Vernouillet, Eure-et-Loir
| Vernouillet | |
|---|---|
  Vernouillet | |
|
Location within Centre-Val de Loire region  Vernouillet | |
| Coordinates: 48°43′18″N 1°21′41″E / 48.7217°N 1.3614°ECoordinates: 48°43′18″N 1°21′41″E / 48.7217°N 1.3614°E | |
| Country | France |
| Region | Centre-Val de Loire |
| Department | Eure-et-Loir |
| Arrondissement | Dreux |
| Canton | Dreux-Sud |
| Intercommunality | Drouais |
| Government | |
| • Mayor (2008–2014) | Daniel Frard |
| Area1 | 12.11 km2 (4.68 sq mi) |
| Population (2008)2 | 11,794 |
| • Density | 970/km2 (2,500/sq mi) |
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) |
| • Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) |
| INSEE/Postal code | 28404 / 28500 |
| Elevation | 89–137 m (292–449 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. | |
Vernouillet is a commune in the Eure-et-Loir department in northern France.
It lies adjacent to the south side of the town of Dreux.
Population
| Historical population | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
| 1962 | 2,112 | — |
| 1968 | 4,070 | +92.7% |
| 1975 | 8,142 | +100.0% |
| 1982 | 10,318 | +26.7% |
| 1990 | 11,680 | +13.2% |
| 1999 | 11,496 | −1.6% |
| 2008 | 11,794 | +2.6% |
International relations
It is twinned with Cheddar in the United Kingdom as well as Felsberg in Germany.
Vernouillet Airport
Built prior to World War II as a civil airport, Vernouillet Airport was seized by the Germans in June 1940 during the Battle of France. They used it as a major Luftwaffe military airfield during the occupation. It was liberated by Allied ground forces about 21 August 1944 during the Northern France Campaign. It was then used by the United States Army Air Force Ninth Air Force as a combat Advanced Landing Ground. Declared operational on 26 August, the airfield was designated as "A-41", and was used by combat units until the end of the war. Afterward the airport was returned to civil control.[1][2] The airport was closed after the war due to a conflict of airspace with the expanding Orly Airport near Paris, and is now a small grass airfield general aviation airport with no commercial traffic.[3][4]
Personalities
- Louis-Nicolas Robert, the inventor of the original Fourdrinier machine for production of continuous rolls of paper, was a resident. He is commemorated by a statue in front of the church. Also, the Collège de Louis-Nicolas Robert in the quartier des Grandes Vauvettes is named in his honour.
See also
References
- ↑ Johnson, David C. (1988), U.S. Army Air Forces Continental Airfields (ETO), D-Day to V-E Day; Research Division, USAF Historical Research Center, Maxwell AFB, Alabama.
- ↑ Maurer, Maurer. Air Force Combat Units of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History, 1983. ISBN 0-89201-092-4.
- ↑ McAuliffe, Jerome J. (2005). US Air Force in France 1950-1967. San Diego, California: Milspec Press, Chapter 10, "Dreux-Louvillier Air Base". ISBN 0-9770371-1-8.
- ↑ Airport information for LFON at Great Circle Mapper
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Vernouillet (Eure-et-Loir). |
- Official website (in French)
