Nonstop flight route between Gbangbatok, Sierra Leone and Berlin, Germany:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from GBK to GWW:
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- About this route
- GBK Airport Information
- GWW Airport Information
- Facts about GBK
- Facts about GWW
- Map of Nearest Airports to GBK
- List of Nearest Airports to GBK
- Map of Furthest Airports from GBK
- List of Furthest Airports from GBK
- 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 Gbangbatok Airport (GBK), Gbangbatok, Sierra Leone and Royal Air Force Station Gatow (GWW), Berlin, Germany would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,405 miles (or 5,479 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 Gbangbatok 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 Gbangbatok 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: | GBK / GFGK |
| Airport Name: | Gbangbatok Airport |
| Location: | Gbangbatok, Sierra Leone |
| GPS Coordinates: | 7°48'45"N by 12°22'40"W |
| Area Served: | Gbangbatok |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 75 feet (23 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from GBK |
| More Information: | GBK 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 Gbangbatok Airport (GBK):
- Gbangbatok Airport (GBK) currently has only 1 runway.
- The furthest airport from Gbangbatok Airport (GBK) is Mota Lava Airport (MTV), which is nearly antipodal to Gbangbatok Airport (meaning Gbangbatok Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Mota Lava Airport), and is located 12,032 miles (19,364 kilometers) away in Mota Lava, Vanuatu.
- The closest airport to Gbangbatok Airport (GBK) is Sherbro International Airport (BTE), which is located 22 miles (35 kilometers) SSW of GBK.
- Because of Gbangbatok Airport's relatively low elevation of 75 feet, planes can take off or land at Gbangbatok 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.
Facts about Royal Air Force Station Gatow (GWW):
- 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.
- To commemorate Australian participation in the Airlift, the Royal Australian Air Force presented RAF Gatow with a retired Douglas Dakota in the 1980s, to use as a gate guardian.
- On 20 June 1980, the Royal Australian Air Force presented a Douglas Dakota to RAF Gatow in commemoration of its role.
- 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.
- 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.
- Alongside the Royal Air Force and various British civil aviation companies, the United States Air Force, the Royal Australian Air Force, the Royal Canadian Air Force, the Royal New Zealand Air Force and the South African Air Force all flew supplies into RAF Gatow during the Airlift.
- 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.
- Royal Air Force Station Gatow (GWW) currently has only 1 runway.
- Following the reunification of Germany, the British ceded control of Gatow Airport on 18 June 1994, and it was handed back to the German Air Force on 7 September 1994.
- Also on the site of the former Royal Air Force station, but not part of General Steinhoff-Kaserne, is a school, the Hans-Carossa-Gymnasium, as well as houses for government employees of the Federal Republic of Germany.
