In the 19th century, the Saint-Leu d'Esserent quarries were very active. They were the third-largest source of employment, after agriculture and the inland waterway shipping.
The stone extracted was of excellent quality, and was used in the construction of the Château de Versailles and several other Parisian monuments.[1] At the end of the 19th century, the quarries were transformed into mushroom beds.
During the Second World War, the quarries of Saint-Leu d'Esserent were used to assemble and store the V1 flying bombs defended by the Germans. These underground installations, used to organize the transport of the V1 bombs by train to the launching pads, were prime targets for Allied bombing raids.
Pendant la Seconde Guerre mondiale, les carrières de pierre souterraines environnantes furent occupées par les Allemands pour l'assemblage et le stockage de missiles V1.[2][3] En conséquence, lors de l'opération Crossbow, l'aviation alliée bombarda massivement le bourg et ses environs, détruisant Saint-Leu à 85 %.[4]
During WW2, Saint Leu d'Esserent (in the Oise département, 45 kilometers north of Paris) was known as a stone quarry (), which was used to store V1s and fuel, material for launching the V1 and various chemicals needed to launch it.[5][6]
From October 1939, for fear of German bombing raids, the French company Brissoneau et Lotz, moved the production of the fuselages of the Lioré et Olivier LeO 45 bomber from Montataire to subterranean quarry "Carrière du Couvent" at Saint-Leu-d'Esserent. 3000 m² of galleries were developed to accommodate the fuselage production with heating, ventilation and accommodation facilities for the 1100 strong workforce.[7][8][9][10]
The German name is "Felmulag" and there were 12 in France.[11][12] This storage site was a vital hub for rail transport of the V1s between the Dora production site and the various sites in France. to the various launch sites. 70% of the V1s passed through Saint Leu d'Esserent.[8]
The explosive charge was placed in Saint Leu before being sent to the various launch sites. 85% of the town and surrounding area was destroyed by Allied aircraft during Operation Crosbow.
Saint-Leu-d'Esserent suffered at least 18 bombings between March 17 and August 28, 1944, the two heaviest on the night of July 7-8 and August 5, 1944. For its courage and determination, the town, 85% destroyed, was awarded the Croix de Guerre 1939-1945 with citation.[30]
^"Leopold the underground base". web.archive.org. 2010-01-19. Archived from the original on 2010-01-19. Retrieved 2023-11-26.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
^Delefosse, Yannick. "stockages". V1 arme du desespoir. Archived from the original on 2021-05-10. Retrieved 2023-11-26.