Nonstop flight route between Meridian, Mississippi, United States and Sumter, South Carolina, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Key Field Air National Guard Base (MEI), Meridian, Mississippi, United States and Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 492 miles (or 792 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 Key Field Air National Guard Base and Shaw Air Force Base, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Key Field Air National Guard Base (MEI):

• In addition to being known as "Key Field Air National Guard Base", another name for MEI is "Key Field ANGB".
• The furthest airport from Key Field Air National Guard Base (MEI) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,055 miles (17,792 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The closest airport to Key Field Air National Guard Base (MEI) is Hesler-Noble Field (LUL), which is located 52 miles (83 kilometers) SSW of MEI.
• Key Field Air National Guard Base is the home base of the Mississippi Air National Guard 186th Air Refueling Wing.

Facts about Shaw Air Force Base (SSC):

• The furthest airport from Shaw Air Force Base (SSC) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,545 miles (18,580 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The closest airport to Shaw Air Force Base (SSC) is Sumter Airport (SUM), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) ENE of SSC.
• The squadrons flew the P-61 Black Widow in Europe with Ninth Air Force during World War II, and were reassigned back to the United States after the end of hostilities.
• After the establishment of the United States Air Force as a separate military branch in September 1947, Shaw Army Airfield was renamed Shaw Air Force Base, on 13 January 1948 and the 20th Fighter-Bomber Wing was activated on 15 August 1947 with the implementation of the Hobson Plan.
• By 1980, the advent of reconnaissance satellites made the need for tactical aircraft reconnaissance less and less necessary.
• On March 23, 1953, the 432d Tactical Reconnaissance Group was activated at Shaw.