Manchester United, dubbed the 'Busby Babes' due to their unusually young average age of just 24, seemed destined for a glorious future until seven of their players were tragically killed after an air crash in Munich.

Roger Byrne, captain Mark Jones, Eddie Colman, Tommy Taylor, Liam Whelan, David Pegg and Geoff Bent were all lost on one of English football's darkest days.

Duncan Edwards (pictured), a giant with boundless potential and perhaps the most celebrated of the United players, became the eighth player to die when he lost his fight for life 15 days later in a German hospital.

Walter Crickmer, the club secretary, Tom Curry, the trainer, and coach Bert Whalley, also lost their lives.

However, their manager, the heralded Sir Matt Busby, defied the medics to recover from his injuries.

The Babes were returning home from their European Cup second leg at Red Star Belgrade, which they won 5-4 on aggregate after a 3-3 draw in Yugoslavia. But their celebrations were cut short in the most tragic manner.

After an hour delay in Belgrade while United player Johnny Berry searched for his passport, the United team, together with journalists and club officials, finally left Yugoslavia before stopping at Munich's Riem Airport to refuel.

After two aborted take-offs, the British European Airways plane failed to gain adequate height, hitting the airport's perimeter fence before crashing into a house and bursting into flames, killing 22 passengers. Edwards, who became the First Division’s youngest-ever player at the age of 16 years and 185 days, died just over a fortnight later.

One match that perhaps epitomised the new Busby Babes era more than most was against Arsenal at Highbury on February 1, just days before tragedy struck.

In front of a crowd of 63,578 the Reds beat the Gunners in a nine-goal thriller with goals from Edwards, Taylor (two), Bobby Charlton and Dennis Viollet.

Incredibly, United managed to win their first game after the disaster when a mixture of reserve and youth team players beat Sheffield Wednesday 3-1 at an emotional Old Trafford. The Reds even reached The FA Cup Final that year, eventually losing 2-0 to Bolton.

Busby resumed managerial duties the following season and began rebuilding the club, developing a new crop of players with the same attributes as the young side he had lost in Munich.

With attacking intent flowing through the veins of Best, Law, Charlton, Sadler and Charlton, United somehow got back on track and miraculously rose to claim European Cup glory a decade later.