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The index page for the 1954 French flap section of this website is here.
Reference number for this case: 14-Oct-54-Montfroc. Thank you for including this reference number in any correspondence with me regarding this case.
The regional newspaper Le Provençal for October 17, 1954, apparently reported an observation in Montfroc, in the Drôme department, of October 14, 1954, at 6 p.m.
While they were picking up potatoes from their fields, Messrs. Laurent Pasero and Achille Peloux had seen above them a huge fireball, moving towards the Durance river, leaving behind a luminous trail.
This "craft" moved quickly without any noise and was lost from sight at the horizon.
In 1979, "skeptical" ufologists Gérard Barthel and Jacques Brucker mentioned the case, spelling "Monfroc" instead of Montfroc, and claimed they made an "investigation", but did not specify an explanation, although this was obviously the meteor seen in this region at about 06:15 p.m.. Figuet and Ruchon noted this explanation a little later in 1979 too; which would not prevent the case from appearing with Figuet and Ruchon as source but without the explanation on the Web, decades later.
[Ref. bbr1:] GERARD BARTHEL AND JACQUES BRUCKER:
The two authors note this case of October 14, 1954:
"Monfroc [sic] - 26 - 6 p.m.: investigation. Very fast sphere of fire."
[Ref. fr1:] MICHEL FIGUET AND JEAN-LOUIS RUCHON:
The two authors report that on October 14, 1954, à 06:00 p.m., in Montfroc in the department of Drôme, there was a huge ball of fire leaving a luminous trail behind itself.
The authors note that all the observations at 6 p.m. that day obviously refer to an object at very high altitude, seen simultaneously from very distant places, which is probably a large meteor according to descriptions.
The source is indicated as Le Provençal for October 17, 1954.
[Ref. ui1:] "U.F.O. INFORMATIONS" UFOLOGY BULLETIN:
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DATE: 10/14/1954 PLACE: Montfroc -26 WITNESSES: MM. Pasero Laurent and Peloux Achille HOUR: 6 p.m. OBSERVATION: "Thursday, around 6 p.m., while they were busy in their fields collecting potatoes, MM. Pasero Laurent and Peloux Achille saw above them a huge fireball that was moving towards the Durance, leaving behind a luminous trail. This craft that moved quickly did not make any noise and disappeared on the horizon. SOURCE: Le Provençal for 10/14/1954 |
[Ref. lc1:] LUC CHASTAN:
Luc Chastan indicates in his database that in the Drôme in Montfroc on October 14, 1954 at 18:00 hours, "Enormous ball of fire leaving behind it a luminous trail."
The source is noted: "Ovni, Premier dossier complet... by Figuet M./ Ruchon J.L. ** Alain Lefeuvre pub. 1979".
The 6:15 p.m. meteor.
(These keywords are only to help queries and are not implying anything.)
Montfroc, Drôme, ball, fire, trail, luminous, sphere, fast, Laurent Pasero, Achille Peloux, craft
[----] indicates sources which I have not yet checked.
| Version: | Created/Changed by: | Date: | Change Description: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.1 | Patrick Gross | March 21, 2006 | First published. |
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | April 8, 2009 | Conversion from HTML to XHTML Strict. First formal version. Additions [lc1]. |
| 1.1 | Patrick Gross | April 28, 2009 | Additions [ui1]. |
