Nonstop flight route between Bury St. Edmunds, England, United Kingdom and Dhahran, Saudi Arabia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Honington USAAF Station 375 (BEQ), Bury St. Edmunds, England, United Kingdom and King Abdulaziz Air Base (DHA), Dhahran, Saudi Arabia would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,110 miles (or 5,004 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 large distance between RAF Honington USAAF Station 375 and King Abdulaziz Air Base, the route shown on this map most likely appears curved because of this reason.

Try it at home! Get a globe and tightly lay a string between RAF Honington USAAF Station 375 and King Abdulaziz Air Base. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about RAF Honington USAAF Station 375 (BEQ):

• The 364th FG flew escort, dive-bombing, strafing, and patrol missions in France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany.
• Besides the air depot, Honington also housed an operational fighter unit when the 364th Fighter Group took up residence at Honington in February 1944, arriving from Santa Maria AAF, California.
• RAF Honington is also now home to 611 Volunteer Gliding Squadron due to the closure of RAF Watton in April 2012, requiring their conversion to the Grob 109B Vigilant motor glider.
• IX Squadron flew the first RAF bombing raid of the Second World War on 4 September 1939 flying a mission against the Kriegsmarine in the Baltic resulting in the loss of two Wellingtons.
• 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.
• 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.
• With the departure of the USAAF in February 1946, Honington airfield was returned to the RAF.

Facts about King Abdulaziz Air Base (DHA):

• Dhahran International Airport in Dhahran, formerly served the city of Dammam and the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia.
• The closest airport to King Abdulaziz Air Base (DHA) is King Fahd International Airport (DMM), which is located 26 miles (42 kilometers) WNW of DHA.
• During Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm in 1991, the U.S.
• King Abdulaziz Air Base (DHA) has 2 runways.
• Because of King Abdulaziz Air Base's relatively low elevation of 84 feet, planes can take off or land at King Abdulaziz Air Base 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.
• The airport terminal building is one of the architectural works of Minoru Yamasaki, and was completed in 1961.
• The furthest airport from King Abdulaziz Air Base (DHA) is Totegegie Airport (GMR), which is nearly antipodal to King Abdulaziz Air Base (meaning King Abdulaziz Air Base is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Totegegie Airport), and is located 12,052 miles (19,395 kilometers) away in Mangareva, Gambier Islands, French Polynesia.
• In addition to being known as "King Abdulaziz Air Base", other names for DHA include "قاعدة الملك عبد العزيز الجوية", "Dhahran International Airport" and "مطار الظهران الدولي".
• http://www.usace.army.mil/About/History/HistoricalVignettes/HolidaysObservances/083SaudiGovernment.aspx