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Just after midday on the morning of the 7th January 1940 a Mk1 (revised) Hawker Hurricane, No. L2074 of RAF St Athan piloted by Pilot Officer Alan Harry Maguire, crashed into Mynydd William Meyrick high above the Ogmore Valley killing the pilot instantly.
This version of the Hurricane had only 500 built as it was the all metal version with the propeller unit being the first in the form of an all-metal, three-bladed, variable-pitch, constant-speed propeller, designed by Hamilton Standard of the US and license-built in Britain by de Havilland.
Even more tragically a mere 40 minutes later and Lockheed Hudson bomber N7256 of 233 Squadron R.A.F., which had been detached to St.
Athan's aerodrome from R.A.F. Leuchars in Scotland had become airborne. This aircraft had been fitted with special equipment called A.S.V. (Anti Surface Vessel) for trials. This specialised equipment was highly secret apparatus, an early form of R.D.F. (Radio Direction Finder) or later on in the war to be called Radar (Radio Direction And Range). All 5 crew on board were also killed instantly.
The hurricane`s gearing unit was located many years later and donated to the OVLHS by Mr Steve Jones of Cwm Afan.