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):

• 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.
• 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 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 airfield is now called General-Steinhoff Kaserne.
• 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.
• Royal Air Force Station Gatow (GWW) currently has only 1 runway.

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

• The mission of NOLF Imperial Beach at the present time as described, is to handle the overflow of helicopter squadrons traffic both VFR and IFR, from North Island.
• 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.
• On January 1, 1968 NAAS Imperial Beach was raised to the status of a full Naval Air Station and renamed NAS Imperial Beach.
• Along with the halt of construction on base, the helicopter squadrons all were moved to NAS North Island.
• In the early 1920s the Navy began using Ream Field for practice carrier landings, but the field was not considered as advantageous for expansion as Brown Field, some 8 miles inland, and did not develop much further until later during World War II.
• 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.
• 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.