Nonstop flight route between Laurel, Mississippi, United States and Okinawa Prefecture, Japan:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Hesler-Noble Field (LUL), Laurel, Mississippi, United States and Kadena Air Base 嘉手納飛行場 Kadena Hikōjō (DNA), Okinawa Prefecture, Japan would travel a Great Circle distance of 7,746 miles (or 12,466 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 Hesler-Noble Field and Kadena Air Base 嘉手納飛行場 Kadena Hikōjō, 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 Hesler-Noble Field and Kadena Air Base 嘉手納飛行場 Kadena Hikōjō. 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 Hesler-Noble Field (LUL):

• Construction involved runways and airplane hangars, with three concrete runways, several taxiways and a large apron and a control tower.
• Because of Hesler-Noble Field's relatively low elevation of 238 feet, planes can take off or land at Hesler-Noble Field 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 Hesler-Noble Field (LUL) is Cocos (Keeling) Island Airport (CCK), which is located 11,037 miles (17,763 kilometers) away in Cocos Islands, Australia.
• The closest airport to Hesler-Noble Field (LUL) is Hattiesburg–Laurel Regional Airport (PIB), which is located only 17 miles (28 kilometers) SW of LUL.
• In early 1944, a phase down of training activity was begun, and plans were made to convert Laurel AAF into a specialized storage facility.
• Hesler-Noble Field (LUL) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Hesler-Noble Field", another name for LUL is "(former Laurel Army Airfield)".

Facts about Kadena Air Base 嘉手納飛行場 Kadena Hikōjō (DNA):

• The designation of the wing changed on 1 October 1991 to the 18th Wing with the implementation of the Objective Wing concept.
• Kadena Air Base's history dates back to just before the 1 April 1945, Battle of Okinawa, when a local construction firm completed a small airfield named Yara Hikojo near the island's village of Kadena.
• At the end of the Eisenhower presidency, around 1,700 nuclear weapons were deployed on shore in the Pacific, 800 of which were at Kadena Air Base.
• The closest airport to Kadena Air Base 嘉手納飛行場 Kadena Hikōjō (DNA) is Naha Airport (OKA), which is located only 13 miles (21 kilometers) SW of DNA.
• The furthest airport from Kadena Air Base 嘉手納飛行場 Kadena Hikōjō (DNA) is Paulo Abdala Airport (FBE), which is nearly antipodal to Kadena Air Base 嘉手納飛行場 Kadena Hikōjō (meaning Kadena Air Base 嘉手納飛行場 Kadena Hikōjō is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Paulo Abdala Airport), and is located 12,381 miles (19,926 kilometers) away in Francisco Beltrao, Paraná, Brazil.
• Beginning in 1961, the 18th was sending its tactical squadrons frequently to South Vietnam and Thailand, initially with its RF-101 reconnaissance forces, and beginning in 1964 with its tactical fighter forces supporting USAF combat missions in the Vietnam War.
• The Korean War emphasized the need for maintaining a naval presence in Okinawa.
• In addition to being known as "Kadena Air Base 嘉手納飛行場 Kadena Hikōjō", another name for DNA is "Kadena AFB".
• The 18th Fighter-Bomber Wing was reassigned to Kadena from Osan-ni AB, South Korea on 1 November 1954, flying three squadrons of North American F-86 Sabres.