Poix-de-Picardy
| Poix-de-Picardy | ||
|---|---|---|
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| region | Hauts-de-France | |
| Department | Somme | |
| Arrondissement | Amiens | |
| Canton | Poix-de-Picardie (main town) | |
| Community association | Somme Sud-Ouest | |
| Coordinates | 49 ° 47 ' N , 1 ° 59' E | |
| height | 94-190 m | |
| surface | 11.66 km 2 | |
| Residents | 2,408 (January 1, 2017) | |
| Population density | 207 inhabitants / km 2 | |
| Post Code | 80290 | |
| INSEE code | 80630 | |
 Poix-de-Picardy |
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Poix-de-Picardie is a French commune with 2,408 inhabitants (at January 1, 2017) in the department of Somme in the region of Hauts-de-France . It belongs to the Arrondissement of Amiens , is the capital of the canton of Poix-de-Picardie and part of the Communauté de communes Somme Sud-Ouest .
geography
The municipality is located on the northern arm of the Évoissons (also known as Rivière de Poix) and on the Amiens - Rouen railway , where it has a train station.
To Poix belongs an exclave on the southern arm of the Évoissons and on the département border to the Département Oise , which is formed by Lahaye-Saint-Romain and Frocourt.
Residents
| 1962 | 1968 | 1975 | 1982 | 1990 | 1999 | 2006 | 2011 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,470 | 1,775 | 2.172 | 2,267 | 2.191 | 2,285 | 2,335 | 2,397 |
Attractions
- Church of the Saint-Denis Priory , 16th century ( Flamboyant style ), partly 12th century; it is the former castle chapel that became the parish church
Poix-de-Picardy Airport
To the northwest of the village, on both sides of today's motorway, 
there used to be an airfield. The former Aèrodrome de Poix-en-Picardie or Poix-Croixrault , was built in the early 1920s as an alternative airfield with hangar, weather office and a 600 m long landing area that was occasionally used for aviation events.
After the outbreak of the Second World War, the French air forces confiscated the area and initially used it for a short time as the base for the Amiot 143 bombers in the service of Groupe de Bombardement II / 34 .
The Armée de l'Air handed over the airfield to the British Royal Air Force at the beginning of November, which stationed its 52nd Squadron with the 53rd and 59th Squadrons here, equipped with Blenheim Mk. IV . In April there was also the 615th Squadron with its Gladiator .
The British evacuated the site in mid-May 1940 and after the occupation of France by the German Wehrmacht , the Luftwaffe took over the area. The small 30 hectare aerodrome was extended to an area of 260 hectares with two 1500 m long paved concrete runways with extensive parking positions. The airfield Poix-Nord , the name in the Air Force, was a key bombers and fighter base.
The first users were several Bf 109E associations in quick succession . In mid-June 1940, both staff and I. Group of Jagdgeschwader 54 (S. and I./JG 54) as well as staff and I. Group of Jagdgeschwader 21 (S. and I./JG 21) lay here for a few days and afterwards until mid-July the III. Jagdgeschwader 3 group (III./JG 3).
During the Battle of Britain that followed, Poix became a He 111H base. The III. Group of Kampfgeschwaders 26 (III./KG 26) was stationed here from mid-August 1940 (other sources from September) until mid-February 1941, when it was replaced by II. Gruppe des Kampfgeschwaders 100 (II./KG 100), the operated from Poix until the second half of April 1941.
After a phase with no airborne units permanently stationed, the 11th Höhenstaffel of Jagdgeschwader 2 (11. (Höh.) / JG2) arrived in Poix with their Bf 109G at the beginning of September 1942 and stayed until the beginning of November. Later, in mid-March 1943, a Fw 190A formation arrived for the first time with the II. Group of Jagdgeschwader 2 (II./JG 2) , but it was converted to the Bf 109G and used the base until August 1943. During this time, a second Bf 109G unit was stationed here from mid-April to June with the I. Group of Jagdgeschwader 27 (I./JG 27). In June the Fw 190A of the I. Group of Jagdgeschwader 26 (I./JG 26) lay here for two weeks . The last German aircraft stationed here were the Fw 190A of the staff of JG 26 in June 1944 after the start of the Allied invasion of Normandy .
The area was liberated by the Allied troops at the turn of the month of August / September 1944 and after a short repair of the southern runway as Airfield B.44 , its Allied code name, initially for a few days a base of a squadron of the Canadian RCAF consisting of four squadrons of Spitfire Mk.IX . Later, from February to October 1945, B.44 became a base for the transport aircraft of the 314th Troop Carrier Group of the Ninth Air Force of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF). Here started in March and gliders -Gespanne as part of Operation for the Rhine crossing near Wesel .
After the US transport planes left Poix for Villacoublay , the airfield area remained deserted until the early 1960s. After that, parts of the facility were demolished, and remains are still preserved on both sides of the later A29 motorway.
