Nonstop flight route between Gweru, Zimbabwe and Sembach, Germany:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Gweru-Thornhill Air Base (GWE), Gweru, Zimbabwe and Sembach KaserneSembach Air Base (SEX), Sembach, Germany would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,952 miles (or 7,970 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 Gweru-Thornhill Air Base and Sembach KaserneSembach Air Base, 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 Gweru-Thornhill Air Base and Sembach KaserneSembach Air Base. 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 Gweru-Thornhill Air Base (GWE):

• Because of Gweru-Thornhill Air Base's high elevation of 4,680 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at GWE. Combined with a high temperature, this could make GWE a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• The closest airport to Gweru-Thornhill Air Base (GWE) is Masvingo Airport (MVZ), which is located 78 miles (125 kilometers) ESE of GWE.
• Gweru-Thornhill Air Base (GWE) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Gweru-Thornhill Air Base (GWE) is Hilo International Airport (ITO), which is nearly antipodal to Gweru-Thornhill Air Base (meaning Gweru-Thornhill Air Base is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Hilo International Airport), and is located 12,117 miles (19,500 kilometers) away in Hilo, Hawaii, United States.

Facts about Sembach KaserneSembach Air Base (SEX):

• Although the Air Base was constructed in the French Zone of Occupation under French direction, it was built to be used by NATO forces and was, moreover, intended to be an American Air Base from the beginning.
• As part of the general withdrawal of French occupation forces from the left bank of the Rhine in 1930, the French abandoned the airfield on June 15, 1930.
• On 1 January 1957 a fourth squadron, the 19th TRS was transferred from the 47th Bombardment Wing at RAF Sculthorpe to the 66th TRW.
• The furthest airport from Sembach KaserneSembach Air Base (SEX) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,992 miles (19,299 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• During the remainder of the winter, the control tower, hangars, repair shops and other buildings were built along the taxiway.
• In April 1951, German surveyors visited the area in the company of French officers.
• The American flag first flew at Sembach Air Base on 8 July 1953.
• The closest airport to Sembach KaserneSembach Air Base (SEX) is Ramstein Air Base (RMS), which is located only 13 miles (21 kilometers) WSW of SEX.
• In the middle of April 1952, the residents of Sembach learned that the land to the north of the now completed flightline was to be used for the construction of multi-story barracks and office buildings.
• In July 1958, the 66th TRW, was transferred from Sembach to Laon Air Base, France.
• As 1957 progressed USAFE HQ decided to reorganizs its tactical reconnaissance assets.