Nonstop flight route between Fort Greely, Delta Junction, Alaska, United States and Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Allen Army Airfield (BIG), Fort Greely, Delta Junction, Alaska, United States and RAF Lakenheath (LKZ), Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,193 miles (or 6,747 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 Allen Army Airfield and RAF Lakenheath, 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 Allen Army Airfield and RAF Lakenheath. 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 Allen Army Airfield (BIG):

• Established in 1942 as Big Delta Army Airfield, it was named for river delta formed by the confluence of the Delta River and the Tanana River.
• In addition to being known as "Allen Army Airfield", another name for BIG is "(former Big Delta Army Airfield)".
• The closest airport to Allen Army Airfield (BIG) is Delta Junction Airport (DJN), which is located only 4 miles (6 kilometers) N of BIG.
• Two runways are lighted and can accommodate heavy cargo aircraft year-round, including the C-141.
• Allen Army Airfield (BIG) has 3 runways.
• The furthest airport from Allen Army Airfield (BIG) is Port Elizabeth International Airport (PLZ), which is located 10,331 miles (16,625 kilometers) away in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.

Facts about RAF Lakenheath (LKZ):

• In response to the threat by the Soviet Union, by the 1948 Berlin blockade, President Truman decided to realign USAFE into a permanent combat-capable force.
• Royal Air Force Lakenheath or RAF Lakenheath, is a Royal Air Force station near the town of Lakenheath in Suffolk, England located 4.7 miles north-east of Mildenhall, Suffolk and 8.3 miles west of Thetford, Norfolk.
• The furthest airport from RAF Lakenheath (LKZ) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,827 miles (19,034 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The closest airport to RAF Lakenheath (LKZ) is RAF Mildenhall (MHZ), which is located only 4 miles (7 kilometers) SW of LKZ.
• The increasing tension of the Cold War lead to a re-evaluation of these deployments, and by 1953 SAC bombers began to move its heavy bomb groups further west, behind RAF fighter forces, to RAF Brize Norton, RAF Greenham Common, RAF Upper Heyford and RAF Fairford, while its shorter-range B-47 were sent to East Anglia.