 The islands saw no military activity during the Second World War , remaining uninhabited , but three aircraft crash sites remain from that period . A Beaufighter <unk> based at Port Ellen on Islay crashed into Conachair within 100 metres ( 328 ft ) of the summit on the night of 3 – 4 June 1943 . A year later , just before midnight on 7 June 1944 , the day after D @-@ Day , a Sunderland flying boat <unk> was wrecked at the head of Gleann Mòr . A small plaque in the church is dedicated to those who died in this accident . A Wellington bomber crashed on the south coast of Soay in 1942 or 1943 . Not until 1978 was any formal attempt made to investigate the wreck , and its identity has not been absolutely determined . Amongst the wreckage , a Royal Canadian Air Force cap badge was discovered , which suggests it may have been <unk> of 7 OTU which went missing on a navigation exercise on 28 September 1942 . Alternatively , it has been suggested that the Wellington is <unk> of 303 FTU which was lost on 23 February 1943 . 
