Kenneth Rayment
Kenneth Rayment was a British pilot and decorated Royal Air Force flying ace. On 6 February 1958, he was the co-pilot of BEA flight 609 that had was to carry the Manchester United football team and journalists from West Germany to England but crashed on take-off; this became known as the Munich air disaster. Rayment survived the crash but died six weeks later of injuries received.[1]
Military service
After joining the RAF in 1940, he was promoted to sergeant in September 1941.[2] He was commissioned as a war substantive pilot officer a year later,[3] and promoted to war substantive flying officer in May 1943.[4] He shot down five German fighters, one Italian plane and a V-1 flying bomb. He was awarded the DFC in July 1943,[5] and promoted to flight lieutenant in September 1943.[6]
References
- ^ "Pilot's daughter pays tribute". Manchester Evening News. 12 January 2013. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
- ^ "No. 35343". The London Gazette. 11 November 1941.
- ^ "No. 35747". The London Gazette (invalid
|supp=(help)). 16 October 1942. - ^ "No. 36033". The London Gazette (invalid
|supp=(help)). 2 June 1943. - ^ "No. 36108". The London Gazette (invalid
|supp=(help)). 27 July 1943. - ^ "No. 36165". The London Gazette (invalid
|supp=(help)). 10 September 1943.