Nonstop flight route between Falmouth, Massachusetts, United States and Okinawa Prefecture, Japan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Otis Air National Guard Base Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod (FMH), Falmouth, Massachusetts, United States and Kadena Air Base 嘉手納飛行場 Kadena Hikōjō (DNA), Okinawa Prefecture, Japan would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,594 miles (or 12,222 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 Otis Air National Guard Base Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod and Kadena Air Base 嘉手納飛行場 Kadena Hikōjō, 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 Otis Air National Guard Base Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod and Kadena Air Base 嘉手納飛行場 Kadena Hikōjō. 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 Otis Air National Guard Base Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod (FMH):

• Strategic Air Command maintained the 19th Air Refueling Squadron at Otis AFB flying the KC-97 Stratotanker.
• Otis was unique because it had its own schools for the students who lived on the base.
• In the early 1970s, Otis AFB was marked for closure as part of changing priorities and a nation-wide reduction of military bases in response to cost cutting efforts as the Vietnam War was winding down.
• On November 6, 2009, ground was broken on new facilities for the 102nd Intelligence Wing.
• The airport was a NASA Space Shuttle launch abort site.
• In addition to being known as "Otis Air National Guard Base Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod", another name for FMH is "Otis ANGB".
• In 1978, the Regular Air Force returned to Otis ANGB with the construction of the Precision Acquisition Vehicle Entry Phased Array Warning System near the Cape Cod Canal.
• The closest airport to Otis Air National Guard Base Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod (FMH) is Barnstable Municipal Airport (HYA), which is located only 12 miles (20 kilometers) E of FMH.
• The furthest airport from Otis Air National Guard Base Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod (FMH) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,821 miles (19,024 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.

Facts about Kadena Air Base 嘉手納飛行場 Kadena Hikōjō (DNA):

• The closest airport to Kadena Air Base 嘉手納飛行場 Kadena Hikōjō (DNA) is Naha Airport (OKA), which is located only 13 miles (21 kilometers) SW of DNA.
• The furthest airport from Kadena Air Base 嘉手納飛行場 Kadena Hikōjō (DNA) is Paulo Abdala Airport (FBE), which is nearly antipodal to Kadena Air Base 嘉手納飛行場 Kadena Hikōjō (meaning Kadena Air Base 嘉手納飛行場 Kadena Hikōjō is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Paulo Abdala Airport), and is located 12,381 miles (19,926 kilometers) away in Francisco Beltrao, Paraná, Brazil.
• In 1972, the 1st Special Operations Squadron was assigned, bringing their specialized Lockheed C/MC-130 Hercules aircraft to the wing.
• In addition to being known as "Kadena Air Base 嘉手納飛行場 Kadena Hikōjō", another name for DNA is "Kadena AFB".
• On 7 June 1946, Headquarters Eighth Air Force moved without personnel or equipment to MacDill AAF, Florida.
• The Korean War emphasized the need for maintaining a naval presence in Okinawa.
• Kadena Air Base, is a United States Air Force base in the towns of Kadena and Chatan and the city of Okinawa, in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan.
• At the end of the Eisenhower presidency, around 1,700 nuclear weapons were deployed on shore in the Pacific, 800 of which were at Kadena Air Base.