Borizzo Airfield (Trapani–Chinisia airport) is an abandoned

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

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

Trapani Trapani ( ; ; ) is a city and municipality (''comune'') with 54,887 inhabitants, 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 important fishing port and the mai ...

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

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 devastat ...

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 U ...

316th Troop Carrier Group, which flew

C-47 Skytrain The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota ( RAF 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. During the war the C-47 was used for troo ...

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

Trapani–Birgi Airport Trapani–Birgi Airport (), 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. In 2024, passengers passed through the airport, making ...

was opened. It was finally abandoned in 1971 by the

Italian Air Force The Italian Air Force (; AM, ) is the air force of the Italy, Italian Republic. The Italian Air Force was founded as an independent service arm on 28 March 1923 by Victor Emmanuel III of Italy, King Victor Emmanuel III as the ("Royal Air Force ...

and closed. Today the only remains 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 Livio Bassi (8 October 1918 – 2 April 1941) was an Italian aviator, and a fighter ace of World War II. Early life Bassi was born in Trapani, Sicily, in 1918, was a cadet of the prestigious Nunziatella military academy between 1932 and 193 ...

.Translated from the Italian Wiki article

References

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