Nonstop flight route between Derby, Western Australia, Australia and Berlin, Germany:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from DRB to GWW:
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- About this route
- DRB Airport Information
- GWW Airport Information
- Facts about DRB
- Facts about GWW
- Map of Nearest Airports to DRB
- List of Nearest Airports to DRB
- Map of Furthest Airports from DRB
- List of Furthest Airports from DRB
- Map of Nearest Airports to GWW
- List of Nearest Airports to GWW
- Map of Furthest Airports from GWW
- List of Furthest Airports from GWW
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Derby Airport (DRB), Derby, Western Australia, Australia and Royal Air Force Station Gatow (GWW), Berlin, Germany would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,025 miles (or 12,914 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 Derby Airport and Royal Air Force Station Gatow, 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 Derby Airport and Royal Air Force Station Gatow. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | DRB / YDBY |
| Airport Name: | Derby Airport |
| Location: | Derby, Western Australia, Australia |
| GPS Coordinates: | 17°22'12"S by 123°39'38"E |
| Operator/Owner: | Shire of Derby/West Kimberley |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 24 feet (7 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from DRB |
| More Information: | DRB Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | GWW / EDBG |
| Airport Name: | Royal Air Force Station Gatow |
| Location: | Berlin, Germany |
| GPS Coordinates: | 52°28'27"N by 13°8'17"E |
| Operator/Owner: | formerly: Ministry of Defence, now: Bundeswehr |
| Airport Type: | Military (airport no longer in operation) |
| Elevation: | 161 feet (49 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from GWW |
| More Information: | GWW Maps & Info |
Facts about Derby Airport (DRB):
- The closest airport to Derby Airport (DRB) is Broome International Airport (BME), which is located 102 miles (165 kilometers) WSW of DRB.
- Because of Derby Airport's relatively low elevation of 24 feet, planes can take off or land at Derby 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.
- Derby Airport (DRB) currently has only 1 runway.
- The furthest airport from Derby Airport (DRB) is Pointe-à-Pitre Le Raizet Airport (PTP), which is nearly antipodal to Derby Airport (meaning Derby Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Pointe-à-Pitre Le Raizet Airport), and is located 12,085 miles (19,449 kilometers) away in Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe.
Facts about Royal Air Force Station Gatow (GWW):
- The furthest airport from Royal Air Force Station Gatow (GWW) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,694 miles (18,819 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
- The novel Air Bridge by Hammond Innes is partially set in RAF Gatow at the time of the Berlin Airlift, and is notable for its accurate descriptions of the Station, including corridors and rooms within it.
- Royal Air Force Station Gatow (GWW) currently has only 1 runway.
- RAF Gatow was also used as a civilian airport for a limited time.
- In November 1948, the latest RAF transport aircraft, the Handley Page Hastings, was added to the squadrons flying into RAF Gatow and some aircrews and aircraft were redeployed to train replacement aircrews.
- Clues to the airfield's original use survive in the barrack block accommodation, each block of which was named after a famous German airman of the First World War, with the airman's bust above the entrance door.
- The closest airport to Royal Air Force Station Gatow (GWW) is Berlin Tegel Airport (TXL), which is located only 9 miles (14 kilometers) NE of GWW.
- During the Berlin Airlift, the Station was modernised with a 2,000 yards long concrete runway, using 794 German workers, in March 1947.
- Because of Royal Air Force Station Gatow's relatively low elevation of 161 feet, planes can take off or land at Royal Air Force Station Gatow 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.
- These aircraft were also used for reconnaissance missions in co-operation with The British Commander-in-Chief's Mission to the Soviet Forces of Occupation in Germany, commonly known as BRIXMIS.
- After the fall of the Berlin Wall, Chipmunk reconnaissance flights soon ceased and the two Chipmunks were flown to RAF Laarbruch, in Western Germany to await disposal action.
- After the Berlin Blockade, RAF Gatow served as an airfield for the British Army's Berlin Infantry Brigade, and was prepared to revert to its role as a supply base, if another Berlin Airlift to West Berlin ever became necessary.
- Also on the site of the former RAF station, but not part of General-Steinhoff Kaserne, is a school, the Hans-Carossa-Gymnasium, and houses for government employees of the Federal Republic of Germany.
