Nonstop flight route between Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom and Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between RAF Lakenheath (LKZ), Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom and Sherman Army AirfieldSherman Air Force Base (FLV), Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,337 miles (or 6,979 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 RAF Lakenheath and Sherman Army AirfieldSherman Air Force 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 RAF Lakenheath and Sherman Army AirfieldSherman Air Force 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 RAF Lakenheath (LKZ):

• In addition to supporting three combat-ready squadrons of F-15E Strike Eagle and F-15C Eagle fighter aircraft, the Liberty Wing houses the 56th Rescue Squadron's HH-60G Combat Search and Rescue helicopters.
• 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 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.
• 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.
• In April 1947, RAF Bomber Command returned to Lakenheath and had the runways repaired, resurfaced, and readied for operations by May 1948.
• The closest airport to RAF Lakenheath (LKZ) is RAF Mildenhall (MHZ), which is located only 4 miles (7 kilometers) SW of LKZ.
• The reason for the departure of the two bomber squadrons was Lakenheath's selection for upgrading to a Very Heavy Bomber airfield.

Facts about Sherman Army AirfieldSherman Air Force Base (FLV):

• The furthest airport from Sherman Army AirfieldSherman Air Force Base (FLV) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,739 miles (17,283 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• A hangar for the base was built in 1932.
• As late as May 1944 Sherman had only 25 planes, most of which were trainers and none models then used in combat.
• In the early 1920s such flying was done at an old polo ground about three miles from Sherman.
• In addition to being known as "Sherman Army AirfieldSherman Air Force Base", another name for FLV is "Sherman AAF".
• The closest airport to Sherman Army AirfieldSherman Air Force Base (FLV) is Kansas City International Airport (MCI), which is located only 12 miles (19 kilometers) ESE of FLV.