Nonstop flight route between Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Greven, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Münster Osnabrück International Airport (FMO), Greven, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,337 miles (or 6,980 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 Münster Osnabrück International 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 Shaw Air Force Base and Münster Osnabrück International 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 Shaw Air Force Base (SSC):

• The closest airport to Shaw Air Force Base (SSC) is Sumter Airport (SUM), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) ENE of SSC.
• 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.
• On March 23, 1953, the 432d Tactical Reconnaissance Group was activated at Shaw.
• 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.
• On 23 September 1949 the 161st Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron was transferred to the 20th from the 363d Tactical Reconnaissance Wing at Langley AFB Virginia.
• 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.
• 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.
• Flying activities at the field began on 22 October 1941 using Vultee BT-13 Valiants.
• 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.
• 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 363rd Fighter Wing was inactivated at Shaw AFB on 31 December 1993, and the next day, 1 January 1994, the 20th Fighter Wing inactivated at RAF Upper Heyford and reactivated without personnel or equipment at Shaw AFB, returning to the base it had left for duty with NATO forty-one years earlier.

Facts about Münster Osnabrück International Airport (FMO):

• Because of Münster Osnabrück International Airport's relatively low elevation of 157 feet, planes can take off or land at Münster Osnabrück 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.
• In mid 1967 the German authorities approached the British Army for assistance in building an airfield to serve the Münster-Osnabrück area.
• The furthest airport from Münster Osnabrück International Airport (FMO) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,831 miles (19,040 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• A new terminal building that could accommodate a larger number of passengers was inaugurated in 1995.
• Münster Osnabrück International Airport (FMO) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Münster Osnabrück International Airport (FMO) is Rheine-Bentlage Air Base (ZPQ), which is located only 17 miles (27 kilometers) NW of FMO.
• In addition to being known as "Münster Osnabrück International Airport", another name for FMO is "Flughafen Münster/Osnabrück".
• The airport intended to extend the runway to 3,600 metres to attract intercontinental flights.
• There are several scheduled bus connections from Münster railway station and by a coach shuttle from Osnabrück.
• On 21 December 1966 the cities of Münster, Osnabrück, and Greven as well as the districts of Münster and Tecklenburg founded the Münster/Osnabrück Airport GmbH.