Kenneth Gordon Rayment, (11 March 1921 – 15 March 1958) was a British pilot and decorated Second World War flying ace. On 6 February 1958, he was the co-pilot of BEA flight 609 that was to carry the

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

football team and journalists from West Germany to England but which crashed on take-off; this became known as the Munich air disaster. 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 a town in East London, England, in the London Borough of Redbridge. It borders South Woodford to the north, Redbridge, London, Redbridge to the east and Forest Gate to the south, with Leytonstone and Walthamstow to the west. It is ...

, Essex, England. He was brought up in Woodford Green. In 1937, after leaving school, he joined the Merchant Navy. He served as a deck officer on a route between England and Argentina.

RAF service

On 15 October 1940, Rayment joined the ranks 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 in the event of another war. The Air Ministry intended it to form a supplement to the Royal Auxiliary Air Force (RAuxAF ...

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

sergeant Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...

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 officially in the RAF; in the RAAF and RNZAF; formerly P/O in all services, and still often used in the RAF) is the lowest commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countri ...

(on probation). After spending three months at 56 Operational Training Unit based at RAF Sutton Bridge, 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 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 Beaufort ...

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 with his squadron. He was promoted to war substantive flying officer in May 1943. On 2 June 1943, it was announced that he had been

mentioned in despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) 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 ...

. 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 and is the most populated municipality of the district. Geography It is located in the northern part of the plain of Mitidja, with sandy beaches along th ...

, Algeria. In September 1943, Rayment returned to England from North Africa. He was promoted to

flight lieutenant Flight lieutenant is a junior commissioned rank in air forces that use the Royal Air Force (RAF) system of ranks, especially in Commonwealth countries. It has a NATO rank code of OF-2. Flight lieutenant is abbreviated as Flt Lt in the India ...

(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, shoulder-winged, multirole combat aircraft, introduced during the Second World War. Unusual in that its frame 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, but he remained in France until November 1944. He was then seconded to the British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC), and flew

Lockheed Model 18 Lodestar The Lockheed Model 18 Lodestar is a passenger transport aircraft of the World War II era. Design and development Sales of the 10–14 passenger Lockheed Model 14 Super Electra, which first flew in 1937, had proved disappointing, despite the air ...

s until the end of the war in 1945. By the end of the Second World War, Rayment had become a flying ace; he had shot down five German fighters, one Italian plane, and a V-1 flying bomb.

Civilian career

In 1945, Rayment joined British European Airways (BEA) as a pilot. In his early career with BEA, he flew Airspeed Consuls,

Dakotas The Dakotas 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, geography, fauna, sociology, econom ...

, and Vickers Vikings. In 1953, he started flying Airspeed Ambassadors and Vickers Viscounts 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, the senior captain is a rank between a regular captain and a major. ...

. By 1958, he was considering retiring from flying and becoming a farmer, this was after Rayment had to recuperate from his piloting duties flying 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-covered runway at Munich-Riem Airport, West Germany. Rayment was knocked unconscious during the crash, and was found to have a broken leg plus head injuries. Having been rescued from the wreckage, he was taken to Rechts der Isar Hospital in Munich. By 12 February, he was being kept in an oxygen tent. 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