Nonstop flight route between Sumter, South Carolina, United States and Braintree, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Shaw Air Force Base (SSC), Sumter, South Carolina, United States and MDPGA Wethersfield (WXF), Braintree, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,052 miles (or 6,521 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 MDPGA Wethersfield, 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 MDPGA Wethersfield. 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.
• Jurisdiction of Shaw was again transferred to Tactical Air Command on 23 March 1946.
• 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.
• 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.
• On 1 April 1945 jurisdiction of Shaw Field was transferred to First Air Force.
• Flying activities at the field began on 22 October 1941 using Vultee BT-13 Valiants.

Facts about MDPGA Wethersfield (WXF):

• Because of MDPGA Wethersfield's relatively low elevation of 322 feet, planes can take off or land at MDPGA Wethersfield 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.
• The fighter squadrons of the 20th had been in constant rotation since the arrival of the wing at Wethersfield in 1952.
• In addition to being known as "MDPGA Wethersfield", another name for WXF is "RAF Wethersfield".
• In 1951, as a result of the Cold War threat of the Soviet Union, the British provided RAF Wethersfield to the USAF as part of their NATO commitment.
• Formerly known as RAF Wethersfield, it opened in 1944.
• In 1978 the British and American Governments agreed to establish a Rapid Engineer Deployable Heavy Operational Repair Squadron Engineers unit in the UK.
• MDPGA Wethersfield (WXF) has 3 runways.
• The closest airport to MDPGA Wethersfield (WXF) is London Stansted Airport (STN), which is located only 13 miles (21 kilometers) WSW of WXF.
• The furthest airport from MDPGA Wethersfield (WXF) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,856 miles (19,080 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The 819th, along with the 2166th Communications Squadron, were the main units at Wethersfeld until the USAF returned the base to the British in 1990 due to budget cutbacks.