Nonstop flight route between Springfield/Chicopee, Massachusetts, United States and Sumter, South Carolina, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Westover Air Reserve Base (CEF), Springfield/Chicopee, Massachusetts, United States and Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 713 miles (or 1,147 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 relatively short distance between Westover Air Reserve Base and Shaw Air Force Base, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Westover Air Reserve Base (CEF):

• In addition to being known as "Westover Air Reserve Base", another name for CEF is "Westover ARB".
• The first organization at the base was the 10th Signal Platoon in June 1940.
• Westover was also the launching point of the heroic Berlin Airlift for 327 days during the Soviet blockade.
• Current military operations at Westover Air Reserve Base are centered around its exceptionally long runways.
• Numerous Airborne Engineer Aviation battalions were activated and trained at Westover, to include the 871st, 872d, 873d, 877th, 878th, 879th, 880th, and 881st.
• The furthest airport from Westover Air Reserve Base (CEF) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,731 miles (18,880 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The Westover complex serves the "Joint Use" mission of military and civilian cooperation.
• In September 1972, the 4713th Defense Systems Evaluation Squadron moved to Westover AFB from Otis AFB.
• The closest airport to Westover Air Reserve Base (CEF) is Westfield-Barnes Regional Airport (BAF), which is located only 10 miles (15 kilometers) WSW of CEF.
• On 1 February 1946 Westover became an Air Transport Command base which meant that it was the terminus for air routes around the world.

Facts about Shaw Air Force Base (SSC):

• Shaw AFB is home base of the USAF 20th Fighter Wing, which flies F-16CJ Fighting Falcons.
• The furthest airport from Shaw Air Force Base (SSC) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,545 miles (18,580 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The 20th Fighter Group was first equipped with North American P-51D, then exchanged its P-51's in February 1948 for F-84B Thunderjets, the first TAC group to receive operational F-84s.
• On 9 August 1990, the 17th and 33d TFS of 363d TFW became the first F-16 squadrons to deploy to the United Arab Emirates in Operation Desert Shield.
• On March 23, 1953, the 432d Tactical Reconnaissance Group was activated at Shaw.
• Shaw Field was activated on 30 August 1941 and placed under the jurisdiction of the Army Air Corps Southeast Air Corps Training Center.
• In October 1942, the flight training was changed to Advanced flying training and AT-6 Texan single-engine and Beech AT-10 twin-engine trainers were used.
• The closest airport to Shaw Air Force Base (SSC) is Sumter Airport (SUM), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) ENE of SSC.
• The 20th FG was reassigned to Langley AFB, Virginia on 1 December 1951 in preparation for a permanent overseas deployment to RAF Wethersfield, England to support NATO.