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 directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...

and decorated

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

flying ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ace is varied, but is usually co ...

. On 6 February 1958, he was the co-pilot of BEA flight 609 that was to carry the Manchester United 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, Essex, England. He was brought up in

Woodford Green Woodford Green is an area of Woodford in north-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 west. Epping F ...

. 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. The department and its manning requirements, including the responsibilities of each rank are regulated within the STCW Convention, applicable only to the merchant ...

on a route between England and Argentina.

RAF service

On 15 October 1940, Rayment joined the ranks of the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR). In March 1941, he started his pilot training with 17 Elementary Flying Training School. He was then promoted to sergeant 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 (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 station found next to the village of Sutton Bridge in the south-east of Lincolnshire. The airfield was to the south of the current A17, and east of the Ri ...

, in December 1941 he was assigned to

No. 153 Squadron RAF No. 153 Squadron was a Royal Air Force Squadron (aviation), squadron that saw service in both the First World War, First and Second World Wars. History On 1 July 1958, the unit was renumbered as No. 25 Squadron RAF. Aircraft operated Bases u ...

. After a few days, he was sent to 62 Operational Training Unit to train as a

night fighter A night fighter (also known as all-weather fighter or all-weather interceptor for a period of time after the Second World War) is a fighter aircraft adapted for use at night or in other times of bad visibility. Night fighters began to be used i ...

pilot. He rejoined No. 153 Squadron in February 1942, and flew Bristol Beaufighters. 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, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

with his squadron. He was promoted to

war substantive Military ranks are a system of hierarchical relationships, within armed forces, police, intelligence agencies or other institutions organized along military lines. The military rank system defines dominance, authority, and responsibility in a m ...

flying officer in May 1943. On 2 June 1943, it was announced that he had been mentioned in despatches. 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, 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 Cran may refer to: * C-RAN, cellular network architecture * CRAN (R programming language) *Cran (unit), of uncleaned herring *Representative Council of France's Black Associations Surname *Chris Cran (born 1949), a Canadian painter *James Cran (bo ...

. He then joined

No. 264 Squadron RAF No. 264 Squadron RAF, also known as No. 264 (Madras Presidency) Squadron, was a squadron of the Royal Air Force. World War I The squadron was first formed during the First World War, from two former Royal Naval Air Service flights, No. 439 ...

, a squadron flying De Havilland Mosquitos. 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 British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) was the British state-owned airline created in 1939 by the merger of Imperial Airways and British Airways Ltd. It continued operating overseas services throughout World War II. After the pass ...

(BOAC), and flew Lockheed Model 18 Lodestars 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 (german: Vergeltungswaffe 1 "Vengeance Weapon 1") was an early cruise missile. Its official Ministry of Aviation (Nazi Germany), Reich Aviation Ministry () designation was Fi 103. It was also known to the Allies as the buz ...

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 a ...

(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 ...

s, Dakotas, 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 in ...

s and

Vickers Viscount The Vickers Viscount is a 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. The Vi ...

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, the senior captain is a rank between a regular captain and a majo ...

. 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 Manchester United 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 polluta ...

-covered runway at Munich-Riem Airport,

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

. 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 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. Overview In Britain, ...

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 a ...

. 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