Nonstop flight route between Shemya, Alaska, United States and Camp Douglas, Wisconsin, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Eareckson Air Station (SYA), Shemya, Alaska, United States and Volk Field Air National Guard Base (VOK), Camp Douglas, Wisconsin, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,103 miles (or 6,603 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 Eareckson Air Station and Volk Field Air National Guard 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 Eareckson Air Station and Volk Field Air National Guard 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 Eareckson Air Station (SYA):

• The closest airport to Eareckson Air Station (SYA) is Casco Cove Coast Guard Station (ATU), which is located 40 miles (65 kilometers) WNW of SYA.
• In August, after the Soviet Union declared war against the Japanese Empire, B-24s were dispatched on reconnaissance and intelligence-gathering missions to observe the Russian activity in the Kuriles.
• The furthest airport from Eareckson Air Station (SYA) is Cape Town International Airport (CPT), which is located 10,668 miles (17,168 kilometers) away in Cape Town, South Africa.
• In addition to being known as "Eareckson Air Station", other names for SYA include "Shemya Air Force Base", "Shemya Army Airfield" and "  ".
• Eareckson Air Station (SYA) currently has only 1 runway.
• With the successful completion of the Aleutian Campaign in August 1943, Eleventh Air Force came within striking distance of the Japanese Kurile Islands, the northernmost being 750 miles to the south-southwest of Shemya.
• Because of Eareckson Air Station's relatively low elevation of 97 feet, planes can take off or land at Eareckson Air Station 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.
• Jurisdiction of Shemya AFB was transferred from the Aerospace Defense Command to the Strategic Air Command when the former was inactivated on 1 October 1979.
• In 1958, the Air Force resumed operations on Shemya in support of various Air Force and Army strategic intelligence collection activities.
• The aerial photos taken on the raid showed the Japanese were building up forces in the area, transferring aircraft presumably from air bases on Hokkaido.

Facts about Volk Field Air National Guard Base (VOK):

• Because of Volk Field Air National Guard Base's relatively low elevation of 912 feet, planes can take off or land at Volk Field Air National Guard Base 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.
• Volk Field Air National Guard Base (VOK) currently has only 1 runway.
• In 1954 the federal government leased the field from the State of Wisconsin for use as a permanent field training site.
• The furthest airport from Volk Field Air National Guard Base (VOK) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,917 miles (17,570 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• By 1903 the camp had expanded to over 800 acres and was used for training by the then reorganized National Guard.
• The closest airport to Volk Field Air National Guard Base (VOK) is Sparta/Fort McCoy Airport (CMY), which is located 24 miles (39 kilometers) W of VOK.
• The intruder was later identified as a black bear, not the Soviet saboteurs in advance of a nuclear attack the sentry was expecting.