Nonstop flight route between Berlin, Germany and Imperial Beach, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Royal Air Force Station Gatow (GWW), Berlin, Germany and Naval Outlying Landing Field Imperial Beach (NRS), Imperial Beach, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,841 miles (or 9,400 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 Naval Outlying Landing Field Imperial Beach, 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 Naval Outlying Landing Field Imperial Beach. 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.
• 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 airfield is now called General-Steinhoff Kaserne.
• 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.
• RAF Gatow was from 1970 also used by the UKs Army Air Corps, 7 Aviation Flight AAC, later renamed 7 Flight AAC being based at the station initially flying four Westland Sioux and later three Aérospatiale Gazelle AH 1 helicopters.
• Royal Air Force Station Gatow (GWW) currently has only 1 runway.
• BEA moved to Tempelhof Airport in 1951, where most of West Berlin's commercial air transport operations were concentrated from then on.
• 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 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.
• 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.

Facts about Naval Outlying Landing Field Imperial Beach (NRS):

• In addition to being known as "Naval Outlying Landing Field Imperial Beach", another name for NRS is "Ream Field".
• Naval Outlying Landing Field Imperial Beach (NRS) has 2 runways.
• On January 1, 1968 NAAS Imperial Beach was raised to the status of a full Naval Air Station and renamed NAS Imperial Beach.
• Shortly after World War II, Ream Field was decommissioned.
• The closest airport to Naval Outlying Landing Field Imperial Beach (NRS) is Brown Field Municipal Airport (SDM), which is located only 8 miles (12 kilometers) E of NRS.
• The furthest airport from Naval Outlying Landing Field Imperial Beach (NRS) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,552 miles (18,590 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.