Nonstop flight route between Berlin, Germany and Peru, Indiana, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Royal Air Force Station Gatow (GWW), Berlin, Germany and Grissom Air Reserve Base (GUS), Peru, Indiana, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,406 miles (or 7,091 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 Grissom Air Reserve 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 Royal Air Force Station Gatow and Grissom Air Reserve 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 Royal Air Force Station Gatow (GWW):

• 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.
• 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.
• Royal Air Force Station Gatow (GWW) currently has only 1 runway.
• The RAF Gatow Station Flight used two De Havilland Chipmunk T10s, one of which is now in the Alliiertenmuseum, to maintain and exercise the British legal right under the Potsdam Agreement to use the airspace over both West and East Berlin, as well as the air corridors to and from West Germany to the city.
• 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.
• 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.
• The airfield was originally constructed in 1934 and 1935 by the Luftwaffe as a staff and technical college, Luftkriegsschule 2 Berlin-Gatow, in imitation of the Royal Air Force College at RAF Cranwell.
• 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 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.
• The closest military neighbour to RAF Gatow was a tank unit of the National People's Army of East Germany.

Facts about Grissom Air Reserve Base (GUS):

• Despite this activity, the end of the Cold War led to a downsizing of the military.
• In addition to being known as "Grissom Air Reserve Base", another name for GUS is "Grissom ARS".
• The Air Force activated Bunker Hill Air Force Base on 18 August 1955, with Tactical Air Command activating the 323d Fighter-Bomber Wing, and the 323d Air Base Group coming under TAC's Ninth Air Force.
• Grissom Air Reserve Base is located at 40°40′15″N 86°09′17″W / 40.670699°N 86.154670°W / 40.670699.
• Grissom Air Reserve Base is located in North Central Indiana and is home to the largest KC-135R Stratotanker wing in the Air Force Reserve Command.
• On 1 February 1978, the Air Force renamed the 305th Air Refueling Wing as the 305th Air Refueling Wing, Heavy.
• The closest airport to Grissom Air Reserve Base (GUS) is Kokomo Municipal Airport (OKK), which is located only 10 miles (15 kilometers) SSE of GUS.
• The furthest airport from Grissom Air Reserve Base (GUS) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,184 miles (17,998 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• In June 1972, the 305th Air Refueling Squadron deployed elements to Korat Air Base, Thailand, as the 4104th Air Refueling Squadron.