Borizzo Airfield (Trapani–Chinisia airport) is an abandoned World War II military airfield in Italy, which was located in the vicinity of Trapani on Sicily.
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 it was seized by elements of the United States Fifth Army. Once in Allied hands, it was used by the United States Army Air Force Twelfth Air Force 316th Troop Carrier Group, which flew C-47 Skytrains 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 was opened. It was finally abandoned in 1971 by the Italian 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.
[Translated from the Italian Wiki article]
