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Slideshow: Remembering the Munich Air Disaster

A plane crash on this day in 1958, wiped out one of the most famous football side’s in history, the Busby Babes.
2.55pm, 6 Feb 2012
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ON THIS DAY in 1958, a plane crash in Munich all but wiped out Manchester United’s famous Busby Babes.

Eight of Matt Busby’s young league champions lost their lives when their plane crashed while attempting to take off from Munich airport. In all, 23 people were killed.

The team were on their way back from successful European Cup quarter-final tie in Belgrade when the plane stopped for re-fuelling in Germany. Busby would eventually recover and again take his seat on the bench.

The Scot then led the club on a decade-long quest for the European title, culminating in a final defeat of Benfica in 1968.  Fellow survivor Bobby Charlton would score a goal at Wembley.

Today, as always, the disaster will be remembered under the ‘Munich clock’ at Old Trafford.

Here’s some archive pictures from the Press Association:

Slideshow: Remembering the Munich Air Disaster
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  • Munich Air Disaster

    The team board the plane for the Red Star game.

  • Munich Air Disaster

    Lining out for the last time in Belgrade, Busby's Babes, from left to right: Duncan Edwards, Eddie Colman, Mark Jones, Ken Morgans, Bobby Charlton, Dennis Viollet, Tommy Taylor, Billy Foulkes, Harry Gregg, Albert Scanlon, Roger Byrne.

  • Munich Air Disaster

  • Munich Air Disaster

    Manchester United captain Bill Foulkes leads the makeshift United team out for their first match since the Munich Air Disaster.

  • Munich Air Disaster

    The tangled wreckage of the BEA Elizabethan liner.

  • Munich Air Disaster

    Matt Busby recovering in an oxygen tent.

  • Munich Air Disaster

    Manchester United assistant manager Jimmy Murphy, who didn't travel to Belgrade with the team due to his commitments as Welsh national manager, fields telephone inquiries from concerned fans just hours after the disaster.

  • Munich Air Disaster

    Mourners standing in silence as the coffin of Manchester United captain Roger Byrne is taken on its last journey to the crematorium.

  • Munich Air Disaster

    Manager Matt Busby still on crutches, as he arrives in Manchester from Munich, where he has been recovering from injuries sustained in the air disaster.

  • Munich Air Disaster

    Manchester United footballers Harry Gregg, left, and Billy Foulkes, talk with teammate Ken Morgan in hospital.

  • Munich Air Disaster

    The wreckage burns after its crash while attempting to take off.

  • Munich Air Disaster

    Accompanied by an Air Steward, Miss Leach, friend of Manchester United's Duncan Edwards, walks to a plane at Manchester Airport to fly to Munich.

  • Munich Air Disaster

    The Twickenham crowd observes a minute's silence before an England v Ireland Five Nations game, in memory of the Manchester United players killed in the Munich Air Disaster two days before.

  • Munich Air Disaster

    Man Utd's new captain Billy Foulkes, right, shakes hands with Sheffield Wednesday skipper Albert Quixall before the kick off in the FA Cup tie at Old Trafford. Utd beat Wednesday 3-0 in their first game after the disaster.

  • Munich Air Disaster

    Matt Busby leaves the Wembley pitch after his side lose to Bolton Wanderers in the FA Cup final, months after the crash.

  • Munich Air Disaster

    Harry Gregg, who survived the Manchester United Munich Air Disaster, at his Co Derry home.

  • Munich Air Disaster

    An Post marked the disaster's 50th anniversary with this stamp depicting Billy Whelan.

  • Munich Air Disaster

    The famous clock on the forecourt at Old Trafford.
  • The team board the plane for the Red Star game.
  • Lining out for the last time in Belgrade, Busby's Babes, from left to right: Duncan Edwards, Eddie Colman, Mark Jones, Ken Morgans, Bobby Charlton, Dennis Viollet, Tommy Taylor, Billy Foulkes, Harry Gregg, Albert Scanlon, Roger Byrne.
  • Manchester United captain Bill Foulkes leads the makeshift United team out for their first match since the Munich Air Disaster.
  • The tangled wreckage of the BEA Elizabethan liner.
  • Matt Busby recovering in an oxygen tent.
  • Manchester United assistant manager Jimmy Murphy, who didn't travel to Belgrade with the team due to his commitments as Welsh national manager, fields telephone inquiries from concerned fans just hours after the disaster.
  • Mourners standing in silence as the coffin of Manchester United captain Roger Byrne is taken on its last journey to the crematorium.
  • Manager Matt Busby still on crutches, as he arrives in Manchester from Munich, where he has been recovering from injuries sustained in the air disaster.
  • Manchester United footballers Harry Gregg, left, and Billy Foulkes, talk with teammate Ken Morgan in hospital.
  • The wreckage burns after its crash while attempting to take off.
  • Accompanied by an Air Steward, Miss Leach, friend of Manchester United's Duncan Edwards, walks to a plane at Manchester Airport to fly to Munich.
  • The Twickenham crowd observes a minute's silence before an England v Ireland Five Nations game, in memory of the Manchester United players killed in the Munich Air Disaster two days before.
  • Man Utd's new captain Billy Foulkes, right, shakes hands with Sheffield Wednesday skipper Albert Quixall before the kick off in the FA Cup tie at Old Trafford. Utd beat Wednesday 3-0 in their first game after the disaster.
  • Matt Busby leaves the Wembley pitch after his side lose to Bolton Wanderers in the FA Cup final, months after the crash.
  • Harry Gregg, who survived the Manchester United Munich Air Disaster, at his Co Derry home.
  • An Post marked the disaster's 50th anniversary with this stamp depicting Billy Whelan.
  • The famous clock on the forecourt at Old Trafford.

To mark the 50-year anniversary in 2008, Sky Sports produced this video tribute featuring Old Trafford legends like Denis Law, Nobby Stiles, Eric Cantona and Ryan Giggs.

YouTube credit: dotsy129

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