Nonstop flight route between Rolla, Missouri, United States and Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Rolla National Airport (VIH), Rolla, Missouri, United States and RAF Lakenheath (LKZ), Lakenheath, England, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,283 miles (or 6,892 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 Rolla National Airport and RAF Lakenheath, 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 Rolla National Airport and RAF Lakenheath. 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 Rolla National Airport (VIH):

• Rolla National Airport (VIH) has 2 runways.
• The airport was originally built by the United States Army Air Forces in 1942 as a sub-base for Sedalia Army Airfield during World War II.
• In addition to being known as "Rolla National Airport", another name for VIH is "(formerly Vichy Army Airfield)".
• The closest airport to Rolla National Airport (VIH) is Waynesville-St. Robert Regional Airport (TBN), which is located 33 miles (54 kilometers) SW of VIH.
• The airfield was vacated by the Air Force in March 1946.
• The furthest airport from Rolla National Airport (VIH) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,913 miles (17,563 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.

Facts about RAF Lakenheath (LKZ):

• The closest airport to RAF Lakenheath (LKZ) is RAF Mildenhall (MHZ), which is located only 4 miles (7 kilometers) SW of LKZ.
• Control of RAF Lakenheath was allocated to Third Air Force at South Ruislip Air Station, which had command of SAC B-29 operations in England.
• In 1940, the Air Ministry selected Lakenheath as an alternative for RAF Mildenhall and used it as a decoy airfield.
• In addition to supporting three combat-ready squadrons of F-15E Strike Eagle and F-15C Eagle fighter aircraft, the Liberty Wing houses the 56th Rescue Squadron's HH-60G Combat Search and Rescue helicopters.
• In early 1943, three T-2 hangars were erected on the north side of the airfield for glider storage, 40 Horsa Gliders being dispersed at Lakenheath during that year.
• Many SAC Squadrons had aircraft at RAF Lakenheath on a transitotry basis without any recorded deployment to the base.
• In 1941, hard runways were put down with the main runway, 04/22, being 2,000 yards, and the subsidiaries, 12/30 at 1,300 yards and 16/34 at 1,400 yards.
• The furthest airport from RAF Lakenheath (LKZ) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,827 miles (19,034 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• In response to the threat by the Soviet Union, by the 1948 Berlin blockade, President Truman decided to realign USAFE into a permanent combat-capable force.
• On 1 May 1951, Lakenheath was transferred from USAFE to SAC, and placed under the 3909th Air Base Group.