History
In 1909 Count von Zeppelin used Rhein-Main as a landing site for his dirigible Z-II. The facility was planned by Germany to be one of the most important European air terminals,
The base opened as a German commercial airport in 1936, with the northern part of base used as a field for airplanes and the extreme southern part near Zeppelinheim serving as a base for rigid airships. That section of Rhein-Main later became the port for the Graf Zeppelin, its sister ship LZ-130, and, until 6 May 1937, for the ill-fated Hindenburg.
The airships were dismantled and their huge hangars demolished on 6 May 1940 in conversion of the base to military use. Luftwaffe engineers subsequently extended the single runway and erected hangars and other facilities for German military aircraft. During World War II the Luftwaffe used the field sporadically as a fighter base and as an experimental station for jet aircraft.
Read more about this topic: Rhein-Main Air Base
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