Picauville

Picauville

The church of Saint-Candide

Coat of arms
Picauville

Coordinates: 49°22′46″N 1°24′01″W / 49.3794°N 1.4002°W / 49.3794; -1.4002Coordinates: 49°22′46″N 1°24′01″W / 49.3794°N 1.4002°W / 49.3794; -1.4002
Country France
Region Normandy
Department Manche
Arrondissement Cherbourg
Canton Carentan
Intercommunality Baie du Cotentin
Government
 • Mayor (2008–2014) Philippe Catherine
Area1 56.85 km2 (21.95 sq mi)
Population (2013)2 3,053
 • Density 54/km2 (140/sq mi)
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 • Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
INSEE/Postal code 50400 / 50360
Elevation 2–30 m (6.6–98.4 ft)
(avg. 26 m or 85 ft)

1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

Picauville is a commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France. On 1 January 2016, the former communes of Amfreville, Cretteville, Gourbesville, Houtteville and Vindefontaine were merged into Picauville.[1] The inhabitants are called Picauvillais.

Heraldry

 The arms of Picauville are blazoned :
Or, a crown of thorns sable between 3 mallets vert, and on a chief gules a leopard Or.

World War II

Picauville was one of the first towns liberated by Allied forces following the Normandy landings in early June 1944; German General Wilhelm Falley was killed there by an American paratrooper shortly after the invasion began. Engineers of the Ninth Air Force IX Engineering Command began construction of a combat Advanced Landing Ground to the northwest of the town. Declared operational on 26 June, the airfield was designated as "A-8", it was used by the 405th Fighter Group which flew P-47 Thunderbolts until mid-September when the unit moved to St. Dizier, near Nancy.[2] Afterward, the airfield was closed. [3][4] A cairn marking the location of the airfield is on the east side of the D69, 2.3 km outside of Picauville on the way to Gourbesville (50°44'12.20"N, 1°44'10.18"W).[5]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Arrêté préfectoral 23 December 2015 (French)
  2. ↑ Nolte, Reginald G. Thunder Monsters Over Europe: A History of the 405th Fighter Group in World War II, Sunflower University Press, 1986, ISBN 0-89745-075-2.
  3. ↑ Johnson, David C. U.S. Army Air Forces Continental Airfields (ETO), D-Day to V-E Day; Research Division, USAF Historical Research Center, Maxwell AFB, Alabama, 1988.
  4. ↑ Maurer, Maurer. Air Force Combat Units of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History, 1983. ISBN 0-89201-092-4.
  5. ↑ http://www.normandie44lamemoire.com/versionanglaise/fichesvillesus/picauvilleus2.html retrieved January 18, 2010, and Google Earth.
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