MacDill AFB

MacDill AFB was established in 1939 as Southeast Air Base, Tampa. It is named in honor of Colonel Leslie MacDill (1889-1938) a World War I aviator.

Located in south Tampa, the base was constructed just prior to World War II. With the United States’ entry into the war, the primary mission of MacDill Field became the training of bombardment units. In June 1942, the 21st Bombardment Group was assigned with B-26 Marauder medium bombers as the Operational Training Unit (OTU). As well as the main training unit, the group flew antisubmarine patrols over the Gulf of Mexico.

Several bases in Florida, including MacDill, served as detention centers for German prisoners-of-war (POWs) in the latter part of 1944 and 1945. At its peak, 488 POWs were interned at MacDill.

During the 1950s and 1960s, it was a Strategic Air Command base for B-47 and B-52 bombers. During the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, many units were deployed to MacDill in preparation for planned airstrikes on Cuba. It later transitioned to a Tactical Air Command. During the 1970s and early 1980s, it operated F-4 Phantom II fighters, followed by F-16 Fighting Falcons in the 1980s and 1990s.

MacDill is currently an Air Mobility Command installation, home to the 6th Air Mobility Wing, and its 310th Airlift Squadron, flying the C-37, and the 91st Air Refueling Squadron, flying the KC-135, augmented by the Air Force Reserve Command’s 927th Air Refueling Wing and 63d Air Refueling Squadron flying the same KC-135s.

MacDill AFB is also home to the headquarters for two of the U.S. military’s joint war-fighting commands: Headquarters, United States Central Command (CENTCOM), and Headquarters, United States Special Operations Command (SOCOM).

The 36"x24" (includes 2" border) archival giclée is printed by a local atelier on acid-free watercolor paper and features rich, saturated colors, deep dark tones, and finely nuanced details. Each museum quality print is inspected and approved by Tim Boatright before being signed and sealed with his embossed artist’s “chop.”

Please note: each piece is printed to order and may take up to three weeks to ship. The print is ready for framing.

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