Nonstop flight route between Big Spring, Texas, United States and Spangdahlem, Germany:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield (BGS), Big Spring, Texas, United States and Spangdahlem Air Base (SPM), Spangdahlem, Germany would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,266 miles (or 8,475 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 Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield and Spangdahlem 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 Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield and Spangdahlem 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 Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield (BGS):

• The furthest airport from Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield (BGS) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,166 miles (17,969 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• Construction of the Army Air Forces Bombardier School began on 15 May 1942, and the airfield received its first class of cadets on 16 September 1942.
• Activated on 26 June 1942, the mission of Big Spring AAF was to train aviation cadets in high altitude precision bombing as bombardiers.
• The airfield was activated as Big Spring Air Force Base on 1 October 1951 by the United States Air Force Air Training Command and established the 3560th Pilot Training Wing.
• Webb AFB was turned over to the General Services Agency for disposal on 1 January 1978 and the property later turned over to the Big Spring Industrial Park.
• At Webb AFB, the last two pilot training classes completed course work on 30 August 1977, and fixed wing qualification training ended on 1 September 1977.
• In 1956, the Air Defense Command 331st Fighter-Interceptor Squadron was transferred to Webb from Stewart Air Force Base in New York to defend the southern United States border on air intercept missions as part of the Central Air Defense Force.
• The closest airport to Webb Air Force Base Big Spring Army Airfield (BGS) is Midland Airpark (MDD), which is located 36 miles (58 kilometers) WSW of BGS.

Facts about Spangdahlem Air Base (SPM):

• In addition, Air Mobility Command supports cargo and passenger traffic as part of its airlift mission.
• The 39 TEWS returned to Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina on 1 January 1973.
• The 49th TFW flew F-100s until 1961 when it converted to the Republic F-105D/F Thunderchief, commonly known as the "Thud".
• Spangdahlem Air Base is a United States Air Force base located near the small German town of Spangdahlem, approximately 30 km NNE of the city of Trier, Rhineland-Palatinate.
• The furthest airport from Spangdahlem Air Base (SPM) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,986 miles (19,289 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The closest airport to Spangdahlem Air Base (SPM) is Bitburg Airport (BBJ), which is located only 6 miles (10 kilometers) WSW of SPM.
• In 1957 the RB-57s and RF-84s were transferred to Chateauroux-Deols Air Depot and the 1st and 38th were re-equipped with the Douglas RB-66 Destroyer.
• In addition to being known as "Spangdahlem Air Base", another name for SPM is "Spangdahlem AB".