Nonstop flight route between Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Topeka, Kansas, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Forbes Field (FOE), Topeka, Kansas, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 448 miles (or 721 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 Forbes Field, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Shaw Air Force Base (SSC):

• 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 closest airport to Shaw Air Force Base (SSC) is Sumter Airport (SUM), which is located only 7 miles (11 kilometers) ENE of SSC.
• 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.
• 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.
• On March 23, 1953, the 432d Tactical Reconnaissance Group was activated at Shaw.
• The 432nd's mission at Shaw AFB was to assume the reconnaissance training mission that was handled previously by the 363d TRW.
• 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.

Facts about Forbes Field (FOE):

• Pictures depict the flag at Forbes Field at half staff on opening day.
• The portion of the left field wall over which Bill Mazeroski hit his walk-off home run to end the 1960 World Series, between the scoreboard and the "406 FT" sign, no longer stands at its original location.
• The furthest airport from Forbes Field (FOE) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,496 miles (18,501 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• In addition to being known as "Forbes Field", another name for FOE is ""The House of Thrills""The Old Lady of Schenley Park""The Orchard of Oakland" [1]".
• The closest airport to Forbes Field (FOE) is Allegheny County Airport (AGC), which is located only 6 miles (10 kilometers) SSE of FOE.
• The batting cage was placed just to the left of the 457-foot center field "Death Valley" marker during games, because it was believed impossible to hit the ball that far.
• It is more accurate to say Mayor Magee threw out the first ball.
• The final posted dimensions of the ballpark were left field line 365 feet, left-center field 406 feet, deepest left-center 457 feet, deep right-center 436 feet, right-center field 375 feet, and right field line 300 feet.