Nonstop flight route between Hassi Messaoud, Algeria and Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Oued Irara–Krim Belkacem Airport (HME), Hassi Messaoud, Algeria and RAF Lakenheath (LKZ), Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,460 miles (or 2,350 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 relatively short distance between Oued Irara–Krim Belkacem Airport and RAF Lakenheath, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Oued Irara–Krim Belkacem Airport (HME):

• The furthest airport from Oued Irara–Krim Belkacem Airport (HME) is Gisborne Airport (GIS), which is located 11,770 miles (18,941 kilometers) away in Gisborne, New Zealand.
• The closest airport to Oued Irara–Krim Belkacem Airport (HME) is Guemar Airport (ELU), which is located 133 miles (213 kilometers) NNE of HME.
• Because of Oued Irara–Krim Belkacem Airport's relatively low elevation of 459 feet, planes can take off or land at Oued Irara–Krim Belkacem 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.
• In addition to being known as "Oued Irara–Krim Belkacem Airport", other names for HME include "Base d'Hassi Messaoud (Hassi Messaoud)" and "Aéroport de Hassi Messaoud / Oued Irara–Krim Belkacem".
• Oued Irara–Krim Belkacem Airport (HME) currently has only 1 runway.

Facts about RAF Lakenheath (LKZ):

• Taking part in more than 350 operations, more than half mine-laying, 149 Squadron had one of the lowest percentage loss rates of all Stirling squadrons.
• The furthest airport from RAF Lakenheath (LKZ) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,827 miles (19,034 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The closest airport to RAF Lakenheath (LKZ) is RAF Mildenhall (MHZ), which is located only 4 miles (7 kilometers) SW of LKZ.
• The first use of Lakenheath Warren as a Royal Flying Corps airfield was in World War I, when the area was made into a bombing and ground-attack range for aircraft flying from elsewhere in the area.
• Cold War tensions with the Soviet Union in Europe began as early as 1946.
• The increasing tension of the Cold War lead to a re-evaluation of these deployments, and by 1953 SAC bombers began to move its heavy bomb groups further west, behind RAF fighter forces, to RAF Brize Norton, RAF Greenham Common, RAF Upper Heyford and RAF Fairford, while its shorter-range B-47 were sent to East Anglia.
• On 1 May 1951, Lakenheath was transferred from USAFE to SAC, and placed under the 3909th Air Base Group.