Rhein-Main Air Base was a United States Air Force air base near the city of Frankfurt am Main, Germany. It was a Military Airlift Command (MAC) and United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE) installation, occupying the south side of Frankfurt Airport. Its military airport codes are discontinued. Established in 1945, Rhein-Main Air Base was the primary airlift and passenger hub for USAFE. It was billed as the "Gateway to Europe". It closed on 30 December 2005.
Rhein-Main Air Base in 1995
At Rhein-Main Air Base, military and civilian supplies from Giessen Quartermaster Depot arrive in trucks of the 67th Transportation Company for transfer to waiting aircraft during the Berlin Airlift.
Berlin Airlift Memorial (built in 1985).
Memorial with a Douglas C-47 Skytrain (USAF) nearby.
The Military Airlift Command (MAC) is an inactive United States Air Force major command (MAJCOM) that was headquartered at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois. Established on 1 January 1966, MAC was the primary strategic airlift organization of the Air Force until 1974, when Air Force tactical airlift units in the Tactical Air Command (TAC) were merged into MAC to create a unified airlift organization.
Brand-new 63d MAW C-141As on the ramp at Norton AFB, 1967. AF Ser. No. 66-0177 is in foreground. This aircraft will become the famous "Hanoi Taxi" which flew Bob Hope to USO shows in South Vietnam, and, in 1973, during the final days of the Vietnam War, repatriated American POWs from North Vietnam. Arizona Senator John McCain was one of the POWs who flew home on the Hanoi Taxi. 66-0177 was the last C-141 to be withdrawn from Air Force service after a career of almost 40 years, as the last of the fleet was retired in 2006. Today, 66-0177 is on permanent display at the
C-9 Nightingale, AF Ser. No. 71-0874, used for Aeromedical Evacuation
A Military Airlift Command C-141A at Pago Pago International Airport in July 1968. The aircraft behind the C-141 is an Air New Zealand DC-8.
C-141B, AF Ser. No. 66-0177, the Hanoi Taxi, after 2002 repainting to revert to 1970s scheme. Note the stretched fuselage indicating its modification from its earlier C-141A configuration to the C-141B configuration. Other C-141Bs with the standard USAF paint scheme of 2006 can be seen in the background.
