Nonstop flight route between Reims, France and Cold Bay, Alaska, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Reims-Champagne Air Base (RHE), Reims, France and Cold Bay Airport (CDB), Cold Bay, Alaska, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,175 miles (or 8,328 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 Reims-Champagne Air Base and Cold Bay Airport, 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 Reims-Champagne Air Base and Cold Bay Airport. 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 Reims-Champagne Air Base (RHE):

• The first unit to arrive at Reims was the Breguet 19–equipped 12th Regiment, which arrived from the Occupied Rhineland airdrome at Lachen-Speyerdorf.
• It was liberated by Allied ground forces 30 August 1944 during the Northern France Campaign.
• Reims-Champagne Air Base (RHE) currently has only 1 runway.
• With the breakout of World War II in 1939, Reims was reinforced with additional units.
• In addition to being known as "Reims-Champagne Air Base", another name for RHE is "Base aérienne 112Advanced Landing Ground (ALG) A-62".
• The closest airport to Reims-Champagne Air Base (RHE) is Château-Thierry - Belleau Aerodrome (XCY), which is located 36 miles (57 kilometers) WSW of RHE.
• Under American control, Ninth Air Force assigned the 440th Troop Carrier Group to the base, flying C-47 Skytrain transports until the end of September.
• Because of Reims-Champagne Air Base's relatively low elevation of 314 feet, planes can take off or land at Reims-Champagne Air Base 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.
• A jet-capable 8000' jet runway and taxiways were laid down to the southwest along with additional aircraft ramp space, dispersals with hardened Tab-Vs, hangars and a support area.
• The furthest airport from Reims-Champagne Air Base (RHE) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Reims-Champagne Air Base (meaning Reims-Champagne Air Base is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,056 miles (19,402 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.

Facts about Cold Bay Airport (CDB):

• The furthest airport from Cold Bay Airport (CDB) is Cape Town International Airport (CPT), which is located 10,968 miles (17,652 kilometers) away in Cape Town, South Africa.
• The closest airport to Cold Bay Airport (CDB) is King Cove Airport (KVC), which is located only 19 miles (31 kilometers) ESE of CDB.
• In the spring and summer of 1945, Cold Bay was the site of the largest and most ambitious transfer program of World War II, Project Hula, in which the United States transferred 149 ships and craft to the Soviet Union and trained 12,000 Soviet personnel in their operation in anticipation of the Soviet Union entering the war against Japan.
• It was redesignated from Army Air Base to an Air Force Base on 28 March 1948 along with seven other Army Air Bases in Alaska.
• Cold Bay Airport (CDB) has 2 runways.
• A myth describes Cold Bay Airport as an alternate landing site for Space Shuttles, but the National Aeronautics and Space Administration has stated that it was never so designated, and it was not within the entry crossrange capability of Space Shuttles.
• Because of Cold Bay Airport's relatively low elevation of 102 feet, planes can take off or land at Cold Bay 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 "Cold Bay Airport", other names for CDB include "Cold Bay Air Force Station" and "Fort Randall Army Airfield".