Nonstop flight route between Bury St. Edmunds, England, United Kingdom and Shirahama, Japan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Honington USAAF Station 375 (BEQ), Bury St. Edmunds, England, United Kingdom and Nanki-Shirahama Airport (SHM), Shirahama, Japan would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,894 miles (or 9,486 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 Nanki-Shirahama Airport, 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 Nanki-Shirahama Airport. 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 closest airport to RAF Honington USAAF Station 375 (BEQ) is RAF Lakenheath (LKZ), which is located only 10 miles (16 kilometers) WNW of BEQ.
• English Electric Canberra bomber squadrons, 10, XV, 44, and 57 were based at RAF Honington from February 1955 to 1957.
• In June 1942, the airfield was transferred to the USAAF and was upgraded to a Class A Bomber base.
• In 1956, RAF Honington also became one of the main V bomber bases maintaining three Vickers Valiant squadrons, Nos, 7, 90, and 199.
• Converted from P-38 Lightnings to P-51 Mustangs in the summer of 1944 and from then until the end of the war flew many long-range escort missions heavy bombers that attacked oil refineries, industries, and other strategic objectives at Berlin, Regensburg, Merseburg, Stuttgart, Brussels, and elsewhere.
• Honington was the last USAAF station to be returned to the RAF.
• The Luftwaffe made several attacks on the airfield one of which killed about twenty airmen who were crossing the old parade ground on their way to tea.
• 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.

Facts about Nanki-Shirahama Airport (SHM):

• Because of Nanki-Shirahama Airport's relatively low elevation of 293 feet, planes can take off or land at Nanki-Shirahama 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 "Nanki-Shirahama Airport", other names for SHM include "南紀白浜空港" and "Nanki Shirahama Kūkō".
• Nanki-Shirahama Airport (SHM) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Nanki-Shirahama Airport (SHM) is Diomício Freitas/Forquilhinha Airport (CCM), which is located 11,994 miles (19,302 kilometers) away in Criciúma, Santa Catarina, Brazil.
• The closest airport to Nanki-Shirahama Airport (SHM) is Kansai International Airport (KIX), which is located 54 miles (87 kilometers) N of SHM.