Kenneth Gordon Rayment, (11 March 1921 – 15 March 1958) was a British

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...

and decorated

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

flying ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviation, military aviator credited with shooting down a certain minimum number of enemy aircraft during aerial combat; the exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ...

. On 6 February 1958, he was the co-pilot of BEA flight 609 that was to carry the

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

football team and journalists from West Germany to England but which crashed on take-off. This became known as the

Munich air disaster The Munich air disaster occurred on 6 February 1958, when British European Airways Flight 609 crashed on its third attempt to take off at Munich-Riem Airport in Munich, West Germany. The aircraft was carrying the Manchester United F.C., Manche ...

. Rayment survived the crash, but died five weeks later of his injuries.

Early life and education

Rayment was born on 11 March 1921 in

Wanstead Wanstead () is an area in East London, England, in the London Borough of Redbridge. It borders South Woodford to the north, Redbridge to the east and Manor Park to the south, with Leytonstone and Walthamstow to the west. It is located 8 m ...

, Essex, England. He was brought up in

Woodford Green Woodford Green is an area of Woodford, London, Woodford in East London, England, within the London Borough of Redbridge. It adjoins Buckhurst Hill to the north, Woodford Bridge to the east, South Woodford to the south, and Chingford to the we ...

. In 1937, after leaving school, he joined the Merchant Navy. He served as a

deck officer The deck department is an organisational team on board naval and merchant ships. Seafarers in the deck department work a variety of jobs on a ship or vessel, but primarily they will carry out the navigation of a vessel from the bridge. Howeve ...

on a route between England and Argentina.

RAF service

On 15 October 1940, Rayment joined the

ranks A rank is a position in a hierarchy. It can be formally recognized—for example, cardinal, chief executive officer, general, professor—or unofficial. People Formal ranks * Academic rank * Corporate title * Diplomatic rank * Hierarchy ...

of the

Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve The Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR) was established in 1936 to support the preparedness of the U.K. Royal Air Force (RAF) in the event of another war. The Air Ministry intended it to form a supplement to the Royal Auxiliary Air Force ( ...

(RAFVR). In March 1941, he started his pilot training with 17 Elementary Flying Training School. He was then promoted to

sergeant Sergeant (Sgt) is a Military rank, rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and in other units that draw their heritage f ...

and sent to Canada to continue his training at 37 Service Flying Training School. On 1 September 1941, Rayment was commissioned into the RAFVR as a

pilot officer Pilot officer (Plt Off or P/O) is a junior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. Pilot officer is the lowest ran ...

(on probation). After spending three months at 56 Operational Training Unit based at

RAF Sutton Bridge Royal Air Force Sutton Bridge or more simply RAF Sutton Bridge is a former Royal Air Force List of former Royal Air Force stations, station found next to the village of Sutton Bridge in the south-east of Lincolnshire. The airfield was to the sou ...

, in December 1941 he was assigned to No. 153 Squadron RAF. After a few days, he was sent to 62 Operational Training Unit to train as a

night fighter A night fighter (later known as all-weather fighter or all-weather interceptor post-Second World War) is a largely historical term for a fighter aircraft, fighter or interceptor aircraft adapted or designed for effective use at night, during pe ...

pilot. He rejoined No. 153 Squadron in February 1942, and flew

Bristol Beaufighter The Bristol Type 156 Beaufighter (often called the Beau) is a British multi-role aircraft developed during the Second World War by the Bristol Aeroplane Company. It was originally conceived as a heavy fighter variant of the Bristol Beaufor ...

s. Between May and August 1942, he was once more training with 62 Operational Training Unit. He then rejoined No. 153 Squadron after leaving the OTU. His commission was confirmed on 1 September 1942. In December 1942, Rayment was posted to

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

with his squadron. He was promoted to

war substantive Military ranks is a system of hierarchical relationships within armed forces, police, intelligence agencies, paramilitary groups, and other institutions organized along military lines, such as youth groups, chivalric orders, religious orders, an ...

flying officer Flying officer (Fg Offr or F/O) is a junior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. Flying officer is immediately ...

in May 1943. On 2 June 1943, it was announced that he had been

mentioned in despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face of t ...

. On 27 July 1943, he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC). Between July and September 1943, having left No. 153 Squadron, he was stationed in

Reghaïa Reghaïa is a municipality in Algiers Province, Algeria. It is located in Rouïba District, Rouïba districts of Algeria, district and is the most populated municipality of the district. Geography It is located in the northern part of the plain ...

, Algeria. In September 1943, Rayment returned to England from North Africa. He was promoted to flight lieutenant (war substantive) on 1 September 1943. From September 1943 to April 1944, he was an instructor with 51 Operational Training Unit, based at RAF Cranfield. He then joined No. 264 Squadron RAF, a squadron flying

De Havilland Mosquito The de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito is a British twin-engined, multirole combat aircraft, introduced during the World War II, Second World War. Unusual in that its airframe was constructed mostly of wood, it was nicknamed the "Wooden Wonder", or " ...

s. He was posted to France with his squadron in August 1944. His last operational flight in a Mosquito occurred on 20 September 1944. He remained in France until November 1944. He was then seconded to the

British Overseas Airways Corporation British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) was the United Kingdom, British state-owned national airline created in 1939 by the merger of Imperial Airways and British Airways Ltd. It continued operating overseas services throughout World War II ...

(BOAC), and flew

Lockheed Model 18 Lodestar The Lockheed Model 18 Lodestar is an American passenger transport aircraft of the World War II era, developed as part of the Model 10 Electra family, specifically from the Lockheed Model 14 Super Electra. Design and development Sales of the 1 ...

s until the end of the war in 1945. By the end of the

, Rayment had become a

. He had shot down five German fighters, one Italian plane, and a

V-1 flying bomb The V-1 flying bomb ( "Vengeance Weapon 1") was an early cruise missile. Its official Reich Aviation Ministry () name was Fieseler Fi 103 and its suggestive name was (hellhound). It was also known to the Allies as the buzz bomb or doodlebug a ...

Civilian career

In 1945, Rayment joined

British European Airways British European Airways (BEA), formally British European Airways Corporation, was a British airline which existed from 1946 until 1974. BEA operated to Europe, North Africa and the Middle East from airports around the United Kingdom. The ...

(BEA) as a pilot. In his early career with BEA, he flew

Airspeed Consul The Airspeed Consul is a twin-engined light transport aircraft and affordable airliner designed and produced by the British aircraft manufacturer Airspeed Limited. Introduced during the immediate post-war period, it was a straightforward conver ...

Dakotas The Dakotas, also known as simply Dakota, is a collective term for the U.S. states of North Dakota and South Dakota. It has been used historically to describe the Dakota Territory, and is still used for the collective heritage, culture, geo ...

, and Vickers Vikings. In 1953, he started flying

Airspeed Ambassador The Airspeed AS.57 Ambassador is a British twin piston-engined airliner that was designed and produced by the British aircraft manufacturer Airspeed Ltd. It was one of the first postwar airliners to be produced. The Ambassador was developed i ...

s and

Vickers Viscount The Vickers Viscount is a retired British medium-range turboprop airliner first flown in 1948 by Vickers-Armstrongs. A design requirement from the Brabazon Committee, it entered service in 1953 and was the first turboprop-powered airliner. T ...

s as a

senior captain Senior captain is a rank which is used in some countries' armed forces, navies, merchant marines, civil aviation and in the airline industry. Army In some armies of the world, "senior captain" is a rank between a regular captain and a major. The ...

. By 1958, he was considering retiring from flying and becoming a farmer. This was after Rayment had to recuperate from his piloting duties for BEA, following a hernia operation in late 1957.

Munich air disaster

On 6 February 1958, Rayment was the second pilot of a charted flight that was to bring the

football team, supporters and journalists from Germany back to England. BEA flight 609 crashed on its third attempt to take-off from a

slush Slush, also called slush ice, is a slurry mixture of small ice crystals (e.g. snow) and liquid water. In the natural environment, slush forms when ice or snow melts or during mixed precipitation. This often mixes with dirt and other pollutan ...

-covered runway at Munich-Riem Airport,

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

. Rayment was knocked unconscious during the crash, and had a broken leg, plus head injuries. Having been rescued from the wreckage, he was taken to

Rechts der Isar Hospital The Rechts der Isar Hospital (; "Hospital to the right of the Isar") is a hospital in the Haidhausen district of Munich, Germany. It is the teaching hospital and biomedical research facility of the TUM School of Medicine and Health. Overview ...

in Munich. By 12 February, he was being kept in an

oxygen tent An oxygen tent consists of a canopy placed over the head and shoulders, or over the entire body of a patient to provide oxygen at a higher level than normal. Some devices cover only a part of the face. Oxygen tents are sometimes confused with alt ...

. Having never regained consciousness, he died of his injuries on 15 March 1958, aged 37. He was the second crew member to die due to injuries received in the crash at Munich.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rayment, Kenneth Gordon 1921 births 1958 deaths British World War II flying aces Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in Germany People from Wanstead British Merchant Navy officers Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II Victims of the Munich air disaster