Nonstop flight route between Berlin, Germany and Okinawa Prefecture, Japan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Royal Air Force Station Gatow (GWW), Berlin, Germany and Kadena Air Base 嘉手納飛行場 Kadena Hikōjō (DNA), Okinawa Prefecture, Japan would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,724 miles (or 9,212 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 Royal Air Force Station Gatow 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 Royal Air Force Station Gatow 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 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.
• RAF Gatow has the unique and unlikely distinction of being the base for the only known operational use of flying boats in central Europe, during the Berlin Blockade, on the nearby Großer Wannsee in the Havel river.
• Royal Air Force Station Gatow (GWW) currently has only 1 runway.
• On 20 June 1980, the Royal Australian Air Force presented a Douglas Dakota to RAF Gatow in commemoration of its role.
• 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 first landing by a Royal Air Force aircraft was by Avro Anson serial number PW698 on 2 July 1945 at 11.55 hours.
• 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.
• The closest military neighbour to RAF Gatow was a tank unit of the National People's Army of East Germany.
• 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.

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

• What the Americans captured was a 4,600 feet strip of badly-damaged coral runway.
• On 30 June 1959 an F-100 from the wing crashed on Okinawa during a training flight after suffering an engine fire.
• In addition to being known as "Kadena Air Base 嘉手納飛行場 Kadena Hikōjō", another name for DNA is "Kadena AFB".
• 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.
• During the 1968 Pueblo crisis, the 18th deployed between January and June to Osan Air Base, South Korea following the North Korean seizure of the vessel.
• Twentieth Air Force became the command and control organization for Kadena on 16 May 1949.
• Twentieth Air Force was inactivated in March 1955.
• 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.