The site is now occupied by Kings Hill, a community of mixed residential, commercial, and civic amenities, but still retains several features of its military aviation heritage.

[3] RAF West Malling was not fully operational during the Battle of Britain, having suffered from several damaging bombing raids,[5] but did play an active part in the later stages of the air campaign, becoming a premier night-fighter base.

[6] The remainder of the unit returned north to RAF Prestwick on 25 July due to the ineffectiveness of the Defiant against single-seat fighters.

The driver of the armoured car, AC Wilding immediately swung his vehicle into the path of the aircraft to prevent it from taking off again.

Driving back to the airfield from the Guardroom, they saw a second Focke-Wulf Fw 190 land, but before the armoured car could reach it, the pilot realised his mistake and turned his aircraft round to begin a take-off run.

[citation needed] The German pilots revealed that they had become lost in thick fog over the English Channel, believed they were over France, and had been directed to the airstrip by a searchlight at Detling.

In 1964 Shorts Brothers operated out of the airfield with a contract with the RAF to service mainly Chipmunk trainers (later Bulldogs), Vickers Varsity aircraft and various other types.

In March 1965, Air Cadet 618 VGS (Volunteer Gliding School) moved to West Malling from RAF Manston, setting up its headquarters in the old dispersal area near the runway threshold.

From the late 1980s to the early 1990s, new build Saab 340 were sent to an aircraft finishing company (Metair),established here, routing via London Southend Airport, in order to be sprayed into the colour schemes of customer airlines.

The control tower - also listed - is largely complete in the form it was in 1942, now surrounded by modern housing, and has been restored for use as a coffee shop.

Situated near the site of the old guard house, a memorial to the personnel stationed at RAF West Malling was unveiled on 9 June 2002.

[citation needed] Aerial sequences for an episode of the British police TV series Dempsey and Makepeace were filmed here in 1984, involving some spirited flying by a Topflite de Havilland Heron G-ANUO.

[citation needed] West Malling airfield served as a backdrop for the opening sequences of the 1989 "Agatha Christie's Poirot" episode "The Incredible Theft", where the T hangar formerly located behind the airfield's watch tower (today the site of the Kings Hill Asda store) was emblazoned with the name "Mayfield" and a secret prototype fighter plane, the "Mayfield Kestrel" was revealed then demonstrated by the aircraft's builder to a government minister.

Filmed with the famous Spitfire IXb MH434 flown by the legendary display pilot Ray Hanna, the sequence is one of the most-memorable of the television drama's 70 broadcast episodes.

[citation needed] More recently, the 2007 TV series Cape Wrath includes scenes shot at Kings Hill and other local areas.