Nonstop flight route between Saipan Island, Northern Mariana Islands and San Bernardino, California, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from SPN to SBD:
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- About this route
- SPN Airport Information
- SBD Airport Information
- Facts about SPN
- Facts about SBD
- Map of Nearest Airports to SPN
- List of Nearest Airports to SPN
- Map of Furthest Airports from SPN
- List of Furthest Airports from SPN
- Map of Nearest Airports to SBD
- List of Nearest Airports to SBD
- Map of Furthest Airports from SBD
- List of Furthest Airports from SBD
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Saipan International Airport (SPN), Saipan Island, Northern Mariana Islands and Norton Air Force Base (SBD), San Bernardino, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,027 miles (or 9,700 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 Saipan International Airport and Norton Air Force 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 Saipan International Airport and Norton Air Force Base. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | SPN / PGSN |
| Airport Names: |
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| Location: | Saipan Island, Northern Mariana Islands |
| GPS Coordinates: | 15°7'8"N by 145°43'45"E |
| Operator/Owner: | Commonwealth Ports Authority |
| Airport Type: | Public |
| Elevation: | 215 feet (66 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from SPN |
| More Information: | SPN Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | SBD / |
| Airport Names: |
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| Location: | San Bernardino, California, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 34°5'43"N by 117°14'5"W |
| View all routes: | Routes from SBD |
| More Information: | SBD Maps & Info |
Facts about Saipan International Airport (SPN):
- The airfield was liberated by the United States Army 27th Infantry Division on June 18, 1944 during the Battle of Saipan.
- The closest airport to Saipan International Airport (SPN) is Tinian International Airport (TIQ), which is located only 11 miles (18 kilometers) SW of SPN.
- The furthest airport from Saipan International Airport (SPN) is Salvador-Deputado Luís Eduardo Magalhães International Airport (2 de Julho) (SSA), which is nearly antipodal to Saipan International Airport (meaning Saipan International Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Salvador-Deputado Luís Eduardo Magalhães International Airport (2 de Julho)), and is located 12,125 miles (19,514 kilometers) away in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil.
- On 12 October 1944 the first B-29 Joltin Josie The Pacific Pioneer piloted by Brigadier General Haywood S.
- In addition to being known as "Saipan International Airport", other names for SPN include "Francisco C. Ada Airport" and "GSN".
- Saipan International Airport commenced operation on 25 July 1976 taking over from the nearby Kobler Field.Continental Micronesia initially had its main hub at Kobler Field and then Saipan Airport.
- Saipan International Airport (SPN) currently has only 1 runway.
- Because of Saipan International Airport's relatively low elevation of 215 feet, planes can take off or land at Saipan 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.
- With the end of the war the wing's four bomb groups were all returned to the United States, with their B-29s either being flown to Clark Air Base in the Philippines for scrapping, or were flown to storage facilities in Texas or Arizona.
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.
- Norton Air Force Base began before World War II as Municipal Airport, San Bernardino under Army Air Corps jurisdiction.
- LAADS was inactivated on 1 April 1966 and the designation was returned as the 27th Air Division, being stationed at Luke AFB, Arizona under Fourth Air Force as part of a consolidation with the inactivating Phoenix Air Defense Sector.
- In addition to being known as "Norton Air Force Base", another name for SBD is "Norton AFB".
- A change of mission in 1966 from Air Force Logistics Command to Military Airlift Command meant that Norton became one of six Military Airlift Command strategic-airlift bases, supporting US Army and Marine Corps' airlift requirements among other functions.
- 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.
- 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.
- The last of the facilities on the base were closed in 1995.
