Nonstop flight route between Alconbury, England, United Kingdom and Orange, France:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF AlconburyUSAAF Station 102 (AYH), Alconbury, England, United Kingdom and Orange-Caritat Air Base (BA 115) (XOG), Orange, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 614 miles (or 988 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 RAF AlconburyUSAAF Station 102 and Orange-Caritat Air Base (BA 115), the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about RAF AlconburyUSAAF Station 102 (AYH):

• In 1937, Royal Air Force Bomber Command was drawing up plans for dispersal of their aircraft in the event of air raids on its stations.
• In October 1941 two of its flights with 16 Wellingtons were dispatched to operate from Malta, supposedly on an emergency detachment.
• The furthest airport from RAF AlconburyUSAAF Station 102 (AYH) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,821 miles (19,024 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The closest airport to RAF AlconburyUSAAF Station 102 (AYH) is Cambridge International Airport (CBG), which is located 20 miles (32 kilometers) ESE of AYH.
• The host unit at RAF Alconbury is the 423rd Air Base Group which supplies host unit services for Alconbury as well as RAF Molesworth.
• Squadrons 15 and 40 converted from Battles to Bristol Blenheim bombers, but did not take part in bombing raids with the new type until the German Blitzkrieg was unleashed in May 1940.
• The group comprises six squadrons—security forces and civil engineer, air base, medical and services—and supports tenant units.
• Also in 1942, to bring the station up to Class A airfield standards, the runways were extended to 2,000 yards, and 1,400 yards, with 26 additional hardstands along with the taxiways altered.

Facts about Orange-Caritat Air Base (BA 115) (XOG):

• Orange-Caritat Air Base (BA 115) (XOG) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Orange-Caritat Air Base (BA 115) (XOG) is Avignon - Caumont Airport (AVN), which is located only 16 miles (26 kilometers) S of XOG.
• The furthest airport from Orange-Caritat Air Base (BA 115) (XOG) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Orange-Caritat Air Base (BA 115) (meaning Orange-Caritat Air Base (BA 115) is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,367 miles (19,903 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• In addition to being known as "Orange-Caritat Air Base (BA 115)", another name for XOG is "Base aérienne 115 Orange-Caritat "Capitaine de Seyne"".
• Because of Orange-Caritat Air Base (BA 115)'s relatively low elevation of 197 feet, planes can take off or land at Orange-Caritat Air Base (BA 115) 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.