Picauville

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Picauville
The church of Saint-Candide
The church of Saint-Candide
Coat of arms of Picauville
Coat of arms
Picauville is located in France
Picauville
Picauville
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Location within Lower Normandy region
Picauville is located in Lower Normandy
Picauville
Picauville
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Country France
Region Normandy
Department Manche
Arrondissement Cherbourg-Octeville
Canton Sainte-Mère-Église
Intercommunality Sainte-Mère-Église
Government
 • Mayor (2008–2014) Philippe Catherine
Area1 19.10 km2 (7.37 sq mi)
Population (2006)2 1,995
 • Density 100/km2 (270/sq mi)
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. The inhabitants are called Picauvillais.

Heraldry

Arms of Picauville
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.[1] Afterward, the airfield was closed. [2][3] 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).[4]

See also

References

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. Maurer, Maurer. Air Force Combat Units of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History, 1983. ISBN 0-89201-092-4.
  4. http://www.normandie44lamemoire.com/versionanglaise/fichesvillesus/picauvilleus2.html retrieved January 18, 2010, and Google Earth.

External links

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