montesa, and the
Order of Queen Maria Luisa. • In
Romania, an eight-pointed cross forms the basis for the
National Order of Merit,
Order of Agricultural Merit and historically
Order of the Crown of Romania. • In
Sweden, an eight-pointed cross forms the basis for all the royal orders of merit: the
Royal Order of the Seraphim,
Order of the Sword,
Order of the Polar Star, and
Order of Vasa, as well as the
Order of Saint John in Sweden. • The eight-pointed cross forms the basis for the design of the
Order of the Bath and the
Royal Victorian Order. • In
France, the Maltese cross was the symbol of the Musketeers of Armagnac, the elite military group which supported Louis XIII and Louis XIV. • In
South Korea, the eight-pointed cross forms the basis for the
Grand Order of Mugunghwa.
Regional and municipal heraldry . • The
Naval Jack of Italy features the national coat of arms of four of the former
maritime republics with the "Amalfi cross" for Amalfi in the lower left. Besides the town of Amalfi which is its namesake, the cross is also displayed on various towns' coats of arms, such as
Aicurzio,
Rolo,
San Giovanni di Gerace,
Fasano,
Gizzeria,
Murello,
Rodì Milici,
Blufi,
Ronchis,
San Mauro la Bruca, and the
Province of Salerno. • Numerous French communes have the eight-pointed cross on their coats of arms. Among them are
Drucourt,
Eysines, and
Valcanville in
Normandy;
Rimbachzell in
Alsace;
Saint-Jean-de-Bassel in
Lorraine;
Rontalon in
Aquitaine;
Chappes in
Auvergne;
Arvieu in
Aveyron; and
Auton and
Vinon-sur-Verdon in
Provence. The Territorial Collectivity of
Saint Barthélemy also have an eight-pointed cross on its coat of arms. • Many
municipalities and
civil parishes of Portugal, which territories were once part of the dominions of the Knights Hospitaller, include eight-pointed crosses in their coats of arms. Among them are
Crato,
Oliveira do Hospital,
Proença-a-Nova, and
Gavião. • In
Croatia, it is on the coat of arms of the town
Ivanec, named after the Knights of Saint John. • The
14th district of Prague has an eight-pointed cross on its coat of arms. It also appears on the coats of arms of several other Czech towns and villages, including
Dobřichovice in
Central Bohemia;
Doubravice in
South Bohemia;
Staňkovice in the
Ústí nad Labem Region; and
Medlovice and
Orlovice in
South Moravia. • The
flag, badge, and
coat of arms of the state of
Queensland feature an eight-pointed cross, and as such, many public services incorporate the cross, including the Queensland police and ambulance services, then it was also incorporated into the
Commonwealth Coat of Arms and the
Queen's Personal Flag. The eight-pointed cross is part of the coat of arms of the University of Queensland. It is also part of the logo for various ambulance services in Australia, such as the
South Australian Ambulance Service, the
Queensland Ambulance Service, the
New South Wales Ambulance,
Ambulance Victoria,
St John Ambulance Australia, and the
Australian Capital Territory Ambulance Service. The cross known as the Fire Service Star is also used by
Country Fire Authority in Victoria as an official symbol. It can be seen on uniform hats and on Long Service and Outstanding Service badges. • Two Dutch towns,
Ermelo and
Montfoort, use the eight-pointed cross on their flags, and the former on its coat of arms, also. • Several municipalities in
Spain also use the eight-pointed cross on their flags and coats-of-arms, including
Alguaire and
Amposta in
Catalonia,
Arroyo de la Encomienda in
Castile and León,
Consuegra in
Toledo,
La Almunia de Doña Godina in
Zaragoza,
Lora del Río in
Andalusia,
O Barco de Valdeorras,
Castrelo de Miño,
O Incio,
Larouco,
O Páramo,
A Pobra de Trives,
Portomarín,
Quiroga in
Galicia, and
Tomares in
Andalusia. • The Swedish municipality of
Mönsterås uses an eight-pointed cross on its arms. • The coat of arms of
Bardonnex, in the Swiss
Canton of Geneva, displays an eight-pointed cross. • The eight-pointed cross appears on the coat of arms of the
London Borough of Hackney. • The eight-pointed cross appears on the coat of arms of
Saint John, one of the parishes of
Jersey.
Aviation In 1967, laboratory tests, and flight tests at
Fort Rucker and
Fort Wolters, were conducted to determine the most highly visible and effective way to mark a helipad. Twenty-five emblem designs were tested, but the emblem depicting four blurred rotor blades, referred to as the "Maltese cross", was selected as the standard heliport marking pattern by the Army for military heliports, and by the FAA for civil heliports. However, in the late 1970s, the FAA administrator repealed this standard when it was charged that the Maltese cross was antisemitic. In the United States today, some helipads still remain bearing their original Maltese cross emblems. The eight-pointed cross is also used to identify the
final approach fix on FAA published approach plates. This is used on both precision and non-precision approaches.
Maritime The vessel classification society for the United States, the
American Bureau of Shipping, will assign the Maltese cross symbol to vessels and offshore units for which the hull construction and/or the manufacture of its machinery and components and any associated required testing, as applicable, is carried out under ABS survey.
Medical Several orders that are descended from the original Order of St John set up first aid and ambulance services. These also incorporated the Maltese cross into their logos: •
St John Ambulance and its national organizations. • The
Order of Malta Ambulance Corps. • The
Johanniter-Unfall-Hilfe and the
Malteser Hilfsdienst, the respective Protestant and Catholic ambulance services in Germany, have an eight-pointed cross in their emblems. •
Emergency medical services in Australia. This is due to the role of St John Ambulance, who continue to run the primary ambulance service in some states. • The Bombeiros da Cruz de Malta (Maltese Cross Fire Brigade), a volunteer fire and medical emergency corps in
Lisbon, Portugal, founded by Portuguese members of the Order of Malta.
Other emblem 64 • The "Maltese Cross" was used by ancient Celts on grave slabs in Spain as early as 510 CE. • The
Huguenot cross, a symbol of
French Protestants, is an eight-pointed cross with a
dove. • The
United Protestant Church of France used an emblem that combined a stylized Latin cross and a Maltese cross. • In Spain, the golden eight-pointed cross is the symbol used by the military
medical corps. • The football club
AJ Auxerre, founded in 1905 by the priest Abbé Deschamps, has an eight-pointed cross as its emblem, adapted from that of the
Catholic Association of French Youth. • In
India, the eight-pointed cross is the emblem used by the
Garhwal Rifles and
Rajputana Rifles. It was introduced as the emblem of the Central Provinces Police (CPP) during the British colonial era, and is still used by its successor—the
Madhya Pradesh Police—to this day. It is also used by the
Kolkata Police Force. •
Det Norske Veritas uses the eight-pointed cross as symbol in the class notifications telling that the ship is constructed under their monitoring. • In the Philippines, the eight-pointed cross is part of the school seal of
Colegio de San Juan de Letran. It was founded by Don Juan Alonso Jeronimo Guerrero, a retired Spanish officer and one of the Knights of Malta and Fray
Diego de Santa María, O.P., a Dominican brother. • The eight-pointed cross is used by the Swedish Mounted Royal Guards as their emblem. • The eight-pointed cross is the
trademark of the oldest continuously operated Swiss
watch manufacturer,
Vacheron Constantin founded in 1755. 's
Bermuda Regiment combines the eight-pointed cross of rifle regiments with elements from that of the
Royal Artillery. • In the
United Kingdom, the eight-pointed cross is the symbol used by rifle regiments, and has been incorporated into the badges of virtually all rifle units, including the cap badge of the
Bermuda Regiment, officers' cross belt of the
Gurkha Rifles and now amalgamated, the
Royal Green Jackets. • The first
postmark employed for the
cancellation of the then new British postage stamps in the 1840s was the shape of an eight-pointed cross and named accordingly. • The eight-pointed cross appears on the shirts of St Mark's FC (West Gorton), the forebears of Manchester City Football Club. • The eight-pointed cross is the insignia of
Methodist College Belfast, and it appears on the blazers of the sixth-form pupils as its crest. • The eight-pointed cross is also the symbol of
Neath Rugby Football Club. • It is the symbol of the Royal
Shrewsbury School Boat Club, displayed on the oars and uniform of the 1st VIII. • The eight-pointed cross with eagle, globe, and anchor in the center is used for the sharpshooter badge in the United States Marine Corps. •
Malta Boat Club, a
sculling club on
Philadelphia's
Boathouse Row, uses the eight-pointed cross as its logo. •
Phi Kappa Sigma, an international all-male college secret and social
fraternity, uses an eight-pointed cross as its symbol. • The Yale University School of Nursing uses the eight-pointed cross on its official shield. • The Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States or
VFW, an organization of military veterans, uses the eight-pointed cross in its official emblem. • In US York Rite Freemasonry, the
Knights Templar (Freemasonry) use the eight-pointed cross in the Order of the Knights of Malta. • The Military Division of the
Kappa Alpha Order, composed of members serving in or honorably discharged from the U.S. Armed Forces, uses an eight-pointed cross in the colors of The Order. • The
Drummoyne Rowing Club, a rowing club in
Sydney,
Australia uses the eight-pointed cross as part of its logo.
Science and Pathology The Maltese cross also describes a microscopic structure found during the diagnosis of the
tick-borne disease
babesiosis. The characteristic tetrad structure of the
Babesia merozoites, visible in a
peripheral blood smear, is often referred to as the "Maltese-cross form" to distinguish it from the merozoites of
malaria.
UK railway ticketing On the National Rail network, tickets marked with a Maltese cross are valid for travel on
London Underground,
Docklands Light Railway and
Thameslink between two London Terminals, allowing passengers to make journeys that cross London. Passengers can break their journey at any intermediate station but cannot then resume their journey by Tube, DLR or Thameslink using their cross-London ticket. Passengers holding tickets to a
London fare zone marked with a Maltese cross can make one journey from the London Terminal at which they arrived to the zone in question. ==Eponymy==