Borizzo Airfield (Trapani–Chinisia airport) is an abandoned

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

military airfield in Italy, which was located in the vicinity of

Trapani Trapani ( , ; scn, Tràpani ; lat, Drepanum; grc, Δρέπανον) is a city and municipality (''comune'') on the west coast of Sicily, in Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Trapani. Founded by Elymians, the city is still an imp ...

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

History

It was built in the 1930s near the village of ''Borgo Rizzo'' and used by Axis forces as a base for the Italian Regia Aeronautica. During the

Sicilian Campaign The Sicilian Expedition was an Athenian military expedition to Sicily, which took place from 415–413 BC during the Peloponnesian War between Athens on one side and Sparta, Syracuse and Corinth on the other. The expedition ended in a devas ...

it was seized by elements of the

United States Fifth Army The United States Army North (ARNORTH) is a formation of the United States Army. An Army Service Component Command (ASCC) subordinate to United States Northern Command (NORTHCOM), ARNORTH is the joint force land component of NORTHCOM.

. Once in Allied hands, it was used by the

United States Army Air Force The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

Twelfth Air Force The Twelfth Air Force (12 AF; Air Forces Southern, (AFSOUTH)) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force Air Combat Command (ACC). It is headquartered at Davis–Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona. The command is the air component to ...

316th Troop Carrier Group, which flew

C-47 Skytrain The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota (RAF, RAAF, RCAF, RNZAF, and SAAF designation) is a military transport aircraft developed from the civilian Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II and remained in f ...

s from the field between 18 October 1943 and 12 February 1944. When the Americans pulled out the airfield was handed back to the Italians that rebuilt the airport in 1949. The airport operated military and commercial flights until 1961 when the new

Trapani–Birgi Airport Trapani–Birgi Airport ( it, link=no, Aeroporto Vincenzo Florio di Trapani-Birgi), is a military air base and public airport serving Trapani, in Sicily, Italy. Located between Trapani and Marsala, it is one of the five civil airports in Sicily ...

was opened. It was finally abandoned in 1971 by the

Italian Air Force , colours = , colours_label = , march = (Ordinance March of the Air Force) by Alberto Di Miniello , mascot = , anniversaries = 28 March ...

and closed. Today the only remaining pieces of the airport are the runway, the control tower and a few smaller buildings.

The name

The Italians called the airport ''Trapani–Chinisia'' after the nearby river ''Chinisia'' but the allies used on their planes the name of the nearby village of ''Borgo Rizzo'' that was abbreviated on the documents as ''Borizzo''. The official name of the airport was ''Aeroporto di Trapani-Chinisia'' and was also named in 1949 after the Italian aviator Livio Bassi.Translated from the Italian Wiki article

References

* * Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in Italy Trapani Airports in Sicily {{Italy-airport-stub