Nonstop flight route between Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Fort Bliss, El Paso, Texas, United States:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from SSC to BIF:
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- About this route
- SSC Airport Information
- BIF Airport Information
- Facts about SSC
- Facts about BIF
- Map of Nearest Airports to SSC
- List of Nearest Airports to SSC
- Map of Furthest Airports from SSC
- List of Furthest Airports from SSC
- Map of Nearest Airports to BIF
- List of Nearest Airports to BIF
- Map of Furthest Airports from BIF
- List of Furthest Airports from BIF
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Biggs Army Airfield (BIF), Fort Bliss, El Paso, Texas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,506 miles (or 2,423 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 Shaw Air Force Base and Biggs Army Airfield, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.
Departure Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | SSC / KSSC |
| Airport Name: | Shaw Air Force Base |
| Location: | Sumter, South Carolina, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 33°58'23"N by 80°28'22"W |
| View all routes: | Routes from SSC |
| More Information: | SSC Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | BIF / KBIF |
| Airport Names: |
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| Location: | Fort Bliss, El Paso, Texas, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 31°50'57"N by 106°22'47"W |
| Operator/Owner: | U.S. Army ATCA-ASO |
| Airport Type: | Military |
| Elevation: | 3946 feet (1,203 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from BIF |
| More Information: | BIF Maps & Info |
Facts about Shaw Air Force Base (SSC):
- Jurisdiction of Shaw was again transferred to Tactical Air Command on 23 March 1946.
- The 20th FG was reassigned to Langley AFB, Virginia on 1 December 1951 in preparation for a permanent overseas deployment to RAF Wethersfield, England to support NATO.
- The group initially conducted training with two squadrons flying the Republic RF-84F "Thunderflash" and two squadrons Group, was a part of Strategic Air Command from July 1947 – May 1951, at Barksdale AFB, Louisiana as an Air Force Reserve corollary unit under the guidance of active duty units in order to train and maintain currency in reconnaissance operations for its reserve personnel.
- The 20th Fighter Group was first equipped with North American P-51D, then exchanged its P-51's in February 1948 for F-84B Thunderjets, the first TAC group to receive operational F-84s.
- As a result of the August 1992 destruction of Homestead AFB Florida by Hurricane Andrew in September 1992, the 31st Fighter Wing's 309th Fighter Squadron was initially evacuated to Shaw AFB prior to the hurricane making landfall.
- In October 1942, the flight training was changed to Advanced flying training and AT-6 Texan single-engine and Beech AT-10 twin-engine trainers were used.
- Shaw Field was activated on 30 August 1941 and placed under the jurisdiction of the Army Air Corps Southeast Air Corps Training Center.
- 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.
Facts about Biggs Army Airfield (BIF):
- In April 1943, the airfield came under the command of the Second Air Force and became headquarters for the XX Bomber Command.
- Operational with the B-52B by 1960, the 95th Bomb Wing was part of SAC's nuclear deterrent force, and performed airborne alert patrols.
- In addition to being known as "Biggs Army Airfield", another name for BIF is "Biggs Air Force BaseBiggs Field".
- Biggs Field is now the home of the United States Army 1st Armored Division.
- Biggs Army Airfield (BIF) currently has only 1 runway.
- The 97th Air Refueling Squadron, activated in March 1949, saw its manning increase as it received its first KB-29P in January 1950.
- The closest airport to Biggs Army Airfield (BIF) is El Paso International Airport (ELP), which is located only 3 miles (5 kilometers) S of BIF.
- The furthest airport from Biggs Army Airfield (BIF) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 11,387 miles (18,325 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
- The 97th experienced two mission changes in 1955.
