Nonstop flight route between San Bernardino, California, United States and Fritzlar, Hessen, Germany:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Norton Air Force Base (SBD), San Bernardino, California, United States and Fritzlar Air Base (FRZ), Fritzlar, Hessen, Germany would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,714 miles (or 9,196 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 Norton Air Force Base and Fritzlar Air 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 Norton Air Force Base and Fritzlar Air 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 Norton Air Force Base (SBD):

• On 1 March 1942, the airport was renamed San Bernardino Army Air Field and the San Bernardino Air Depot was established there.
• For the majority of its operational lifetime, Norton was a logistics depot and heavy-lift transport facility for a variety of military aircraft, equipment and supplies as part of Air Materiel/Air Force Logistics Command, then as part of Military Airlift/Air Mobility Command.
• The closure was cited as due to environmental wastes, inadequate facilities, and air traffic congestion west, and Los Angeles International Airport, 60 miles west).
• The furthest airport from Norton Air Force Base (SBD) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,447 miles (18,423 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
• Discrete C-130 Hercules modification tests were conducted out of Area II of the base in the late 1960s, with the 1198th Operational Evaluation and Training Squadron operating four highly classified C-130E special operations testbeds modified at Lockheed Air Services, at near-by Ontario Airport under projects Thin Slice and Heavy Chain.
• The closest airport to Norton Air Force Base (SBD) is San Bernardino International Airport (SBT), which is located only 0 mile (0 kilometer) S of SBD.
• With the air force moving into the jet age in the late 1940s, Norton began overhauling jet engines in 1951, and the San Bernardino Air Materiel Area became one of three air force jet overhaul centers by 1953.
• In addition to being known as "Norton Air Force Base", another name for SBD is "Norton AFB".

Facts about Fritzlar Air Base (FRZ):

• In March 1945 a training squadron of Nachtjagdgeschwader 101 was based in Fritzlar.
• Because of Fritzlar Air Base's relatively low elevation of 566 feet, planes can take off or land at Fritzlar 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.
• In addition to being known as "Fritzlar Air Base", another name for FRZ is "Heeresflugplatz FritzlarAdvanced Landing Ground Y-86".
• The furthest airport from Fritzlar Air Base (FRZ) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,865 miles (19,096 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Fritzlar Air Base (FRZ) currently has only 1 runway.
• In October 1956 the barracks were transferred to the Bundeswehr and renamed Flugplatz Kaserne.
• During the Berlin Blockade in 1948/49, Fritzlar Air Base served as radio beacon and emergency airfield on route back to Frankfurt and Wiesbaden.
• Construction of the airfield began in September 1935, although the Treaty of Versailles prohibited Germany to have an air force.
• On 14/16 March 1939 the Staff and the first Group of the Kampfgeschwader 54 "Totenkopf" were established at Fritzlar Airfield.
• The closest airport to Fritzlar Air Base (FRZ) is Kassel Calden Airport (KSF), which is located 22 miles (35 kilometers) NNE of FRZ.
• As replacement of the US Forces, the French 5th Hussar Regiment with AMX 13 tanks was based at Fritzlar.