Picauville

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.[2] On 1 January 2017, the former commune of Les Moitiers-en-Bauptois was merged into Picauville.[3] The inhabitants are called Picauvillais.

Picauville
Commune
The church of Saint-Candide
Coat of arms
Location of Picauville
Picauville
Picauville
Coordinates: 49°22′46″N 1°24′01″W
CountryFrance
RegionNormandy
DepartmentManche
ArrondissementCherbourg
CantonCarentan-les-Marais
IntercommunalityBaie du Cotentin
Government
 • Mayor (2020–2026) Marie-Hélène Perrotte
Area
1
64.89 km2 (25.05 sq mi)
Population
 (2017-01-01)[1]
3,278
 • Density51/km2 (130/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code
50400 /50360
Elevation2–30 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.

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.[4] Afterward, the airfield was closed.[5][6] 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).[7]

See also

References
  1. "Populations légales 2017". INSEE. Retrieved 6 January 2020.
  2. Arrêté préfectoral 23 December 2015 (in French)
  3. Arrêté préfectoral 4 July 2016 (in French)
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. Maurer, Maurer. Air Force Combat Units of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History, 1983. ISBN 0-89201-092-4.
  7. http://www.normandie44lamemoire.com/versionanglaise/fichesvillesus/picauvilleus2.html Archived 2010-11-28 at the Wayback Machine retrieved January 18, 2010, and Google Earth.


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