Nonstop flight route between Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Fürstenfeldbruck, Bavaria, Germany:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Fürstenfeldbruck Air Base (FEL), Fürstenfeldbruck, Bavaria, Germany would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,590 miles (or 7,387 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 Shaw Air Force Base and Fürstenfeldbruck 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 Shaw Air Force Base and Fürstenfeldbruck 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 Shaw Air Force Base (SSC):

• After the establishment of the United States Air Force as a separate military branch in September 1947, Shaw Army Airfield was renamed Shaw Air Force Base, on 13 January 1948 and the 20th Fighter-Bomber Wing was activated on 15 August 1947 with the implementation of the Hobson Plan.
• The closest airport to Shaw Air Force Base (SSC) is Sumter Airport (SUM), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) ENE of SSC.
• Shaw Field was activated on 30 August 1941 and placed under the jurisdiction of the Army Air Corps Southeast Air Corps Training Center.
• By 1980, the advent of reconnaissance satellites made the need for tactical aircraft reconnaissance less and less necessary.
• 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 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.

Facts about Fürstenfeldbruck Air Base (FEL):

• Since 1957, Fürstenfeldbruck has been the home of the German Air Force Officer Training School.
• Fürstenfeldbruck Air Base (FEL) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Fürstenfeldbruck Air Base (FEL) is Augsburg Airport (AGB), which is located 22 miles (35 kilometers) NW of FEL.
• The squadrons retained the same color designations with their F-84s, however the F-84 markings consisted of a solid geometric shape painted on the vertical stabilizer, just above the radio call number, with a capital letter specific to each aircraft at the center.
• On 27 January 1952 the activated Air National Guard 117th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing deployed to Europe as was assigned to Toul-Rosieres Air Base, France.
• The furthest airport from Fürstenfeldbruck Air Base (FEL) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,958 miles (19,244 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• In addition to being known as "Fürstenfeldbruck Air Base", another name for FEL is "Flugplatz FürstenfeldbruckAdvanced Landing Ground R-72".
• The 306th Bomb Group engaged in special photographic mapping duty in western Europe and North Africa.