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Remains of World War II airfield and associated camps. Kinnell spent its brief life initially as a satellite to Tealing (NO43NW0051) after opening in March 1942 and after 1944, to Montrose (NO75NW0031). It was used mainly by Operational Training Units (OTU). From 1942 it was also used for night flying training, the early control tower, designed as a fighter satellite station watch office was provided with a new two-storey extension during this period. After the final Flying Instructors School disbanded in 1945, the airfield became a site for Maintenance Unit for a short time, then it was closed. Only two runways were built, the southern being cut by a minor road leading north from Kinnell to Pitmikie. A short stretch of runway is still used by aircraft for parachute dropping but the rest has been reduced to rubble. There were two dispersal areas, to the north-east and south of the runways, and to the north-west were three accommodation camps. Little now remains, but the layout of the airfield and its camps are recorded by vertical aerial photographs taken by the Luftwaffe in 1943 and by the RAF in 1946 and 1953. These images show that the northern dispersal area had two blister type aircraft hangars, at least four buildings or large huts and fifty huts with three emergency air-raid shelters. At least two of the larger huts are still shown as roofed on the 2006 map. The sites of all the hangers and their access routes are still visible, but the hanger buildings have been removed. The southern dispersal area had one blister type aircraft hangar, one large and several smaller huts, at least one of which is shown on the 2006 map. The remaining blister hanger and its associated buildings were to the north-west of the control tower and battle headquarters (themselves on the west of the runways) and some of these buildings are shown on the current OS map. The battle headquarters is visible on the RAF vertical photographs as a small square flat roofed building, it now is visible as a small square, ruinous, building within a low oval mound. There would have been an underground chamber, which may still exist below the square building. The original watch office has an attached control tower (NO65SW0093) added when the airfield became a forward fighter satellite station. The 1946 aerial photographs show that the apron immediately in front of the building had the letters 'KL' painted in white on it. The accommodation camps were laid out in three areas to the west of Bolshan farmsteading, which lies to the north-east of the airfield. The first area, a small group of Nissen huts set out in an L-shape was situated at NO 6160 5230, about 300m west of the farmstead and had been removed by 1953. The second area, within the same field at NO 6170 5198, is a larger group of huts within a square enclosure, probably partially removed by 1953 and not shown on the current OS map. The final group, at NO 61374 52266, was the largest. A combined three hut building and a detached hut to the west survive in use from this group. Site walkover was carried out in March 2019 an area centred NO 60921 50616 prior to proposed redevelopment of the former airfield towed target store and office. Some brick walls remained, with indications of a corrugated asbestos roof, as well as a concrete building slab that correlates with the feature on a 1944 plan. No trace was visible of the other buildings shown on the plan immediately to the west. See NO65SW0090 for airfield Battle HQ. For remains of a small farmstead or croft within the airfield see NO65SW0092.
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Historic Environment Records (HER) 
Angus
HER -
NO65SW0049 - KINNELL AIRFIELD