Nonstop flight route between Grottaglie, Puglia, Italy and Columbus, Mississippi, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Taranto-Grottaglie Airport (TAR), Grottaglie, Puglia, Italy and Columbus Air Force Base (CBM), Columbus, Mississippi, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,473 miles (or 8,808 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 Taranto-Grottaglie Airport and Columbus Air Force 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 Taranto-Grottaglie Airport and Columbus Air Force 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 Taranto-Grottaglie Airport (TAR):

• After the war ended, the airfield was turned over to local authorities.
• Because of Taranto-Grottaglie Airport's relatively low elevation of 215 feet, planes can take off or land at Taranto-Grottaglie 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 addition to being known as "Taranto-Grottaglie Airport", other names for TAR include "Aeroporto di Taranto-Grottaglie" and "Taranto Grottaglie".
• The closest airport to Taranto-Grottaglie Airport (TAR) is Brindisi – Salento Airport (BDS), which is located 30 miles (48 kilometers) ENE of TAR.
• Taranto-Grottaglie Airport (TAR) currently has only 1 runway.
• During World War II, Grottaglie Airfield was a military airfield used by the United States Army Air Forces.
• The furthest airport from Taranto-Grottaglie Airport (TAR) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,692 miles (18,817 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.

Facts about Columbus Air Force Base (CBM):

• On 8 January 1943, the War Department constituted and activated the 30th Flying Training Wing at Columbus and assigned it to the AAF Eastern Flying Training Command.
• During World War II, the training load gradually increased until Columbus was graduating 195 pilots per month.
• Three years later, on 1 June 1972, Air Training Command discontinued the 3650th and activated the 14th Flying Training Wing in its place, assuming its equipment, personnel and mission.
• The furthest airport from Columbus Air Force Base (CBM) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,088 miles (17,844 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• The school used a number of trainers, including the AT-8, AT-9, AT-10, and B-25.
• Communist troops from North Korea violated South Korea's borders and fighting broke out in 1950.
• In 1965 the 454th converted to B-52D, which was re-engineered for conventional bomb missions over Southeast Asia, although some B-52Cs were also assigned during 1968–69.
• The closest airport to Columbus Air Force Base (CBM) is Columbus-Lowndes County Airport (UBS), which is located only 13 miles (21 kilometers) SSE of CBM.
• In addition to being known as "Columbus Air Force Base", another name for CBM is "Columbus AFB".
• Columbus AFB was established in 1941 as Air Corps Advanced Flying School, Columbus, Mississippi.