Orconte

Orconte is a commune in the Marne department in north-eastern France.

Orconte
Commune
The church in Orconte
Coat of arms
Location of Orconte
Orconte
Orconte
Coordinates: 48°40′14″N 4°44′10″E
CountryFrance
RegionGrand Est
DepartmentMarne
ArrondissementVitry-le-François
CantonSermaize-les-Bains
Government
 • Mayor (2020–2026) Mario Hernandez
Area
1
13.65 km2 (5.27 sq mi)
Population
 (2017-01-01)[1]
384
 • Density28/km2 (73/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code
51417 /51300
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Second World War

Captain Antoine de Saint Exupery (1900- 1944) stayed in the commune during winter 1939, with the Groupe de Grande Reconnaissance 2/33 (Reconnaissance Group II/23). He evokes this period and the farm (opposite the church) where he lived in Pilote de guerre, translated into English as Flight to Arras.

In September 1944, the United States Army Air Forces established a temporary airfield Advanced Landing Ground, known as "A-66" near Orconte. The Ninth Air Force 354th Fighter Group flew P-51 Mustangs and P-47 Thunderbolts from the airfield from 15 September until 11 December 1944. The unit moved east with the advancing Allied armies and the airfield was dismantled with the land being returned to agricultural use.[2][3][4]

See also

References
  1. "Populations légales 2017". INSEE. Retrieved 6 January 2020.
  2. USAAF Airfields in the ETO
  3. AAF Airfields in France, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg Archived 2009-01-06 at the Wayback Machine
  4. Air Force History Index retrieval of USAFHRA documents relating to Orconte, France (1940-1945)


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