Cricqueville-en-Bessin

Cricqueville-en-Bessin
La Pointe du Hoc
Cricqueville-en-Bessin
Location within Lower Normandy region Cricqueville-en-Bessin
Coordinates:
Country	France
Region	Normandy
Department	Calvados
Arrondissement	Bayeux
Canton	Isigny-sur-Mer
Intercommunality	Isigny Grandcamp
Government
• Mayor (2008–2014)	Frédéric Pain
Area1	8.55 km2 (3.30 sq mi)
Population (2008)2	186
• Density	22/km2 (56/sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code	14204 / 14450
Elevation	0–39 m (0–128 ft) (avg. 50 m or 160 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.

Cricqueville-en-Bessin is a commune in the Calvados department in the Basse-Normandie region in northwestern France.

The municipality takes its name from its deep-water creek that forms a natural harbor, from Crycavilla.

History

World War II

Just outside Cricqueville, the United States Army Air Forces established an airfield shortly after D-Day on 9 June 1944, just three days after the Allied landings in France. The airfield was one of the first established in the liberated area of Normandy. Known as Advanced Landing Ground "A-2" (Cricqueville), it was used from early June though September 1944. After the Americans moved east into Central France, the airfield was dismantled and the land returned to agricultural use.

Population

Historical population
Year	Pop.	±%
1962	197	—
1968	200	+1.5%
1975	190	−5.0%
1982	157	−17.4%
1990	171	+8.9%
1999	182	+6.4%
2008	186	+2.2%

See also

• Communes of the Calvados department
• Pointe du Hoc, a point of attack by the United States Army during the Battle of Normandy

References

• INSEE