Nonstop flight route between Santa Maria, Portugal and Bury St. Edmunds, England, United Kingdom:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from SMA to BEQ:
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- About this route
- SMA Airport Information
- BEQ Airport Information
- Facts about SMA
- Facts about BEQ
- Map of Nearest Airports to SMA
- List of Nearest Airports to SMA
- Map of Furthest Airports from SMA
- List of Furthest Airports from SMA
- Map of Nearest Airports to BEQ
- List of Nearest Airports to BEQ
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- List of Furthest Airports from BEQ
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Santa Maria Airport (SMA), Santa Maria, Portugal and RAF Honington USAAF Station 375 (BEQ), Bury St. Edmunds, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,644 miles (or 2,645 kilometers).
A Great Circle is the shortest distance between 2 points on a sphere. Because most world maps are flat (but the Earth is round), the route of the shortest distance between 2 points on the Earth will often appear curved when viewed on a flat map, especially for long distances. If you were to simply draw a straight line on a flat map and measure a very long distance, it would likely be much further than if you were to lay a string between those two points on a globe. Because of the relatively short distance between Santa Maria Airport and RAF Honington USAAF Station 375, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | SMA / LPAZ |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Santa Maria, Portugal |
GPS Coordinates: | 36°58'26"N by 25°10'15"W |
Area Served: | Vila do Porto |
Operator/Owner: | Government of Portugal |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 308 feet (94 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from SMA |
More Information: | SMA Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | BEQ / EGXH |
Airport Name: | RAF Honington USAAF Station 375 |
Location: | Bury St. Edmunds, England, United Kingdom |
GPS Coordinates: | 52°20'33"N by 0°46'23"E |
Operator/Owner: | Ministry of Defence |
View all routes: | Routes from BEQ |
More Information: | BEQ Maps & Info |
Facts about Santa Maria Airport (SMA):
- Santa Maria Airport handled 93,436 passengers last year.
- The closest airport to Santa Maria Airport (SMA) is João Paulo II Airport (PDL), which is located 60 miles (97 kilometers) NNW of SMA.
- The airport at Santa Maria was part of a larger complex of buildings and infrastructures constructed in the 20th century.
- Santa Maria Airport (SMA) currently has only 1 runway.
- It was built in the context of the Second World War, by US troops in order to maintain supply lines to Europe, and inaugurated on 26 July 1945.
- The furthest airport from Santa Maria Airport (SMA) is Moruya Airport (MYA), which is nearly antipodal to Santa Maria Airport (meaning Santa Maria Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Moruya Airport), and is located 12,166 miles (19,579 kilometers) away in Moruya, New South Wales, Australia.
- Because of Santa Maria Airport's relatively low elevation of 308 feet, planes can take off or land at Santa Maria Airport at a lower air speed than at airports located at a higher elevation. This is because the air density is higher closer to sea level than it would otherwise be at higher elevations.
- In addition to being known as "Santa Maria Airport", another name for SMA is "Aeroporto de Santa Maria".
Facts about RAF Honington USAAF Station 375 (BEQ):
- English Electric Canberra bomber squadrons, 10, XV, 44, and 57 were based at RAF Honington from February 1955 to 1957.
- Honington was the last USAAF station to be returned to the RAF.
- In 1956, RAF Honington also became one of the main V bomber bases maintaining three Vickers Valiant squadrons, Nos, 7, 90, and 199.
- The furthest airport from RAF Honington USAAF Station 375 (BEQ) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,834 miles (19,044 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
- The closest airport to RAF Honington USAAF Station 375 (BEQ) is RAF Lakenheath (LKZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) WNW of BEQ.
- Honington was assigned USAAF designation Station 375.
- The group patrolled the English Channel during the Normandy invasion in June 1944, and, while continuing escort operations, supported ground forces in France after the invasion by strafing and bombing locomotives, marshalling yards, bridges, barges, and other targets.
- The 364th also flew air-sea rescue missions, engaged in patrol activities, and continued to support ground forces as the battle line moved through France and into Germany.