Nonstop flight route between Zanderij (near Paramaribo), Suriname and Berlin, Germany:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Johan Adolf Pengel International Airport (PBM), Zanderij (near Paramaribo), Suriname and Royal Air Force Station Gatow (GWW), Berlin, Germany would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,015 miles (or 8,071 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 Johan Adolf Pengel International Airport and Royal Air Force Station Gatow, 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 Johan Adolf Pengel International Airport and Royal Air Force Station Gatow. 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 Johan Adolf Pengel International Airport (PBM):

• At Zandery, the unit shuttled from Zandery to Atkinson Field, British Guiana and, by January 1942, had eight Curtiss P-40C Warhawks assigned.
• Johan Adolf Pengel International Airport (PBM) currently has only 1 runway.
• Because of Johan Adolf Pengel International Airport's relatively low elevation of 59 feet, planes can take off or land at Johan Adolf Pengel International 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.
• The closest airport to Johan Adolf Pengel International Airport (PBM) is Zorg en Hoop Airport (ORG), which is located 25 miles (40 kilometers) N of PBM.
• The intensive flying of the first two months of the war soon took its toll, however, and by the end of February 1942, the Squadron was forced to report that it had but three B-18A's operational at Zandery and that "....
• The furthest airport from Johan Adolf Pengel International Airport (PBM) is Betoambari Airport (BUW), which is nearly antipodal to Johan Adolf Pengel International Airport (meaning Johan Adolf Pengel International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Betoambari Airport), and is located 12,282 miles (19,767 kilometers) away in Bau-Bau, Buton, Indonesia.

Facts about Royal Air Force Station Gatow (GWW):

• The history of RAF Gatow and of western forces in Berlin from 1945 to 1994 is told in the Alliiertenmuseum, or the Allied Museum.
• 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.
• 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.
• Royal Air Force Station Gatow (GWW) currently has only 1 runway.
• The novel Air Bridge by Hammond Innes is partially set in RAF Gatow at the time of the Berlin Airlift, and is notable for its accurate descriptions of the Station, including corridors and rooms within it.
• BEA moved to Tempelhof Airport in 1951, where most of West Berlin's commercial air transport operations were concentrated from then on.
• 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.
• The first landing by a Royal Air Force aircraft was by Avro Anson serial number PW698 on 2 July 1945 at 11.55 hours.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.