Nonstop flight route between Bury St. Edmunds, England, United Kingdom and Port Vila, Vanuatu:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Honington USAAF Station 375 (BEQ), Bury St. Edmunds, England, United Kingdom and Bauerfield International Airport (VLI), Port Vila, Vanuatu would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,949 miles (or 16,012 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 Bauerfield International 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 Bauerfield International 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):

• 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.
• 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.
• In June 1942, the airfield was transferred to the USAAF and was upgraded to a Class A Bomber base.
• 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.

Facts about Bauerfield International Airport (VLI):

• With Japanese forces establishing bases on Guadalcanal which threatened the sea route between the U.S.
• The furthest airport from Bauerfield International Airport (VLI) is Letfotar Airport (MOM), which is nearly antipodal to Bauerfield International Airport (meaning Bauerfield International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Letfotar Airport), and is located 12,383 miles (19,928 kilometers) away in Moudjeria, Mauritania.
• In addition to being known as "Bauerfield International Airport", another name for VLI is "Port Vila International Airport".
• On 25 March 1942, the Army sent about 500 men to Efate from Nouméa, and the 4th Defense Battalion, 45th Marines, arrived on 8 April.
• Because of Bauerfield International Airport's relatively low elevation of 68 feet, planes can take off or land at Bauerfield International 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.
• The closest airport to Bauerfield International Airport (VLI) is Siwo Airport (EAE), which is located 42 miles (68 kilometers) N of VLI.
• The airfield was originally named Efate Field, Vila Field or McDonald Field but was later officially named Bauer Field after Lt-Col.
• Bauerfield International Airport (VLI) currently has only 1 runway.