60 Years On: Remembering the Tragedy of the Munich Air Disaster and the 8 Man Utd Players Killed

6th February 2018 marks the 60th anniversary of the Munich Air Disaster, the plane crash which tragically claimed the lives of 23 people in 1958, among them eight supremely talented Manchester United players and three club staff.

The 'Busby Babes' as they had been dubbed several years earlier were back-to-back English champions, 1957 FA Cup finalists and one of the most exciting teams in the world in the early days of the prestigious new European Cup.

What's more, as their nickname would suggest, the majority of the side were young at a time in English football when it wasn't commonplace for players in their teens and early twenties to be first-team stars.

Given that so many of the eight who died were just starting out in their football journeys, it is even more tragic to think what more they could have achieved...

United were travelling home from a European Cup quarter final against Red Star Belgrade when their plane made a scheduled refuelling stop in Munich.

The pilots abandoned two take-off attempts and, with the weather in Germany worsening, the passengers then returned to the terminal building believing they would not be flying home that day.

However, the pilot, Captain James Thain, was keen to stay on schedule and believed that opening the aircraft's throttle more slowly would solve the problems that had thwarted the aborted takeoffs. It meant it would take longer for the plane to get up to speed, but with a runway over a mile long, he believed it was possible.

The passengers were recalled, but there was a grave nervousness in the air.

Some, including Edwards, Tommy Taylor, Mark Jones, Eddie Colman and journalist Frank Swift, a legendary former Manchester City and England goalkeeper, moved to the seats at the back of the plane where they thought they would be safest. It would cruelly prove to be the death of them.

Moving through slush and ice, the plane failed to reach takeoff speed in time. It skidded off the end of the runway, through the airport's perimeter fence and into a nearby house. The left wing and tail were both torn off and there were initial fears the wreckage would explode as the flames licked a fuel tank.

Taylor, Jones and Colman were among the seven United players who died instantly. Sitting with them at the back of the plane, Edwards survived the initial crash, but eventually succumbed to his injuries, dying 15 days later in hospital.

Roger Byrne, Liam Whelan, David Pegg and Geoff Bent also died.

Johhny Berry and Jackie Blanchflower both survived, but never played again.

United trainers Tom Currry and Bert Whalley were killed, as was secretary Walter Crickmer, a man who had played such an important role in the history of the club during 32 years of loyal service.

Swift died en-route to hospital and was one of eight travelling journalists killed that fateful day - Alf Clarke, Donny Davies, George Follows, Tom Jackson, Archie Leadbrooke, Henry Rose and Eric Thompson were the others.

Two further passengers, Bela Miklos, a travel agent, and Willie Satinoff, a personal friend of manager Matt Busby, also tragically lost their lives.

Captain Thain survived, but co-pilot Kenneth Rayment died from his injuries.

The home-grown captain and leader of the team, Roger Byrne had celebrated his 28th birthday just two days before his death in Munich. But the left-back, a veteran of United's title winning side in 1951/52, was the oldest of the players who died.

Byrne, also an England star following his debut in 1954, was revered for his football intelligence and incredible work ethic. As Busby's voice on the pitch, he became United captain in 1955 and lifted league titles both 1955/56 and 1956/57.

Had he made it home from Munich, Byrne would have discovered that his wife was pregnant with their first child. Eight months after the United skipper perished in Germany, Roger Byrne Jr. was born, a son who sadly never knew his father.

A coal miner before becoming a professional footballer, Tommy Taylor was famously bought from Barnsley in 1953 for a fee of £29,999 so as not to burden the striker with the label of being a '£30,000 player'.

Legend has it that a tea lady serving drinks at the negotiations is said to have been given the other £1 by United boss Matt Busby.

Taylor was a prolific goalscorer and the archetypal 'number nine', who had only turned 26 years of age a week before his untimely death.

He scored 131 goals for United in just 191 appearances and was a huge loss to England as well, with 16 goals to his name in 19 international caps.

Taylor had been to the 1954 World Cup with his country, but big things were expected with a World Cup in Sweden coming up in 1958. Tragedy took away his chance to write his name in the tournament's history books.

Mark Jones, like Taylor, was a hard-as-nails Yorkshireman. But unlike Taylor, top defender Jones was signed by United as an apprentice upon leaving school in 1948 and was a product of the club's increasingly respected youth programme.

Jones made his United debut at the age of just 17 in 1950 and ultimately replaced former captain Allenby Chilton as the team's regular centre-half midway through the 1954/55 campaign. He didn't miss a league game the following season.

Having then temporarily lost his place to Jackie Blanchflower, Jones was back in the team by the time of his death and was tipped to soon play for England.

Only a few months past his 21st birthday, Salford-born Eddie Colman was the youngest United player to lose his life as a result of the Munich Air Disaster.

The wing-half, an early 'midfielder', was immediately a first-team regular from his senior debut in November 1955 when he had just turned 19. A few months prior to that, the diminutive Colman, who was loved by fans for his trickery and tenacity, had led United to FA Youth Cup glory as captain.

He was another tipped for England success in the very near future.

David Pegg, a left winger, was a United star from the age of 17 and was playing regularly for the emerging Busby Babes as early as the 1952/53 season.

As a player of 20 and 21, Pegg was a key part of United's back-to-back league title successes in 1955/56 and 1956/57. He played the majority of games during those seasons, although the emergence of Albert Scanlon saw the Yorkshire-born fan favourite ultimately lose his place a few weeks before the Munich crash.

As such, Pegg didn't actually play in the game in Belgrade from which United were returning and only travelled with the team as a reserve.

United signed inside forward Liam Whelan from famed Dublin youth club Home Farm in 1953 and watched him take his first steps towards the first-team in that year's FA Youth Cup final against Wolves.

It was two years later in 1955 that a 20-year-old Whelan, who was noted for his quiet grace on the pitch - matching his kind personality off it, made his debut.

His goal record for United was very impressive, totalling 52 in just 96 first-team appearances by the time of his tragic passing.

Whelan is remembered as a devout Catholic and his faith remains one of the enduring memories of the Munich crash after he was heard by team-mates declaring that he was 'ready' for death ahead of the fatal third attempted take-off.

The tragedy of Salford-born full-back Geoff Bent is that he needn't have travelled for the game in Belgrade, which would have spared his life.

In the days before substitutes and long before football was a 'squad game' in the way it is today, home-grown Bent played only sparingly during seven years as a United player, usually serving as understudy to Byrne or Bill Foulkes.

Bent's loyalty to the club saw him travel to Belgrade as emergency cover for Byrne, who had been nursing a minor injury. Bent himself had only recently recovered from a broken foot and hadn't been available all season as a result.

But Byrne was passed fit to play the game, and Bent tragically joined the casualties in Munich when he would have been able to stay at home instead.

The most famous and enduring of the Busby Babes and all those who died as a result of the Munich Air Disaster was Duncan Edwards.

Midlands-born Edwards was first spotted by United in 1948 when he was just 12 years of age and was snapped up as an apprentice four years later in 1952.

The powerful wing-half, who wore the number six shirt and was eventually partnered by Colman in the middle of the field, was the original teen prodigy and 'wonderkid'.

He was part of the junior side that contested the 1953 FA Youth Cup, but at the age of 16 had already made his senior debut before the victorious final. At that time, Edwards was the youngest ever player in England's top flight.

For one so young, his ability and power were incredible. Less than two years after his United debut at 16, Edwards had made his England debut at 18 and was seen to be head and shoulders above players far older and more experienced.

He could do everything on the pitch and 'colossus' suitably described him.

Edwards survived the initial crash and was taken to a Munich hospital to treat his injuries. Even while stricken in his hospital bed, he is said to have asked United assistant manager Jimmy Murphy, who hadn't originally been travelling with the team, what time the next match against title rivals Wolves was due to kick off.

Despite an improvement to his condition a week later, Edwards began to deteriorate, followed by another slight improvement. It led local doctors to express their amazement at his fight for life given the severity of his condition.

Eventually, he could fight no more and Edwards lost the battle on 21st February, 15 days after the crash claimed the lives of seven of his team-mates and friends.

As with so many of the others, his tragic loss was not only an enormous blow to United, but also to England ahead of the World Cup in 1958 and further tournaments in the 10-15 years that followed.

Harry Gregg had been a United player for just three months at the time of the Munich crash, joining from Doncaster Rovers in a £23,000 transfer deal that made him the most expensive goalkeeper in history.

But his name instantly received legendary status for his heroic actions at the wreckage, pulling numerous survivors to safety.

Bobby Charlton, Matt Busby, Jack Blanchflower, Dennis Viollet were among those that Gregg aided.

He also rescued pregnant passenger Vera Lukic, the wife of a Yugoslav diplomat, and her baby daughter, earning him the nickname 'The Hero of Munich'.

Now 85 years of age, Gregg believes Tuesday's emotional 60th anniversary service at Old Trafford will likely be his last visit to his former club's home.

A 20-year-old Bobby Charlton fortunately survived the crash with only minor injuries. But having lost several close friends, the 'survivor's guilt' was something that plagued the future Old Trafford legend for many years.

Busby, who very nearly died himself and was even twice read last rites before being released from hospital in Germany after nine long weeks, was racked with guilt.

It had been the United boss who went against the wishes of the Football League to enter the club into the fledgling European Cup competition and he blamed himself for the death of his young team.

It was even said that he was reluctant to stay on as manager.

But stay on Busby did. A decade after the tragedy of Munich, the legendary manager had built a new team, a phoenix rising from the Ashes with Charlton and fellow survivor Bill Foulkes, to win the European Cup in 1968.