Saint-Leu-d'Esserent

Saint-Leu-d'Esserent
Saint-Leu-d'Esserent
Location within Picardy region  Saint-Leu-d'Esserent
Coordinates: 49°13′05″N 2°25′22″E / 49.2181°N 2.4228°ECoordinates: 49°13′05″N 2°25′22″E / 49.2181°N 2.4228°E
Country	France
Region	Nord-Pas-de-Calais-Picardie
Department	Oise
Arrondissement	Senlis
Canton	Montataire
Intercommunality	Pierre-Sud-Oise
Government
• Mayor (2001–2008)	Alain Blanchard
Area^1	13.08 km^2 (5.05 sq mi)
Population (2012)^2	4,667
• Density	360/km^2 (920/sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code	60584 / 60340
Elevation	25–137 m (82–449 ft) (avg. 29 m or 95 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.

Saint-Leu-d'Esserent is a commune in the Oise department in northern France.

Saint Leu is notable for 3,000 square metres (32,000 sq ft) of mushroom caves under the Thiverny plateau.^[1]

History

During World War II, the caves were one of three major underground V-1 flying bomb storage depots. In addition to the caves, the facility included blockhouses, bunkers, flak emplacements and railway links. Allied intelligence firmly identified late in June 1944 that Saint-Leu-d'Esserent and Nucourt were V-1 storage depots.^[2] On 27 June 1944, Saint-Leu-d'Esserent was initially bombed by the US Army Air Force,^[3][4] then on July 4/5 1944 by two RAF forces (the first unsuccessfully used Tallboy bombs in an attempt to collapse the limestone roof of the caves).^[2][5] Finally on 7 July 1944, an evening RAF raid successfully blocked the tunnels.^[6]

The storage dump at Thiverny^[7] was bombed in 1944 on May 5,^[8] July 11,^[9] July 12,^[10][11] and July 19.^{[12][13][14][15]}

See also

• Communes of the Oise department
• V-1 flying bomb (facilities)

References

• INSEE commune file

1. Couderchon, Philippe. "The quarries of Saint Leu Esserent".
2. Collier, Basil (1976) [1964]. The Battle of the V-Weapons, 1944-1945. Yorkshire: The Emfield Press. pp. 68, 82, 84. ISBN 0-7057-0070-4.
3. "8th Air Force 1944 Chronicles". Retrieved 2007-05-25.
4. Taylor, Graham. "Leopold". Leopold. Retrieved 2007-05-16.
5. Irving, David (1964). The Mare's Nest. London: William Kimber and Co. pp. 168, 220, 245, 246.
6. Richards, Denis (1994) [1964]. The Hardest Victory - RAF Bomber Command in the Second World War. p. 241.
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10. "July 1944". Bomber Command 60th Anniversary. RAF.
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