Nonstop flight route between Agana, Guam and Melbourne, Victoria, Australia:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Andersen Air Force Base (UAM), Agana, Guam and Essendon Airport (MEB), Melbourne, Victoria, Australia would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,545 miles (or 5,705 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 Andersen Air Force Base and Essendon 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 Andersen Air Force Base and Essendon 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 Andersen Air Force Base (UAM):

• The first host unit at North Field was the 314th Bombardment Wing, XXI Bomber Command, Twentieth Air Force.
• The Strategic Air Command continued its 90-day unit rotational training program, and began to take over control over the base from the FEAF.
• The furthest airport from Andersen Air Force Base (UAM) is Salvador-Deputado Luís Eduardo Magalhães International Airport (2 de Julho) (SSA), which is nearly antipodal to Andersen Air Force Base (meaning Andersen Air Force Base is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Salvador-Deputado Luís Eduardo Magalhães International Airport (2 de Julho)), and is located 12,214 miles (19,656 kilometers) away in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil.
• The closest airport to Andersen Air Force Base (UAM) is Guam International Airport (GUM), which is located only 11 miles (17 kilometers) SW of UAM.
• B-29 Superfortress missions from North Field were attacks against strategic targets in Japan, initially operating in daylight and at high altitude to bomb factories, refineries, and other objectives.
• At Andersen, the wing assumed responsibility for administering two active and one semi-active bases plus an assortment of communication, weather, radar, rescue and other facilities and units including the Marianas Air Material Area, a wing size unit.
• Andersen saw an end to its role in rotational duties when the B-47 was phased out and replaced by the B-52 Stratofortress.
• The 3rd Air Division was activated on 18 June in its place, its object being control of all SAC units in the Far East.
• The frequent bombings resulted in a cease-fire in Vietnam, but the B-52s continued to fly missions over Cambodia and Laos until those were halted on 15 August 1973.

Facts about Essendon Airport (MEB):

• The closest airport to Essendon Airport (MEB) is Melbourne Airport (MEL), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) NW of MEB.
• International flights departed mainly from Sydney during Essendon's years of operation, and there were regular daily flights between the two largest metropolitan areas in Australia.
• The furthest airport from Essendon Airport (MEB) is Flores Airport (FLW), which is nearly antipodal to Essendon Airport (meaning Essendon Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Flores Airport), and is located 12,192 miles (19,620 kilometers) away in Flores Island, Azores, Portugal.
• Because of Essendon Airport's relatively low elevation of 282 feet, planes can take off or land at Essendon 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.
• The major passenger airlines using Essendon in the postwar years until scheduled air services were transferred to Tullamarine were Ansett Airlines and Trans Australia Airlines.
• Essendon Airport (MEB) has 2 runways.
• The airfield itself also has undergone a major upgrade with the installation of lighting and signage systems to bring the airport to International Civil Aviation Organization standards.
• The airport was extended with additional land during the 1930s.
• In addition to being known as "Essendon Airport", another name for MEB is "Melbourne/Essendon".
• In November 2007 Essendon Airport released its latest master plan.