Rhein-Main AB was opened on 8 July, 1936, mainly for use as a port for zeppelins. During the Second World War, Rhein-Main was used to launch German air attacks on France and other points. A branch of the Auschwitz concentration camp was erected on the southern end of the base, just outside the base perimeter.
US occupation began in March 1945 when the 10th Infantry Regiment arrived. Within weeks, the 831st Flight Engineering Battalion operated Allied support flights during the remaining weeks of the war. In June 1948, the base near Frankfurt am Main captured worldwide attention as the home base for what became known as the Berlin Airlift.
For 15 months, Douglas C-47s and C-54s flew tons of food, coal and other necessities from Rhein-Main and two other bases into the city that had been isolated by the Soviet Union. As many as 635 take-offs and landings were launched a day during the airlift. Total tonnage transported by the airlift amounted to 2,325,000. A monument to the airlift - a twin to that standing in front of Tempelhof Airport in Berlin - was erected near the front gate of Rhein-Main AB in June 1985.
As a US Air Force base, Rhein-Main has been the primary port of arrival and departure for US military personnel in Europe.
The airport's history under US control has included:
• a bomb blast that destroyed the base officers' club in December 1976;
• deploying 240,000 US military personnel and equipment to the Gulf for Operation Desert Shield, from August 1990;
• serving as home base for Operation Provide Hope in which 65 Lockheed C-141s and C-5s delivered more than 2 million kg (4 million lb) of food and medicine to 24 destinations in the former Soviet Union in February 1992;
• supporting various humanitarian, peacekeeping and warfighting missions in the Balkans since July 1992.
Source: Flight International
