The airbase, about one mile directly east of the village of Edzell, was first established during the Great War (World War I). It was closed down in 1919 but operated as a civilian airfield during the 1930’s. It was returned to military service during World War II and utilized as an aircraft maintenance facility. The base closed after the war and its runways were briefly used a car racing track during the late 1950’s. The base reopened in 1960, this time under the nominal control of the U.S. Navy as part of its global High Frequency Direction Finding (HFDF) network. The base was home to the Oceanographic Monitoring Station, which monitored Russian naval activity in the North Sea and surrounding areas. During its heyday as many as 3,000 people worked on this base. I attended school on base at the William F. Halsey Primary School and often went fishing with my dad at Loch Wee. The U.S. Navy occupied this location for thirty-seven years until the facility was vacated for good in 1997. The 150 on-base housing units, fashioned as Edzell Woods, were sold off to civilian buyers. The remainder of the deserted base, including the old runways, is still under military control and off limits to this day.