Bresso Airfield ( it, Aeroporto di Bresso, ), also known as Aeroporto Giampiero Clerici, is an

aerodrome An aerodrome (Commonwealth English) or airdrome (American English) is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for publ ...

in Bresso, in the

Milan metropolitan area The Milan metropolitan area, also known as Grande Milano ("Greater Milan"), is the largest metropolitan area in Italy and the 54th largest in the world. It is the largest transnational metropolitan area in the EU. The metropolitan area describ ...

Originally built in 1912, the field served as a ''factory airfield'' until the nearby Breda factory expanded its production to military aircraft for

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. From 1931 to 1933 it housed the Regia Aeronautica's Terzo Stormo. On April 30, 1944, the Breda factory and the airfield were heavily bombed by 53 American

Boeing B-17 The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engined heavy bomber developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). Relatively fast and high-flying for a bomber of its era, the B-17 was used primarily in the European Theater ...

. Seven aircraft and a few hangars went completely destroyed. At the end of

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 ...

the airport was mostly used as a military flying training camp and to field fighter aircraft as part of the defence system of the city. In 1960, it became the permanent site of the '' Aero Club Milano''. Since then the airport mostly serves as a

general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services ...

airfield for flying club activity, touristic flights and air taxi. It also hosts a base of the state helicopter emergency service ''Elisoccorso''. On June 3, 2012, on the occasion of the seventh

World Meeting of Families The World Meeting of Families is a gathering of the Roman Catholic Church that has occurred every three years since 1994. It is organized by the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life, which "promotes the pastoral care of families, protects their r ...

promoted by the Catholic Church, Pope Benedict XVI celebrated a mass on the tarmac in front of a million of pilgrims.

Runway

The airport runway is long and wide. It has a magnetic orientation (QFU) 36/18.

Frequencies

*Bresso Radio 122.005 *Milano Informazioni 124.925 *Linate Tower 118.100 *Milano Approach 126.300

References

Metropolitan City of Milan Airports in Lombardy Airports in Milan {{Italy-airport-stub