Nonstop flight route between Berlin, Germany and Chevak, Alaska, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from GWW to VAK:
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- About this route
- GWW Airport Information
- VAK Airport Information
- Facts about GWW
- Facts about VAK
- Map of Nearest Airports to GWW
- List of Nearest Airports to GWW
- Map of Furthest Airports from GWW
- List of Furthest Airports from GWW
- Map of Nearest Airports to VAK
- List of Nearest Airports to VAK
- Map of Furthest Airports from VAK
- List of Furthest Airports from VAK
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Royal Air Force Station Gatow (GWW), Berlin, Germany and Chevak Airport (VAK), Chevak, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,559 miles (or 7,337 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 Chevak Airport, 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 Chevak Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | GWW / EDBG |
Airport Name: | Royal Air Force Station Gatow |
Location: | Berlin, Germany |
GPS Coordinates: | 52°28'27"N by 13°8'17"E |
Operator/Owner: | formerly: Ministry of Defence, now: Bundeswehr |
Airport Type: | Military (airport no longer in operation) |
Elevation: | 161 feet (49 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from GWW |
More Information: | GWW Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | VAK / PAVA |
Airport Name: | Chevak Airport |
Location: | Chevak, Alaska, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 61°32'26"N by 165°36'2"W |
Operator/Owner: | State of Alaska DOT&PF - Central Region |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 75 feet (23 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from VAK |
More Information: | VAK Maps & Info |
Facts about Royal Air Force Station Gatow (GWW):
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 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 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- The General-Steinhoff Kaserne is also home to the Luftwaffenmuseum der Bundeswehr, the museum of the Air Force which has many displays and much information on German military aviation and the history of the airfield.
Facts about Chevak Airport (VAK):
- Chevak Airport (VAK) has 2 runways.
- The furthest airport from Chevak Airport (VAK) is Cape Town International Airport (CPT), which is located 10,523 miles (16,935 kilometers) away in Cape Town, South Africa.
- The closest airport to Chevak Airport (VAK) is Hooper Bay Airport (HPB), which is located only 18 miles (29 kilometers) W of VAK.
- Because of Chevak Airport's relatively low elevation of 75 feet, planes can take off or land at Chevak Airport 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.