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.Arrêté préfectoral 23 December 2015 On 1 January 2017, the former commune of Les Moitiers-en-Bauptois was merged into Picauville.Arrêté préfectoral 4 July 2016 The inhabitants are called Picauvillais. Picauville also has a 17th-century castle, classified as a historical landmark by the French government, called the Isle-Marie Castle. Parts of the structure date to the 11th century.
Population Population data refer to the area corresponding with the commune as of January 2025.
Heraldry
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.Nolte, Reginald G. Thunder Monsters Over Europe: A History of the 405th Fighter Group in World War II, Sunflower University Press, 1986, . Afterward, the airfield was closed.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.Maurer, Maurer. Air Force Combat Units of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History, 1983. . 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 (49°23'34.19"N, 1°25'07.69"E).http://www.normandie44lamemoire.com/versionanglaise/fichesvillesus/picauvilleus2.html retrieved January 18, 2010, and Google Earth.
See also Communes of the Manche department
References
External links
Picauville Public Library official website (médiathèque de Picauville)