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The 1954 French flap:

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September 26, 1954, Croix de Nivollet, Savoie:

Reference for this case: 26-sep-54-Croix-de-Nivollet.
Please cite this reference in any correspondence with me regarding this case.

Reports:

[Ref. bre1:] NEWSPAPER "LA BOURGOGNE REPUBLICAINE":

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SEVERE "SAUCERITIS"?

Flying machines by the dozen
in the sky of France...

Paris, 29 (A.C.P. - A.F.P). - Testimonies are multiplying about flying saucers. Three different people phoned the other night, around 10 p.m., to a Parisian daily, to which they told more or less the same story:

"I saw a luminous craft above the Sacré-Coeur: it was heading north."

Doctor Martinet, dermatologist in Chambéry saw a flying saucer move above the Croix du Nivolet.

"About fifteen people," he said, "can testify to this."

The doctor and his wife were returning by car from the Col du Chat when they saw, directly above the Croix du Nivolet, at an altitude of about 2,000 meters, a dark aluminum gray mass. The doctor stopped his vehicle to follow the maneuvers of the craft. Three other cars also stopped:

"I observed my watch, said the doctor. It was 5:14'30" p.m.. The moves of the saucer lasted until 05:18'40" p.m.. At 5:16 p.m., as it was presented from the front, that is to say in the form of a disc I discerned a lighter zone in the center of the craft and dark spots all around. The craft descended directly to the Revard cable car station, then suddenly disappeared at lightning speed."

In the meantime, around fifteen people had gathered around Doctor Martinet and made the same observations as him.

In the Vienne, a 28-year-old farmer, Mr. Yves David, residing in Les Brouloux, commune of Vouneuil-sur-Vienne, met on the road from Cernon [sic] to Vouneuil, a sort of "scuba diver." The latter came to "caress" his arms, emitted intelligibile sounds, went towards a craft that Mr. David cannot

Continued on pages 3, under the headline
SAUCER

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SAUCER

describe and which rose silently vertically, then disappeared at full speed.

A resident of Wimereux (Pas-de-Calais), Mr. Raoul Baptiste, 72 years old, retired entrepreneur, stated he had seen, Sunday evening a flying saucer heading north at very low altitude.

In the Drôme, a resident of Valence, Mrs. Leboeuf, who was walking near Chabeuil, claims to have met on the path she followed, a small being and dressed so oddly that at first she thought it was a cellophane scarecrow. The dog accompanying the walker barked furiously, seized with terror. As for Mme Leboeuf, also terrified, she hid behind a hedge.

It was then that she saw a disc rising from the maize field that bordered the path, whistling emanating from it. Shortly after, the witness and the peasants went to the field, where, according to them, there was clearly a circular trace about 3 meters in diameter, with ears of maize lying down and broken branches on the edge.

Other residents of Chabeuil also said they saw a flying saucer that day flying over the countryside.

[Ref. dle1:] "LE DAUPHINE LIBERE" NEWSPAPER:

SUNDAY AT 05:15 P.M.

Dr Martinet of Chambéry
and about fifteen people
observed above the Nivolet

THE MANEUVERS
OF A "FLYING SAUCER"

Chambery, September 28. --

To date, Dr. Martinet, dermatologist in Chambery, attached no importance to the "flying saucers, cigars" and other devices of the same kind.

Methodical, and careful observer, he did not believe!

But as recently as last week, a social worker stated that told him she had seen in the sky of Bourg-Saint-Maurice a superb flying saucer, he answered with a shrug!

It is well annoyed of his disbelief today as he was able, Sunday between 5:18 p.m. 5:15 p.m., to watch over the cross of the Nivollet and Mont Revard, the maneuvers of a mysterious machine having striking similarities with the said saucers...

Former artillery observer, Dr Martinet conducted his observation objectively and knowingly and the report he proposes to submit to the prefecture will be more detailed.

The Doctor is not the only one to have observed the phenomenon, his wife and three students from the airbase of Bourget-du-Lac, and the occupants of three cars, a total of about fifteen people who can corroborate the evidence; which moreover, given the personality of the Doctor and his great habit of observation, is not questionable...

But here are the facts: "It was around 5 p.m., we were returning by car from the Col du Chat, when suddenly saw above the Croix du Nivollet at around 2000 meters and on the edge of the hazy area, a dark grey aluminum mass. Having exceeded the air base, I stopped my vehicle. Three other cars did the same, and we followed with our eyes the maneuvers of the saucer.

First I thought of a rainstorm, but the wind blew from the Northwest and the phenomenon came from the south!

30 seconds later, when we were fifteen people to observe the machine, it went down like a dead leaf, then appeared in the form of a soup plate, whose relief was facing up, then upfront as a perfect disc.

We observed that a clearer area occupied the center of the disc, and dark spots were all around.

After that, the saucer came directly below the cable car station of Revard, went down a little, then suddenly disappeared like lightning!

According to the observation angles, it changed color from aluminum gray to a very dark to lighter gray.

At 5:19 p.m., it disappeared, the phenomenon lasted a little over four minutes, which allowed me to set on a notebook, the various steps of its maneuvers, and minute it..."

The Doctor then presents the diagram of the tormented path that the saucer followed, and let's not say anymore to Dr. Martinet and the fifteen witnesses who observed the phenomenon that the saucers are just fluff!

[Ref. lml1:] NEWSPAPER "LE MERIDIONAL":

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Carrousel of "saucers" in the sky of Dauphiné

LYON. -- In the departments of the Rhone, Isère, Drôme and Savoy, many people claim to have seen, these last days, with more or less clarity, craft having either the shape of cigars, or those of discs.

In the area of the Arbresle, one of these witnesses, director of a music-hall, stated to have filmed one of these mysterious apparatuses which evolved at a height estimated by him as of approximately 700 meters. One will thus know, after development of the footage, if it was or was not an optical illusion.

Close to Feyzin (the Isère) a young man is said to have seen in the countryside, not far from the ground, a machine having the shape of a dome from where spouted out a very sharp light. The witness had compared it with that caused by the combustion of magnesium. The craft, suddenly, went up vertically while leaving a shower of sparks and disappeared.

Inhabitants of Chabeuil stated to have seen a flying saucer evolving above the countryside.

Lastly, in Savoy, close to the lake of Le Bourget, above Mount Revard, several motorists, on the whole about fifteen people, simultaneously saw an apparatus having the shape of a disc, that evolved during approximately four minutes, to then disappear suddenly.

One of the witnesses, a doctor of Chambéry, is a former artillery observer. He carefully wrote up the observations and drew a diagram reproducing the travel of the mysterious apparatus.

A "SAUCERS" FOLLOWS A TRAIN IN THE ILLE-ET-VILAINE...
The drivers gets ill

REDON (Ille-et-Vilaine). -- Misters Gérard, mechanic, and Paroux, driver, who operated a wildcat engine coming from Nantes, saw, whereas they passed at the locality "La Butte Rouge", community of Saint-Nicolas-de-Besson (Ille-et-Vilaine), a machine which rose from the nearby marshes.

This craft, of a certain length, which was followed of a luminous trail, flew during ten second above the machine and disappeared in the sky.

While the mechanic preserved all his calm, the driver, on the other hand, was so frightened that he fell sick and had to pass a medical examination yesterday morning.

DUTCH TESTIMONYS ON AERIAL PHENOMENA

LA HAYE. -- The aerial phenomena which currently appears above Europe did not fail to visit the Netherlands.

Among the recently reported testimonies on the passage of flying saucers above the Dutch territory, it is necessary to quote that of a citizen of Schiedam (an important center of juniper production) which claimed to have seen a rather large object, circular and luminous, moving towards the west. Its fiancée who accompanied him corroborated his statements.

Less recent but more impressive, is the account of the captain of "Grote Beer" Mr J.-P. Boshoff, of the Holland - United States line.

The object detected on the open sea and observed by himself and his five officers using all the optical equipment on board, was the "size of a half-moon" and also circular and luminous.

The captain adamantly excluded the possibility that it can be a weather balloon.

Initially motionless, the disc, after a few moments, moved towards the west to disappear behind the clouds at an altitude of approximately 14.000 meters.

[Ref. lpl1:] NEWSPAPER "LE PROVENCAL":

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Flying saucers

Continued from the first page

Mr. L..., who gave us this statement, added: " At the beginning, I did not want to talk about it, but with the news which appeared these last days in the Press, it seems to me that it could contribute to add one more testimony to the "flying saucers" file."

It seems, indeed, that we are again in the presence of one of these mysterious craft which would have been posed a few moments (in what intention?) on the plains of the area of Aigues-Mortes.

The really disconcerting testimony of a doctor and fifteen people

Doctor Martinet, dermatologist in Chambéry, saw a flying saucer evolving above the cross of Nivollet.

- "About fifteen people, he states, can testify of that."

The doctor and his wife returned by car from the col du Chat [pass of the Cat], when they saw over the cross of Nivollet, 2.000 meters of altitude approximately, "a dark aluminum gray mass". The doctor stopped his vehicle, to follow the evolutions of the machine. Three other cars also stopped.

- "I observed my watch, said the doctor. It was 17. 8 ' 40 ". At 17:16 whereas it was presented its face, i.e. in the form of disc, I distinguished a clear zone in the center of the machine and dark spots around. The machine went down right above the teleferic station from the Revard, then disappeared suddenly at the speed of a lightning."

Meanwhile, about fifteen people had grouped around Doctor Martinet and made the same observations he did.

In the departments of the Rhone, Isère, Drôme and Savoy, many people claim to have seen, these last days, with more or less clearness, craft having sometimes the shape of cigars, sometimes of discs.

The divers of the sky are cherishing

In the Vienne, a 28 year old farmer, Mr. Yves David, living in Brouloux, community of Vouneuil-sur-Vienne, met, on the road of Cenon to Vouneuil, a kind of "diver". The latter "caressed" his arms, emitted inintelligibles sounds then moved towards a machine that Mr. David cannot describe, and which rose without noise vertically, then disappeared at full speed.

[Ref. cpd1:] NEWSPAPER "LE COURRIER PICARD":

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Aerial carousel
of flying saucers
in the Dauphiné

In the Ille-et-Vilaine, on the other hand
the driver of a locomotive
falls ill at the sight of one of these craft

LYON, September 30. -- In the departments of Rhône, Isère, Drôme and Savoie, many people claim to have seen, in recent days, with more or less clarity, craft having either the shape of cigars or that of discs.

In the Arbresle region, one of these witnesses, director of a Parisian music hall, even filmed a of these mysterious craft which evolved at a height estimated by him at around 700 meters. We will thus know, after development of the film, whether or not it is an optical illusion.

Near Feyzin (Isère), a young man reportedly saw in the country, not far from the ground, a machine having the shape of a dome and from which came a very bright light.

The witness compared it to that caused by the combustion of magnesium. The craft suddenly went up vertically, leaving behind a shower of sparks and disappeared.

In the Drôme, a resident, Mrs. L ... who was walking near Chabeuil, claims to have met, in the path that she followed, a small being dressed so oddly that she thought at first that it was a cellophane scarecrow.

The dog accompanying the walker barked furiously, overcome with terror. As for Mrs. L..., also terrified, she hid behind a hedge.

It was then that she saw rising from the cornfield which bordered the path, a disc from which came a whistling sound. Shortly after, the witness and some peasants went into the field where, according to them, a circular trace approximately 3 meters in diameter was clearly distinguished, with ears of corn lying down and broken branches at the edge.

Other residents of Chabeuil also said they saw a flying saucer that day.

Finally, in Savoy, near Lac du Bourget, above Mont Revard, several motorists, a total of fifteen people, simultaneously saw a craft moving for about four minutes in the shape of a disc, -tes [sic], then suddenly disappear.

Continued at the 2nd page under the title:

FLYING SAUCERS

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Flying saucers

(Continued from the 1st page)

One of the witnesses, a doctor from Chambéry, is a former artillery observer. He carefully noted the observations and drew a diagram reproducing the path of the craft.

In the Ille-et-Vilaine

MM. Gérard, mechanic, and Paroux, driver, who were driving a high-speed machine coming from Nantes, saw, last night, while they were passing at a place called "La Butte du Rouge", commune of Saint-Nicolas-de-Redon (Ille-et-Vilaine) a craft which rose from the neighboring marshes.

This contraption, of some length, which was followed by a luminous trail, flew during ten seconds above the machine and disappeared in the sky.

Whereas the mechanic kept calm, the driver, however, was frightened, he fell ill and had to undergo a medical examination this morning.

An "interplanetary diver" appears to a farmer

Mr. Yves David, 28, a farmer in Brouloux, commune of Vouneuil-sur-Vienne, said he saw advancing on him, on the road from Cenon to Vouneuil, on September 10 at 10 p.m., a kind of "diver".

The latter, he said, came to caress his arm, uttered unintelligible sounds and withdrew towards a craft (that Mr. David cannot describe). A green beam of light was projected in its direction, nailing him on the spot, then the craft disappeared in the sky, vertically, without any noise.

Mr. David declares that he did not want to say anything about this bizarre encounter, lest someone makes fun of him. However, he shared it with a friend, asking him whether other people had seen the "diver". That's how the whole country learned about this.

Luminous objects in the sky of Roussillon

A baker from Canet-Plage, said that when he returned from a delivery tour with his van, he saw above this locality, a brilliant disc which, after having flown in large circles, moved away towards the sea.

Also seven workers from a factory in the suburbs of Perpignan claim to have also seen an object of indefinite color evolving at high speed; which reportedly crossed the Pyrenees towards Spain.

In Haute-Garonne

Three residents of Lanta, near Villefranche-de-Lauraguais (Haute-Garonne), Mr. and Mrs. Brunet, and Mr. Gadra, local school teacher, say they saw an orange disc yesterday evening above the village.

The object moved at a great height and moved in a north-south direction.

After being visible for thirty to forty seconds, the luminous disc disappeared on the horizon.

[Ref. lcx1:] NEWSPAPER "LA CROIX":

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IN THE VIENNE

Contact made
between the passenger of a "saucer"
and an Earthling

The travelers from another world", who had come to herbalize on the edge of the Spanish-Portuguese border..., were only mystifiers.

The Duario [sic] de Lisboa today denounces these jokers who had given them the opportunity to publish sensational..., but false information.

But ... One saucer lost, here is another one found. And this time it is in France that an "interplanetary diver" would have made contact with an Earthman.

Mr. Yves David, 28 years old, farmer in Les Brouloux, in Vouneuil-sur-Vienne (Vienne), has, in fact, declared to have seen, on the road from Cenon to Vouneuil, on September 19, at 10 p.m., a sort of "diver" come towards him.

The "sound traveler" approached our peasant and stroked his arm.

Then, the conversation not being engaged given the unintelligible language of the visitor, the later retired towards the machine which had brought him.

Mr. David was about to follow him when a green beam of light pinned him in place. And the machine disappeared silently in the sky.

Mr. David declares that he didn't want to say anything about this bizarre encounter, for fear that he would be laughed at. However, he told it to a friend, asking him whether other people would have seen the diver.

And that's how the whole country knew about it.

A "disk"
in a maize field

A resident of Valence, Mrs L..., who was walking near Chabeuil (Drôme), saw a silhouette in the path that she took at first for a "scarecrow" in cellophane. The dog accompanying the walker barked furiously in terror. As for Mme L..., also terrified, she hid behind a hedge.

It was then that she saw a disc rising from the maize field which bordered the path, whistling emanating from it. Shortly after, the witness and the peasants went to the field where, according to them, there was clearly a circular trace of about 3 m. in diameter, with recumbent maize cobs and broken branches at the edge.

Other residents of Chabeuil also said they saw a flying saucer that day flying over the countryside.

At the sight of a flying saucer
a locomotive driver
gets sick

MM. Gérard, mechanic, and Paroux, driver, who drove a high-legged machine coming from Nantes, saw, as they were passing through the locality "lae Butte du Rouge", commune

See more on page 6

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Flying saucers everywhere

Continued from page 1

of Saint-Nicolas-de-Redon (Ille-et-Vilaine), a machine that rose from the neighboring marshes.

This craft, of a certain length, which was followed by a luminous trail, flew for about ten seconds above the machine and disappeared in the sky.

While the mechanic remained calm, the driver, on the other hand, was so frightened that he fell ill and had to undergo a medical examination.

Aerial carousel
... in the skies of France

In the departments of Rhône, Isère, Drôme and Savoie, many people claim to have seen, in recent days, with more or less clarity, machines having either the shape of cigars or that of disks.

Near Feyzin (Isère), a young man reportedly saw in the countryside, not far from the ground, a machine in the form of a dome and from which sprang a very bright light. The witness compared it to that caused by the combustion of magnesium. The craft suddenly rose vertically, leaving behind a shower of sparks and disappeared.

In Savoy, near Lac du Bourget, above Mont-Revard, several motorists, in total about fifteen people, saw simultaneously a craft in the shape of a disc, move for about four minutes, then suddenly disappear.

One of the witnesses, a doctor from Chambéry, is a former artillery observer. He carefully noted his observations, and drew a sketch reproducing the path of the mysterious apparatus.

A baker from Canet-Plage, Mr. Etienne Err, declared that upon returning from a delivery round with his van, he had seen, above this locality, a shining disc which, after having described large circles, moved away in the direction of the sea.

A luminous sphere, which left behind a trail of fire, was photographed on Tuesday in Bujv, in south-eastern Sweden. The object, which was moving to the North, flew rapidly "as high as a jet plane, but without making any noise."

At the Lund Observatory, it is declared that no meteor was observed at the time when the witness photographed the phenomena in question with a telephoto lens.

[Ref. ppe1:] NEWSPAPER "PARIS-PRESSE":

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NEAR FIGEAC

Children encounter a "Martian" in a red jumpsuit

THE Martians follow each other and are not alike. In Corrèze, they are small and helmeted. In Portugal, they are gigantic and clad in aluminum.

Schoolchildren in the Lot in turn assure that they saw one yesterday, near Figeac.

The children were on their way to school when it appeared to them.

- He spoke to us, they said, but we didn't understand what he was saying...

Whereupon he went down to a meadow, below the road from Figeac to Cahors. The children saw him climb into a small craft which rose vertically.

- It was a machine that looked like a box, they said.

After the saucers, cigars and flying discs, here is the flying box!

Another is reported in the Vienne

In Vienne, a resident of Montgadé, Mr. Yves David, also encountered, he says, a Martian. It happened on Friday September 17, around 10:30 p.m., on the road from Vouneuil to Cenon when he saw in front of him, placed on the path a bizarre craft about 3 meters wide. A small being descended from it, approached Mr. David and tapped him on the shoulder. After that, he returned to his machine which rose and disappeared, leaving behind a green light.

Saucers are reported everywhere. In Saint-Bazeille (Lot-et-Garonne), two people saw a phosphorescent disc, of bluish tint, crossing the sky. Another, orange in color, was seen in Lanta, near Villefranche-de-Lauraguais. A third, "of an indefinite color", flew over the Perpignan region; seven workers saw it; according to one he went away towards the sea; others say it crossed the Pyrenees.

In the Dauphiné it's a real carousel. Near Feyzin (Isère), it is an object in the shape of a dome; in the Drôme, near Chabeuil, it is a whistling disc. Same thing in Savoy, not far from Bourget Lake, where one of the witnesses, a doctor from Chambéry, former artillery observer, noted his observations and draw a sketch.

In Saint-Nicolas-de-Redon, finally, a mechanic and a driver who drove a locomotive, MM. Gérard and Paroux, see a mysterious object rising from the neighboring marshes. Mr. Paroux fell ill and had to undergo a medical examination.

[Ref. nnm1:] NEWSPAPER "LE NOUVEAU NORD MARITIME":

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Real carousel
of aerial saucers
flying in the sky
of the Dauphiné

Lyon, September 30. -- In the departments of Rhône, Isère, Drôme and Savoie, many people claim to have seen, in recent days, with more or less clarity, craft having either the shape of cigars or that of discs.

In the Arbresle region, one of these witnesses, director of a Parisian music hall, even filmed one of these mysterious craft which evolved at a height estimated by him at around 700 meters. We will thus know, after development of the film, whether or not it is an optical illusion.

Near Feyzin (Isère), a young man reportedly saw in the countryside, not far from the ground, a craft in the shape of a dome and from which sprang a very bright light. The witness compared it to that caused by the combustion of magnesium. The device suddenly went up vertically, leaving behind a shower of sparks and disappeared.

In the Drôme, a resident, Mrs L... who was walking near Chabeuil, says to have met in the path which it followed, a being of small size dressed so oddly that she believed at first that it was a scarecrow in cellophane. The dog accompanying the walker barked furiously, overcome with terror. As for MrsL..., also terrified, she hid behind a hedge.

It was then that she saw rising from the cornfield which bordered the path, a disc from which came a whistling sound. Shortly after, the witness and some peasants went into the field where, according to them, a circular trace of about 3 meters in diameter was clearly distinguished with ears of corn lying down and broken branches at the edge.

Other residents of Chabeuil also said they saw that day a flying saucer flying over the countryside.

Finally, in Savoy, near the Bourget lake, above Mont Revard, several motorists, a total of fifteen people, simultaneously saw a craft in the shape of a disc, move for about four minutes, then suddenly disappear.

One of the witnesses, a doctor from Chambéry, is a former artillery observer. He carefully noted the observations and drew a sketch reproducing the path of the mysterious apparatus.

[Ref. nmn1:] NEWSPAPER "NORD-MATIN":

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Real aerial carousel
of "flying saucers"
in the sky of France

The testimonies are multiplying about the flying saucers. In various French departments, many people claim to have seen, in recent days, with more or less clarity, craft in either the shape of cigars or that of discs.

In the Arbresle region, the director of a Parisian music-hall even filmed one of these mysterious craft which moved at a height estimated by him at around 800 meters. We will thus know, after development of the film, whether or not it is an optical illusion.

Near Feyzin (Isère), a young man reportedly saw in the countryside, not far from the ground, a craft in the shape of a dome and from which sprang a very bright light. The witness compared it to that caused by the combustion of magnesium. The craft suddenly went up vertically, leaving behind a shower of sparks and disappeared.

In the Drôme, a resident of Valence, Mrs. L., who was walking near Chabeuil, claims to have met in the path that she followed, a small being dressed so oddly, that she first thought it was a scarecrow of cellophane. The dog accompanying the walker barked furiously, overcome with terror. As for Mrs. L ..., also terrified, she hid behind a hedge.

The ears were laid
over three meters

It was then that she saw rising from the maize field that bordered the path, a disc from which came a whistling sound. Shortly after, the witness and some peasants went into the field where, according to them, a circular trace of about 3 meters in diameter was clearly distinguished with ears of maize lying down and broken branches on the edge.

Other residents of Chabeuil also said they saw that day a flying saucer flying over the countryside.

In Savoie, near Lake Bourget, above Mont Revard, several motorists, a total of fifteen people, have seen simultaneously a craft in the form of a disc, move for about four minutes, then suddenly disappear.

One of the witnesses, a doctor from Chambéry, is a former artillery observer. He carefully noted the observations and drew a sketch reproducing the path of the mysterious apparatus.

An "interplanetary
diver" said to have appeared
to a farmer

Also, Mr. Yves David, 28, farmer in Les Brouloux, commune of Vouneuil-sur-Vienne (Vienne), said he saw advance on the road from Cenon to Vouneuil on September 19 at 10 p.m. a kind of diver.

The latter, he said, came to caress his arm, made unintelligible sounds and withdrew towards a craft (which Mr. David cannot describe). A green light beam was projected in his direction, nailing him on the spot, then the craft disappeared in the sky, vertically, without any noise.

Mr. David states that he did not want to say anything about this bizarre encounter, lest someone makes fun of him. He did, however, share it with a friend, asking if anyone else had seen the "diver." This is how the whole country found out.

At the sight of a saucer
flying, a locomotive driver
gets sick

We should also point out that MM. Gérard, mechanic and Paroux, driver, who were driving a high-speed machine from Nantes, saw on Tuesday evening, as they passed by a place called "la butte du rouge", commune of Saint-Nicolas-de-Redon (Ille-et-Vilaine), a craft that rose from the neighboring marshes.

This contraption, of a certain length, which was followed by a luminous trail flew during

Read more on the last page
under the title:
SAUCERS

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SAUCERS

ten seconds above the machine and disappeared into the sky.

Whereas the mechanic kept his cool, the driver, however, was so frightened that he fell ill and had to undergo a medical examination yesterday morning.

A luminous sphere
photographed
in the sky of Sweden

A luminous sphere, which left a trail of fire behind it, was photographed in Bjuv, in the south-east of Sweden. The object, which was moving north, said the witness, was flying fast, "as high, he said, as a jet plane, but without making any noise".

At the Lund observatory, it is stated that no meteor was observed at the time when the witness photographed the phenomenon in question on telephoto.

... and one in the open sea

Less recent but more impressive, is the account of the captain of the "Groote Beer", Mr. J.-P. Boahoff, of the Holland - United-States line.

Detected in the open sea and observed by himself and his five officers using all the optical equipment on board, it was the size of a half-moon and also circular and bright.

The captain formally excluded the possibility that it may be a weather balloon.

At first motionless, the disc, after a few moments, moved west to disappear behind the clouds at an altitude of about 14,000 meters.

[Ref. vdn1:] NEWSPAPER "LA VOIX DU NORD":

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Flying
saucers
in all
the skies
of France?

An amateur filmmaker
reportedly filmed
one of the craft

A rain of flying saucers crossed all the skies of France for a few days, that of the Dauphiné in particular, where a real aerial carousel has attracted the attention of many observers.

In the Rhône, Isère, Drôme and Savoie departments, many people claim to have seen, in recent days, with more or less clarity, craft in the shape either of cigars, or of discs.

One of these witnesses, director of a Parisian music hall, said that he had filmed a mysterious craft which was moving at a height estimated by him at around 700 meters. We will thus know, after development of the film, whether or not it is an optical illusion.

In the Drôme, a resident of Valence, Mrs. L ..., who was walking by Chabeuil, claims to have met in the path she was following, a short being, strangely dressed in some sort of cellophane.

She saw a maize field bordering the edge of the path, a whistling disc. Shortly after, the witness noticed in the field a circular trace of about 3 meters in diameter with lying ears and broken branches. Other residents of Chabeuil confirmed these observations.

Finally, in Savoy, fifteen people simultaneously saw a craft in the shape of a disc move for about four minutes.

One of the witnesses, a former artillery observer, drew a sketch reproducing the path of the mysterious craft.

***

A baker from Canet-Plage, Mr. Etienne Err, said that after returning from a delivery tour with his van, he had seen above this locality, a brilliant disc which, after having followed large circles, moved away in direction of the sea. Seven workers of a factory of the Perpignan suburbs confirmed his statements.

***

Three residents of Lanta, near Villefranche-de-Lauraguais (Haute-Garonne), Mr. and Mrs. Brunet, and Mr. Gadra, local teacher, say they saw, last night, for 30 to 40 seconds, above the village, a bright orange disc.

[Ref. jps1:] NEWSPAPER "LE JOURNAL DU PAS-DE-CALAIS ET DE LA SOMME":

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The flying saucers
seem to indulge
to a real
CARROUSEL
over France

In the sky
of the Dauphiné

Lyon, 29. -- In the departments of Rhône, Isère, Drôme and Savoie, many people claim to have seen, in recent days, with more or less clarity, craft having either the shape of cigars, or that of discs.

In the Arbresle region, one of these witnesses, director of a Parisian music hall, even filmed one of these mysterious craft which was moving at a height estimated by him at around 700 meters. We will thus know, after development of the film, whether or not it is an optical illusion.

Near Feyzin (Isère), a young man would reportedly saw in the countryside, not far from the ground, a craft in the shape of a dome and from which a very bright light gushed out, comparable to that caused by the combustion of magnesium. The craft suddenly went up vertically, leaving behind a shower of sparks and disappeared.

In the Drôme, a resident of Valence, Mrs. L... who was walking near Chabeuil, claims to have met in the path that she followed, a small being dressed so oddly that she thought at first that it was a cellophane scarecrow.

The dog accompanying the walker barked furiously, overcome with terror. As for Mrs. L..., also terrified, she hid behind a hedge.

It was then that she saw rising from the maize field which bordered the path, a disc from which emitted a whistling sound. Shortly after, the witness and some peasants went into the field where, according to them, a circular trace approximately 3 meters in diameter was clearly distinguished, with ears of corn lying down and broken branches at the edge.

Other residents of Chabeuil also reported having

CONTINUED ON PAGE 6

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FLYING
SAUCERS

A cultivator sees
come towards him
an "interplanetary
diver"...

Châtellerault, 29. -- Mr. Yves David, 28, a farmer in Brouloux, commune of Vouneuil-sur-Vienne, said he saw advancing towards him, on the road from Cenon to Vouneuil, on September 19 at 10 p.m., a kind of "diver."

The latter, he said, came to caress his arm, made unintelligible sounds and withdrew towards a craft (which Mr. David cannot describe). A green light beam was projected in his direction, freezing him on the spot, then the craft disappeared in the sky, vertically, without any noise.

Mr. David said he didn't want to say anything about this bizarre encounter for fear of being laughed at. He did, however, share it with a friend, asking if anyone else had seen the "diver."

This is how the country found out.

In the sky
of the Dauphiné

Continued from the first page)

spotted a flying saucer flying over the countryside that day.

Finally, in Savoy, near Lac du Bourget, above Mont Revard, several motorists, a total of fifteen people, simultaneously saw a disc-shaped craft move for about four minutes, then suddenly disappear.

One of the witnesses, a doctor from Chambéry, is a former artillery observer. He carefully noted the observations and drew a sketch reproducing the path of the mysterious apparatus.

[Ref. nll1:] NEWSPAPER "NORD LITTORAL":

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A REAL AERIAL
CAROUSEL OF SAUCER
is observed in the sky of the Dauphiné

Lyon, September 29.

In the departments of Rhône, Isère, Drôme and Savoie, many people claim to have seen, in recent days, with more or less clarity, craft having either the shape of a cigars or that of discs.

In the Arbresle region, one of these witnesses, director of a Parisian music-hall, even filmed a of these mysterious craft which moved at a height estimated by him, approximately 700 meters. We will thus know, after development of the film whether or not it is an optical illusion.

Near Feyzin (Isère), a young man reportedly saw in the countryside, not far from the ground, a craft in the shape of a dome and from which sprung is a very bright light. The witness compared it to that caused by the combustion of magnesium. The craft suddenly went up vertically, leaving behind a shower of sparks and disappeared.

In the Drôme, a resident of Valence, Mrs. L..., who was walking near Chabeuil, claims to have met on the way that she was following, a being of small stature and dressed so oddly that at first thought it was a cellophane scarecrow. The dog accompanying the walker barked furiously, overcome with terror. As for Mrs. L..., also terrified, she hid behind a hedge.

It was then that she saw rising from the field of maize that bordered the path, a disc from which came a whistling sound. Shortly after, the witness and some peasants went into the field where, according to them, a circular trace approximately three meters in diameter was clearly distinguished, with ears of maize lying down and broken branches at the edge.

Other residents of Chabeuil also said they saw that day a flying saucer flying over the countryside.

Finally, in Savoie, near Lac du Bourget, above Mont Revard, several motorists, a total of fifteen people, simultaneously saw a craft in the shape of a disc, move for about 4 minutes, then suddenly disappear.

One of the witnesses, a doctor from Chambéry, is a former artillery observer. He carefully noted the observations and drew a sketch reproducing the path of the mysterious apparatus.

A LOCOMOTIVE DRIVER
SCARED,
FALLS ILL

Redon, Sept. 29

MM. Gérard, mechanic and Paroux, driver, who were driving a high-speed machine coming from Nantes, saw last night as they passed at a place called "La Butte du Rouge", commune of Saint-Nicolas-de-Redon, (Ille-et-Vilaine), a craft that rose from the neighboring marshes.

This craft, of a certain length, which was followed by a luminous trail, flew during ten seconds above the machine and disappeared in the sky.

Whereas the mechanic kept his cool, the driver however was so frightened that he fell ill and had to undergo a medical examination this morning.

Read on page 8: The Chronicle of Heaven.

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Chronicle of the Sky

A luminous sphere
photographed
in the sky of Sweden

Stockholm, September 29.

- A luminous sphere, which left a trail of fire behind it, was photographed last night in Bjuv, in the south-east of Sweden. The object, which was moving north, said the witness, was flying quickly, "as high, he said, as a jet plane but silenttly."

At the Lund observatory, it is stateed that no meteor was observed at the time when the witness photographed the phenomenon in question on the telephoto lens.

LUMINOUS OBJECTS
IN THE SKY
OF THE ROUSSILLON...

Perpignan, Sept. 29 -- A baker from Canet-Plage, Mr. Etienne Err, said that after returning from a delivery tour with his van he had seen, above this locality, a brilliant disc which, after having described large circles, moved away towards the sea.

On the other hand seven workers from a factory in the suburbs of Perpignan claim to have also seen an object of an indefinite color, moving at high speed and which would have crossed the Pyrenees towards Spain.

... AND IN THE SKY
OF HAUTE-GARONNE

Toulouse, 29 Sept. -- Three inhabitants of Lanta, near Villefranche de Lauraguais (Haute-Garonne), Mr. and Mrs. Brunel and Mr. Gadra, a teacher in the locality, claim to have seen, last night, above the village, a luminous disc of orange color.

The object moved at a great height and moved in a north-south direction.

After being visible for 30 to 40 seconds, the luminous disc disappeared on the horizon.

AN "INTERPLANETARY
DIVER"
APPEAR
TO A CULTIVATOR

Châtellerault, 29 Sep. -- Mr. Yves David, 28, farmer in Les Brouloux, commune of Vouneuil sur Vienne (Vienne), said he saw advancing on him on the road from Cenon to Vouneuil, on September 19 at 10 p.m. a sort of "diver."

The latter, he said, came to caress his arm, emitted unintelligible sounds and withdrew towards a craft (which Mr. David cannot describe). A green light beam was projected in his direction, nailing him on the spot, then the craft disappeared in the sky vertically without any noise.

Mr. David declares that he did not want to say anything about this bizarre encounter, lest someone make fun of him. He did, however, share it with a friend, asking if anyone else had seen the "diver." That's how the whole country found out.

[Ref. ner1:] NEWSPAPER "NORD-ECLAIR":

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Mysterious craft

In two places, the appearance of a saucer was told by the witnesses with a precision that makes it difficult to doubt that they were mistaken.

This is how near Redon, Mssrs. Gérard, mechanic and Paroux, driver, drove a fast locomotive down from Nantes, when they saw, Tuesday evening, when they passed at a place called "La Butte du Rouge", commune of Saint-Nicolas-de-Redon (Ille-et-Vilaine), a craft that rose from the close marshes.

This craft, of some length, which was followed by a luminous trail, flew during ten seconds above the machine and disappeared in the sky.

Whereas the mechanic kept his cool, the driver, on the other hand, was so frightened that he fell ill and had to undergo a medical examination yesterday morning.

In Savoy, near Lac du Bourget, above Mont Revard, several motorists, in total around fifteen people, saw simultaneously a craft in the form of a disc, move for about 4 minutes, then suddenly disappear.

One of the witnesses, a doctor from Chambéry, is a former artillery observer. He carefully noted the observations and drew a sketch reproducing the path of the mysterious apparatus.

FILMED SAUCER
IN THE ALPS...

In the departments of Rhône, Isère, Drôme and Savoie, many people claim to have seen in recent days, with more or less clarity, craft having either the form of cigars or that of discs.

In the Arbresle region, one of these witnesses, director of a Parisian music hall, even filmed a of these mysterious craft which moved at a height estimated, by him, to be around 700 meters. We will thus know, after development of the film, whether or not it is an optical illusion.

[Ref. ads1:] NEWSPAPER "L'ARDENNAIS":

FLYING "CIGARS" AND "SAUCERS" PERFORMED QUITE AN AERIAL CARROUSEL IN THE SKY OF THE DAUPHINE

LYON - In the Rhône. Isère, Drôme and Savoy departments, many people claim to have seen, these last days, with more or less sharpness, craft having either the shape of cigars or that of disks.

In the region of the Arbresle, one of these witnesses, director of a Paris music hall, even filmed one of these mysterious craft that was evolving at a height estimated by him at about 700 meters, so we will know, after development of the film, whether or not it is an optical illusion.

Near Fezin (Isère) a young man reportedly saw a dome-shaped craft in the countryside, not far from the ground from where a very bright light sprang up. The witness compared it to that caused by the burning of magnesium. The craft suddenly climbed vertically leaving behind a shower of sparks and disappeared.

The pilot: a small person, dressed oddly

In the Drôme, a resident of Valence, Mrs. L ... who was walking near Chabeuil, said to have met in the path she followed a being of small size who was dressed so oddly that she thought at first that it was a cellophane scarecrow. The dog that accompanied the walker barked furiously, in terror. As for Mrs. L..., also terrified, she hid behind a hedge.

It was then that she saw a disk rising from the cornfield along the road, whistling. Shortly thereafter, the witness and some peasants went to the field where, according to them, there was clearly a circular trace of about 3 meters in diameter with corn stalks laid down and broken branches on the edge.

(See more at the 6th page)

"Cigars" flying...

(Continued from the first page)

Other residents of Chabeuil also said they saw a flying saucer flying over the countryside that day.

Finally, in Savoy, near the Lake of the Bourget, above Mount Revard, several motorists, in total about fifteen people, saw simultaneously a craft having the shape of a disc, moving for about four minutes, then disappearing suddenly.

One of the witnesses, a doctor from Chambéry, is a former artillery observer. He carefully noted the observations and drew a diagram reproducing the path of the mysterious apparatus.

An "interplanetary scuba diver" near Châtellerault

Mr. Yves David, 28, farmer at the Brouloux, municipality of Vouneuil-sur-Vienne (Vienne) said he saw advance at him on the road from Cenon to Vouneuil on September 19 at 10 p.m. a kind of "scuba diver".

The latter, he said, came to caress his arm, uttered unintelligible sounds and withdrew to a craft (which Mr. David cannot describe). A green light beam was projected in his direction, nailing him on the spot, then the craft disappeared vertically in the sky without any noise.

Mr. David declares that he did not want to say anything about this strange encounter, lest anyone scoff at him. He told a friend, however, asking if other people had seen the "scuba diver". This is how the whole country learned about it...

Bright object in the Roussillon sky...

PERPIGNAN - A baker from Cannet-Plage, Mr. Err, said that when he returned from a delivery tour with his pickup truck, he saw above this locality a brilliant disc which, after having flown in large circles, moved towards the sea. Also, seven workers of a factory of the suburb of Perpignan claim to have also seen an object of an indefinite color, moving at high speed, and which would have crossed the Pyrenees towards Spain.

... And in the sky of the Haute-Garonne

Three inhabitants of Lanta, near Villefranche-de-Lauragais (Haute-Garonne), Mr. and Mrs. Brunet and Mr. Gadra, teacher of the locality, claim to have seen last night, above the village, a luminous disc of orange color. The object was moving at a great height and was moving north south.

After being visible for 30 to 40 seconds, the luminous disc disappeared on the horizon.

[Ref. lon1:] NEWSPAPER "L'OISE-MATIN":

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OVERABUND
OF SAUCERS

and ones believes to have
met locals
from another planet

Dozens of flying saucers were seen in the last 24 hours in the skies of France, North Africa, the Netherlands and even as far as Denmark and Sweden.

Some believe they have met "Martians"; a witness, manager of a Parisian music hall even went so far as to film one of these mysterious craft which he said was moving at around 700 meters of height, in a sky clear of clouds, for once.

The film is not yet developed and it will only be in a few hours that we will know whether the witness has been the victim, or not, of an illusion.

The craft was one of the many "flying cigars" or "discs" that witnesses said they saw in the departments of Rhône, Isère, Drôme and Savoie.

In this latter region, 15 witnesses saw, for a few minutes, an apparatus in the shape of a disc moving near Lac du Bourget above Mont Revard, then suddenly disappearing.

One of the witnesses, a doctor from Chambéry is a former artillery observer. He carefully noted his observations and drew a sketch showing the path of the mysterious craft.

Another group which claims to have seen "an object of an indefinite color moving at high speed", seven workers in a factory in the suburb of Perpignan specified that the craft would have crossed the Pyrenees towards Spain.

In the Haute-Garonne, three residents of Lanta, near Villefranche-de-Lauraguais, saw Tuesday evening above the village a luminous disc of

Continued on page 10

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SAUCERS
ARE SPOTTED

and maybe Martians?

Continued from the 1stpage

orange color. The object, they said, was flying at a great height and moving in a North-South direction.

In Kourigra, a locality located about 130 kilometers from Casablanca, reliable witnesses said they saw the day before yesterday, a circular-shaped craft of red color moving at a high altitude and at a high speed.

In Denmark, many residents of the town of Strib also said they spotted a "cigar" while in Sweden a luminous sphere that left a trail of fire behind was photographed Tuesday evening in Bjuv, in the south-east of the country, by a witness.

It is in the Netherlands, where the testimonies relating to the passage of "saucers" multiply, that one is most currently passionate about these aerial phenomena. The curiosity of the population was carried to its maximum by the impressive story given by the captain of a freighter, Mr. J. P. Boshoff of the Holland-United States line. The captain says in fact that with five of his officers and using all the optical equipment on board, he was able to observe at leisure an object "the size of a half-moon" which finally disappeared on the way up, at an altitude of about 14,000 meters.

Such sightings are apparently not without danger to human nature judging by the adventure of Mssrs. Gérard, mechanic and Paroux, driver, who, driving a locomotive coming from Nantes, said they saw, while passing near Saint-Nicolas de Redon, in the Ille-et-Vilaine, a craft that rose from nearby swamps to quickly disappear into the sky.

The mechanic said he had kept his cool but the driver was so scared, said the A.F.P. dispatch recounting the incident, that he fell sick and had to undergo a medical examination the next day.

There are also reports of new encounters with strange beings.

The first case is that of Mr. Yves David, 28, farmer in Les Brouloux, commune of Vouneuil-sur-Vienne, in Vienne, who declared - belatedly - to have seen on September 19, at 2 o'clock, a sort of diver who came to stroke him on the arm while emitting unintelligible sounds before flying away inside a saucer.

In the Drôme, a resident of Valence who was walking near Chabeuil also lived, she said, an encounter with a small being which she at first took for a "cellophane scarecrow".

She took refuge, in the company of her dog, as terrified as herself, in a thicket. A few minutes later, she witnessed, she clarified, the start of a disc from which a whistling sound came.

This upsurge in testimonies obviously does not fail to excite public opinion. Will it be possible one day to unravel the mystery of the "saucers"?

[Ref. ler1:] NEWSPAPER "L'EST REPUBLICAIN":

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This time the Savoy people no longer shrug their shoulders...

(Continued from the first page)

An extremely precise report from Chambéry

Doctor Martinet, a dermatologist in Chambéry, considered to be a methodical, observant and balanced mind, did not believe until last week in the existence of flying saucers. And he shrugged every time he was told about these mysterious machines.

Former observer of artillery, with the rank of captain, the physician has just been struck by an observation of which he entrusted us in detail. He also sent a copy of the report which will follow, with evem more details, to the prefecture of Savoy.

Here are the facts:

"It was about 5:12 p.m. last Sunday (September 26).

"My family and I were returning by car from the Col du Chat, above Aix-les-Bains, when suddenly I caught sight at the Croix du Nivollet, about two thousand meters of altitude, at the limit of the foggy zone, of a gray aluminum mass.

"I stopped my vehicle, and three other cars followed me did the same and we followed the evolutions of the "saucer." It was then 5 hours 14 minutes 30 seconds p.m..

"First of all, I thought of a whirlwind, but the wind was blowing from the northwest and the phenomenon came from the south.

"Thirty seconds later, when we were about fifteen people watching the saucer, it came down in "falling dead leaf" manner and then presented itself in the form of a hollow plate whose relief was turned upwards.

"At last, at 5:16 p.m., when it presented itself from the front, that is to say, in the form of a perfect disc, we could see that the lighter part occupied the center of the whole and that dark spots were all around.

"After that, the saucer came in line with the station of the Revard cable car, descended a bit then suddenly disappeared like a flash.

"According to the angles under which we observed it, it changed color, going from the dark gray to the lighter gray.

"It was exactly 5 hours 18 minutes 40 seconds p.m. when it disappeared.

"The phenomenon lasted a little more than four minutes, which allowed me to record on a notebook the different steps of its maneuvers and to timing them."

The doctor made a sketch of the tormented trajectory the saucer followed. A sketch he communicated us with his descriptions.

[Ref. lon2:] NEWSPAPER "L'OISE-MATIN":

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THE FIRST
PHOTOGRAPHS
SAUCERS

One is reported in the
sky of La Chapelle-en-Serval

Flying saucers continue to be talked about more than ever. And their detractors, like those who think they exist, are likewise spoiled.

The first ones in particular, by a precision relating to the "saucer" described last week in Grenoble by Dr Martinet.

The observations of a pilot from Challes-les-Eaux, who attended the same show, established that it was in fact a... flight of starlings.

The latter will be able to report new manifestations of the saucers.

In the Oise in particular, Mr. and Mrs. Joseph van Wymersch, of La Chapelle-en-Serval, who declared to have seen in this locality, Wednesday evening, around 9 p.m., for about 15 minutes, "a luminous craft which rose and fell in the sky to then disappear in the direction of the West."

Elsewhere in France, it is at Mas de Bruzy, near Perpignan, in Rixheïm, in Pau and in Nevers, that witnesses said they saw saucers.

At Mas de Bruzy, several grape pickers claimed to have seen a shiny circular object in the sky which, after moving vertically leaving a white trail, disappeared in the clouds.

In Rheim [sic], near Mulhouse two people said they had observed a luminous craft with binoculars. They found, they say, that the object was shaped like a long cigar and was surrounded by a dozen small satellite cigars. A railway worker on night duty said he had observed the same phenomenon.

Finally in Pau, Wednesday morning, around 11:45 a.m., numerous people, says an A.F.P. dispatch, saw a cigar moving at very high altitude and, near Nevers, a farm worker who was riding a bicycle on the road to Saint-Pierre-le-Moutier, saw, he claims, a semi-spherical object that moved silently with great rapidity in a northeast direction.

The "saucer" that Mr. Ates, engineer-architect from Marseille, specifies having photographed from his home on May 26, at 6:30 p.m. - our photo - was, on the contrary according to him, extremely noisy since, he said, it made the tiles of his room vibrate while remaining motionless in the sky and that, when it rose to disappear, its acceleration was accompanied by an astonishing explosion.

[Photo caption:] This photograph, where the only terrestrial element seems to be the clothesline that can be seen below, was taken by an architect from Marseille, and was communicated to us by the great weekly "Semaine du Monde". It was taken on May 26, 1954, at 6:30 in the evening, in a foggy weather. The second photo was taken at night. It would translate an impression of "flying cigar" rather than that of a "saucer".

[Ref. lib1:] NEWSPAPER "LIBERTE":

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The mystery of
the flying saucers
finally solved!

It is the "Christ of Monfavet" who sends them to us!

Flying saucers, cigars large and small, whole or cut in half, continue to crisscross the skies! Until now, the mysterious craft have been traveling in isolation. To add to the mystery, there are now whole squadrons that bring to our planet the inhabitants of Mars and Venus.

Innovation also with regard to these: the stories of small gnomes with big heads was starting to get boring. Now the sky visitors measure 2.50 m.. They are clad in aluminum and a red jumpsuit.

There are some very good stories of "flying saucers".

Let's move on from the mysterious craft that are just harmless sounding balloons, as the case happened again yesterday morning, in the town of Les Attaques, near Calais.

There is better!

In Chambéry, a pilot thought he saw a saucer. Wanting to get a closer look, he dispersed a... flock of starlings.

That's not all!

The A.F.P. agency informs us:

"According to the "Bild Telegraf", "flying saucers" which were regularly reported in Austria for some time, are unmanned devices used by certain powers to drop anti-communist leaflets over Czechoslovakia.

This newspaper indeed reports that leaflets written in Czech language were found near Eferding, in Upper Austria (Soviet zone) after the passage of two luminous discs whose movs were observed by two gendarmes of a nearby locality.

These leaflets invite the peasants of Czechoslovakia to leave the agricultural communities and the state cooperatives.

Two other daily newspapers also mentioned the testimony of several peasants who claim to have seen a saucer caught by the beam of a Soviet A. A. searchlight.

So that's a first explanation of the mystery. The second is even more funny.

Our readers now all know the famous "Christ of Monfavet" whose discipline [sic, disciple] just committed the heinous crime of letting his child die because the law of the new God is thus made. Like ordinary people, the "Master" has disappeared.

His daughter (and disciple) explains it this way.

"When Georges de Monfavet revealed himself four years ago to be Christ, his mission was to remind men of certain basic truths. Unfortunately, he was not listened to. This is why, like twenty centuries ago, in Palestine, Christ set out again, up there, near his father."

And, since then, the "witnesses of Christ", continue to preach the good word, adding to their usual stupidities, that the "Master", very angry, sends, for revenge, all these flying saucers on our poor world whose end would come soon.

[Ref. car1:] JOURNAL "CARREFOUR":

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SCIENTISTS AND CHIEFS OF STAFF
grasp the problem of the
FLYING SAUCERS

... While the U.S.S.R. declares itself ready to send a rocket to the Moon!

THE ASSAULT of the flying saucers that we are witnessing at the moment is so spectacular that a deputy, Mr. de Léotard, thought it necessary to ask, in a written question, the Secretary of State for Air, to ask him if instructions have been given so that these phenomena are systematically and scientifically observed, and if these "saucers" or "cigars" could not be pursued to be better observed, so that the public will know if it is about collective self-suggestion to dissipate, or if it is necessary to take into account the phenomenon from the point of view of security and National Defense...

For our part, let's try with the disparate elements that exist to make an opinion - approximately, of course - on this question. First of all, one fact seems certain: a very high percentage of the "observations" of flying saucers come either from outright illusion, or from an optical illusion. This is the case in the recent cases of the Quarouble steelworks worker or the farmer of the Millevaches plateau.

But, if we compare the various observations which are regularly published, the extreme diversity of the objects seen seems to prove, at first glance, that those who have, in good faith, reported them, have actually seen very diverse celestial phenomena. Are there "saucers" among these phenomena? We will not decide the question. But few of these observations seem worthy of further investigation.

An example shows this well: last September 29, the Parisian press headlined: "A serious testimony on the flying saucers". This was followed by the observation, apparently very precise, of a man who seemed to be worthy of faith. It was Dr. Martinet, a well-known doctor from Chambéry, who had seen above La Croix de Nivolet, the maneuvers of flying saucers. The doctor gave a precise description of these machines, "masses of a dark aluminum gray". He followed the moves of the "saucers" for several minutes, as they descended in dead leaf motion. He looked very clearly, in front of him, at one of them, and described its shape - a deep plate - the lighter area of ??its center and the brown spots spread around it. The craft descended slightly, then disappeared. About fifteen people around the doctor also saw the astonishing appearance and confirmed his testimony.

Everything in this observation seemed to prove its truth. Precise, told with measure, it emanated from a serious man experienced in scientific techniques.

Alas! It did not take long to be disillusioned. Two days later an aviator, Mr. Cuyard, asked Dr. Martinet to come and see him. The aviator, too, thought he saw a saucer. He jumped on his plane and left, courageous-

(Continued on page 3.)

Robert CLARKE.

[Photo caption:] This luminous phenomenon, known as of Bouffioulx, had also been observed, nine months earlier, by the Villacoublay weather station.

[Photo caption:] This photo, taken by a photographer from Bulawayo (Southern Rhodesia), was declared "authentic and not faked" by the journalists who examined it.

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THE SECRET OF FLYING SAUCERS

(Continued from the first page)

ly, to meet the craft... to disperse a flight of starvings. The doctor, after the two men had compared their respective visions, quite easily agreed that he must indeed have been mistaken, and that the "saucer" which he thought he saw should in fact only be a flock of birds...

This story seems to be full of lessons. Not that we in principle refuse to believe that flying saucers exist. But it seems to us to throw a heavy doubt on all the other testimonies with which we are daily supplied.

Especially since the truth calls for this precision: exactly as with each "epidemic" of the appearance of mysterious craft in the sky of France, we see today a lot of saucers observed everywhere, after two spectacular reports were published by the press. The mysterious craft were indeed very discreet during the summer. But, on September 8, Mr. Renard "sees" a flying saucer in the shape of an unfinished haystack, placed in a field. He describes it with a luxury of almost convincing details. Three days later, Mr. Dewilde does better: he sees 80 cm tall Martians running towards their saucer, which flies away immediately. Since then, the apparitions of Martians, some tiny, the other giants of more than two meters, have multiplied dangerously.

On September 17, another sensational fact made headlines: a "flying cigar" crossed the sky of Rome in the afternoon. It is seen by thousands of people who follow its brilliant trajectory. On the order of the commander of the Ciampino aerodrome, the radar observers lean on their devices. They see there the trace of the mysterious machine around 7 p.m. The craft, flying first at very high altitude - 10,000 meters? - descends a few hundred meters; then he sets off again at an extravagant speed, goes back up and disappears.

This observation, common to many Italians, and in particular to aviators, would be the subject of a close examination of the authorities and astronomers of the observatory of Rome. In France, it resulted in the flowering of innumerable more or less tapered objects, called cigars, stove pipes or rugby balls, of very different hues and behaviors, which evolved over all corners of the country.

ARE THE "SAUCERS"
REAL OBJECTS?

We only want, by these two examples, to attract the attention of those who would be too quick to take argument of the real existence of unknown machines crisscrossing the sky, based on the multiplicity of observations. The attention of the public drawn to the possibility of such phenomena certainly facilitates optical illusions, even hallucinations. This is a fact well known to all psychologists, and there is no need to insist on it.

This does not prevent the question from being asked. It is likely that some of these "visions" actually correspond to actually existing celestial objects.

If these objects exist, what are they? Everyone now knows the most classic theories on the subject. They have been popularized on numerous occasions, both in France and in the United States (I).

The first is that of craft from another world. An abundant literature has been written on this topic, as it is the hypothesis most commonly accepted by all those who have studied the matter closely. Major Keyhoe, former commander of American "marines", assures that the military authorities of his country have a file proving that the saucers come from another world and that they refuse to make it public, for fear of panic. Aimé Michel, on his side, writes that there is a 60% chance that the "saucers" exist. And, in that case, there is a 99% chance that they would be propelled by a form of energy that we are absolutely powerless to produce, but which we can however imagine in theory. And that it is therefore possible that beings living on another planet, and having a more advanced technique than ours, have perfected this revolutionary mode of propulsion.

ON THE THEORY
OF WAVES OF FORCE...

Aimé Michel alludes, in connection with this new energy likely to animate flying saucers, to the theory that a young military technician, Lieutenant Plantier, repeatedly developed in "Forces Aériennes Françaises" magazine. He supposes that it should be possible to harness the energy trapped in the cosmic radiation which continuously bombards the Earth. This energy would be used to create a variable and orientable "force field", similar to a kind of extremely strong magnetic field. This "force field" would be able, according to Lieutenant Plantier, to support and direct an interplanetary spacecraft, just as the water jet supports what shooters aim at the fair.

According to the technician, the ideal machine likely to be carried by this "force field" should have exactly the shape of a saucer. And its maneuvers, silent and extremely fast, would be those which have been observed by those who describe the mysterious craft crisscrossing the skies. Even the color changes often noted would really be those who occur to the object imagined by Lieutenant Plantier.

...TO BALLS OF FIRE

But, until one of these hypothetical inhabitants of another planet has kindly pushed kindness to manifest in a more direct and less theoretical way the reality of his existence, it is still permissible to think that the "evidence" of the existence of these interplanetary craft is still insufficient.

Especially since there is a second group of scientific hypotheses that explain the phenomenon. It is the one where the specialists call upon other physical data and consider that the "saucers" are in reality only celestial objects, very real certainly, but in no way mysterious.

Professor Haffner, well-known German astronomer, has just agreed to take part publicly in the debate on "flying saucers" by setting out his personal hypothesis; which falls into this group:

"The saucers", he says in substance, are probably fireballs produced by lightning at very high altitudes. The size, shape, speed, color, duration and mode of disappearance of these fireballs, he adds, are remarkably similar to the descriptions which have been made most often of the phenomena observed almost everywhere.

Professor Haffner shows that these balls, rarely observed in good conditions, but about which one knows a lot, however, emit sometimes very bright light rays, can change their shape and direction in a tiny fraction of a second, as a result of magnetic influences, and sometimes explode, disappearing quickly, giving the illusion of fading into the atmosphere.

CAN WE CONCLUDE?

It seems, in the light of these facts, that it is still impossible to pronounce either on the reality of the "saucers", or on the evidence that one or the other of the hypotheses put forward on the explanation of the phenomenon offers. Two things are certain, in our view. The first is that a very large part of the so-called "observations" have no scientific value, either that their authors were the object of an optical illusion or that those who comment on them were the victims of a prank.

The fact remains that some disturbing observations would warrant close investigation. But it is possible to believe that if these investigations bring the least element likely to build a valid hypothesis, the organizations concerned - army, police force and scientific body - would not scoff to do all that would be possible to deepen the problem. Both in the United States and in Europe, the official authorities in no way take the mystery of flying saucers lightly. The mere fact that the U.R.S. had recently announced on Radio Moscow that the Soviets were certain of being able to send a rocket to the Moon soon would certainly prevent this problem from being dealt with seriously. The wisest is therefore undoubtedly to wait until the specialists bring us the solution of the mystery...


(1) See in particular: Donald Keyhoe "The Dossier of flying saucers" (Hachette); Aimé Michel: "Gleams on the flying saucers" (Mame).

[Ref. ler2:] "L'EST REPUBLICAIN" NEWSPAPER:

Saucers - cigars and fireballs

After the flight of saucers over the White House the investigation revealed that radar sets were mistaken.

Thousands of people have actually seen the "bright objects" wander in the sky in a puzzling manner. Certainly, on September 28, the "saucer" seen above Mt. Revard by Dr Martinet and fifteen other people was a flock of starlings. The good doctor admitted his mistake the next day when an aviator, Michel Guyard, came to reveal that he also was intrigued by this glittering whirl, but that as he approached it with his plane he merely frightened peaceful birds - as a result, the perfect disc they formed was disrupted.

It is impossible, however, to explain other reports of observed phenomena as collective hallucination... although it is fair to note at first that these "saucers" appeared with extremely diverse aspects.

In the few hundred and fifty cases we have been cataloged in France, they looked round or oblong balls of fire, matt or bright, big or small, blue, green, red, yellow or white, naked or surrounded of a ring, noisy or silent, producing sparks (or smoke) or leaving no wake, when they did not have the form of discs, cigars or half cigars.

They were seen day and night, although their occupants preferred the troubled hours of dusk. They were especially seen evolving in every manners: slowly or quickly, horizontally or vertically, in a straight line or in a broken line.

How to sort all this?

The jet fighters hunted in vain

Could there be so many different saucers with so many different origins? If they come to us from outer space, are there so many other inhabited worlds... and who are interested in us?

In truth, nothing precise could be learned of the reported sightings and often witness of the same phenomenon does not agree among themselves as to the size, shape and color of the object. So we are at the same step as the Americans in 1952, when the new radar set installed just a few days ago in Washington detected flying "saucers", finally placing the matter in the field of science. This device could not be wrong and played the role of arbitrator in an unexpected but worrying manner.

Specialists on duty assured the survey in their new premises, when one fine morning the watchman was startled: a luminous echo appeared on the screen although no aircraft was reported. They first thought - it had happened - that a commercial aircraft had violated regulations of air navigation and was flying over the forbidden zone of the White House. They alerted "Shooting Star" squadrons, which took off immediately. But the "object" fainted before the arrival of the jet fighters. Thus the thing had fled at such an unimaginable speed, showing by that the existence of these objects zigzaging at thousands of kilometers an hour before dissolving in the sky. The emotion climbed and it was officially decided to strengthen monitoring devices. The order was not useless, because a few days later, a new alert was given.

Jet fighters take off and rush at the full power of their reactors to the spot of the sky indicated by their radio, but arrived there, they announced again: - The sky is empty.

"For God's sake, do not shoot on the saucers!"

This time radar men jump on their feet. The bright spot is on their screen, indisputable and provocative. The small spots of the "Shooting Star[s]" come close to covering it. Saucers, cigars and fireballs.

- Attention, you are in contact, scream the radar experts. But the fighters rush at 800 km/h in a still desert sky, with perhaps at this place a slightly milky transparency.

Are the famous "objects" merely ectoplasm?

Once again public opinion is moved. Letters reach the U.S. Air Force to ask "not to irritate the visitors." "For God's sake, do not shoot at the saucers" implores a correspondent. Technicians, of course, do not believe in ghosts. A new commission is appointed. For six months, aerodynamic engineers, astronomers, meteorologists and scientists of all disciplines having some possible connection with the "saucers" study dozens of cases. And their conclusion sudden bursts, amazing but indisputable, freeing America of a part of its fear, by revealing the radar, too, was wrong. Each time a ghost image scored the fighters, meteorologists found in altitude, the presence of a layer of cold air between two layers of warm air. The density (and index of refraction) of air varying with the temperature, this "sandwich" had acted like a mirror to the radioelectrical airwaves and airplanes were guided, after a descent as fast as the rise, towards sheds or metal structures on the ground. The phenomenon can also reflect the sun in the day and the moon and the lights of a city at night. Often, the picture is double or triple, each separation surface playing a distinct role; "Saucers in pairs."

Certainly temperature inversions do not explain everything. But US experts feel that they were responsible for nearly 80% of the reported luminous apparitions beyond the Atlantic, and many mysterious machines seen in France can probably be allotted to them.

It may be noted, in chronological order, two parallel gleams in Antibes, in August 1949, two silver balls in Poitiers, May 10, 1952, two white discs at Roche-sur-Yon, twelve days later, "numerous red saucers" flying in zigzag, two by two, on October 17, 1952 in Oloron-Sainte-Marie (the radar of Mont-de-Marsan perceives its echo like its American brothers). Many other cases could be cited to the most recent: last September 24 three oval objects were reported in Bayonne, three in Charente-Maritime and six "cigar" evolving two by two in Lantefontaine, Lorraine.

Cases of isolated phenomena are even more numerous. - What! cry the disappointed "pro-saucerists", so, it was only this? Honestly see that we find in this category of events most characteristics reported by the "witnesses": blurry lights, sometimes surrounded by a halo, appearance and disappearance (with the complicity of clouds or because of the fading of lighting conditions) and above developments as capricious as fast. The surface of separation of two air layers are not still, of course; it empties and oscillates under the influence of currents in the atmosphere and the image is rejected from one corner of the sky to another.

Very thin cosmic dust

It is regrettable that comments are usually too vague to allow the technician to decide with authority; but only immaterial manifestations may be gifted the dizzying, instantaneous speeds, lent to "saucers" in which most cases. Whatever their origin, terrestrial or extraterrestrial visitors, they would be subject to the laws of the universal gravitation (and consequently the acceleration), that all the planets in all galaxies undergo. Whatever the power of their machinery and engineering, "Saucers" could not overcome their own weight. And all the magnetic currents or other cosmic rays they are deemed to use may make immaterial beings. But the meteorologists still have in their arsenal the noctilucent clouds that Vestine and Störmer think to be composed of very fine cosmic dust from outer space. These meteors are at 75 or 80 kilometers high, becoming brighter as the night goes on and present their maximum brightness at about midnight. The very serious "International Atlas of clouds "indicates that they may be driven by the powerful air currents prevailing in these altitudes, at speeds of 50 to 250 meters per second, or 180 to 900 kms. Let's recall in our turn that it only takes a small cumulus, although classic, but hidden in the night, so that the "saucer" vanishes and reappears.

- But, protesting the "pro-saucerists" you still have demolished only simplistic and disappointing sightings with this argument. They can rest assured there are other answers, more varied and also safe, to the most amazing events.

Barrels, discs, pots, headlights and flying balls are on the verge of dethroning the saucers and other cigars.

The time is gone, by far, when an ordinary "saucer" crossed the blue sky at high pace and disappeared over the horizon leaving a bluish trail. Since then, there were "cigars" which, together with their shape, generally took shimmering colors allowing witnesses not be wrong.

All this is outdated, if we judge by the recent observations made in France by people whose good faith may not be in doubt. The mysterious craft that arouse so much controversies and are poised to discord in many families between those who believe and those who disbelieve it, now take extremely varied and pleasing forms. As to colors, they turn from red to yellow through orange to any possible colors and halftones. Thus we have seen over the last twenty-four hours in the sky of France, several discs, a large headlight, a big ball, a pot, a crescent, and a barrel, a big star, not to mention the "saucers" and other "cigars" whose enumeration would be too long.

From Normandy...

The disks attracted the attention both of a Le Havre taxi driver, over Deauville, and a Lyon journalist south of the Basilica of Fourvière. In both cases, they were red-orange colored and shiny. They disappeared after ten minutes. The big headlight was moving over Aurec-sur-Loire (Haute-Loire) at high speed by issuing a orange-red light beam also. "When it disappeared", witnesses, Mr. and Mrs. Teyssier, of Saint-Etienne, said, "a second craft, similar to the first and appearing to follow it disappeared in the same direction."

In Epinac-les-Mines (Saône-et-Loire), drivers, puzzled, stopped at the roadside to follow the slow and graceful maneuvers of a big ball of light whose color, unfortunately, is not specified.

... to the Auvergne

The pot and the crescent troubled the tranquility of many northerners. The first, in Ablain-Saint-Nazaire, turned on itself and freed a reddish glow. The second, in the sky of Lievin, hovered for a few minutes before splitting in two. That is when the upper part was standing still as the other landed in a field between two haystacks, then suddenly flew to join again the part remained in the air!...

It was night in Montecreau -Villebois-Lavalette (Charente) when Mr. Jean Allary, 22, saw by the light of the headlight of his motorcycle, a kind of 1.80-meters-high barrel and nails of golden nails! It swung on the roadside and fled when the witness approached. The next day, at the place indicated by Mr. Allary, witnesses spotted traces of about seven meters in length in the grass by the roadside.

It is the Clermont-Ferrand residents who, today, had the last word with the big star changing from the white to green and yellow to red, which, driven by a rotary movement, left behind an orange plume Monday night at 7 p.m. in the sky of Clermont-Ferrand.

Scientific controversies...

These celestial phenomena result, we have said it, in heated controversy. Thus a Professor of the University of Bonn, Joseph Meurès, said during a conference: "The book by American author Key Hoc [sic, Keyhoe] on flying saucers is not even worth the paper on which it is printed." Mr. Duneau Fletcher, vice president of the Astronomical Association of Kenya has another opinion: "The existence of saucers" is not to question, he believes, very experienced observers have seen them across the globe. And Mr. Fletcher gives his little idea on the question: "Visitors from another world observe the Earth and probably map it."

And merry pranks

These scholarly remarks do not prevent pranksters have fun with it at the expense of their fellow citizens. The police came and ended the hobby of a pensioner of Beuvry-les-Bethune who made gears three meters in diameter with sheets of paper very carefully glued and fitted at their base of a small receptacle containing a clump of tow soaked with a flammable liquid. Once he set fire to the tow, the "saucer" was in the sky and disappeared with the wind with yellow, orange and red lights. Alas! the truth was discovered when a gear began to set fire to a haystack...

[Ref. tht1:] "TERRE HAUTE TRIBUNE" NEWSPAPER:

Scan.

FRENCH SAUCERS

Flying saucer stories originated in the United States, spread to Canada, and have now burst out in France. The French saucer tales have a gallic quality that adds to their fascination.

For instance, a French farmer claims that as he was walking along a lonely road, a creature came up to him, caressed his arm, and made unintelligible noises. Then it moved off to a waiting saucer, says the farmer, which he could no see because he was blinded and temporarily paralyzed by a green ray directed at him. (Only in France would a creature from outer space caress a man who chanced upon him on a lonely road.)

Then a former artillery officer in France reported he saw a dark-gray object hovering over some mountains at about 6.000 feet. As he stopped his car to look, the mass sudeenly "shot away like lightning and disappeared." The element of ramce is missing here, but not that of wonder.

It's impossible to say that flying saucers don't exist; certainly stories about them appear to be universal. But so, at one time, did stories of witches and fairies come from all over the world. What is universal today is the jitters. It may be these, along with the fantastic devices assembled by science, that cause people to see things in the sky which exist only in their imagination.

[Ref. ree1:] NEWSPAPER "THE RECORD-EAGLE":

Scan.

FRENCH SAUCERS

Flying saucer stories originated in the United States, spread to Canada, and have now burst out in France. The French saucer tales have a gallic quality that adds to their fascination.

For instance, a French farmer claims that as he was walking along a lonely road, a creature came up to him, caressed his arm, and made unintelligible noises. Then it moved off to a waiting saucer, says the farmer, which he could no see because he was blinded and temporarily paralyzed by a green ray directed at him. (Only in France would a creature from outer space caress a man who chanced upon him on a lonely road.)

Then a former artillery officer in France reported he saw a dark-gray object hovering over some mountains at about 6.000 feet. As he stopped his car to look, the mass sudeenly "shot away like lightning and disappeared." The element of ramce is missing here, but not that of wonder.

It's impossible to say that flying saucers don't exist; certainly stories about them appear to be universal. But so, at one time, did stories of witches and fairies come from all over the world. What is universal today is the jitters. It may be these, along with the fantastic devices assembled by science, that cause people to see things in the sky which exist only in their imagination.

[Ref. ben1:] "BRIDGETON EVENING NEWS" NEWSPAPER:

Scan.

French Saucers

Flying saucers stories originated in the United States, spread to Canada, and have now burst out in France. The French saucer tales have a Gallic quality that adds to their fascination.

For instance, a French farmer claims that he was walking along a lonely road, a creature came up to him, caressed his arms, and made inintelligible noises. Then it moved off in a waiting saucer says the farmer, which could not see because he was blinded and temporarily paralyzed by a green ray directed at him. (Only in France would a creature from outer space caress a man who chanced upon him on a lonely road.)

Then a former artillery observer in France reported he saw a dark-gray object hovering over some mountains at about 6000 feet. As he stopped his car to look, the mass suddenly "shot away like lightning and disappeared". The element of romance is missing here, but not that of wonder.

It's impossible to say that flying saucers don't exist; certainly stories about them appear universal. But so, at one time, did stories of witches and fairies come from all over the world. What is universal today is the jitters. It may be these, along with the fantastic devices assembled by science, that cause people to see things in the sky which exist only in their imaginations.

[Ref. hws1:] HAROLD T. WILKINS:

The author indicates that in 1954 in France, a doctor from Chambery and 15 witnesses say they saw a "flying saucer circus" in the skies over Lyons. Wilking notes that the expression presumably means a fleet of UFOs. The doctor said what he saw was a dark grey mass hovering over a 6,000 feet high mountain. When it lost height, it looked like an inverted plate, light in color with darker patches.

The author indicates further in his book that that in September 1954, in the Savoie, on the Franco-Swiss frontier, fifteen persons watched for five minutes a saucer maneuvering in the sky.

[Ref. ous1:] INVESTIGATIONS REPORTS IN "OURANOS":

In the Ouranos report on the case in Chabeuil on the same day, this case is mentioned as maybe related to the Chabeuil case. Underneath are the extracts of the related Ouranos report. The witness of Chabeuil, Mrs Leboeuf, heard of the case and mentions it in her statement, and the authors of the Ouranos report specify that it was later in the afternoon (02:30 P.M. versus 05:12 P.M.).

"A doctor of Chambéry is said to have seen a flying saucer 5 minutes afterwards, coming from the direction of Chabeuil, it could thus be the same one." (1)

[Ref. aml1:] AIME MICHEL:

Aimé Michel indicates that the witnesses were Doctor Martinet, dermatologist of Chambery and formerly artillery observant, his wife, three trainees of the air base of Le Bourget-du-Lac, and the occupants of three car, the whole group amounting to about fifteen people.

Aimé Michel provides the following account by Doctor Martinet, indicate that the account was summarized in the daily press:

"It was approximately 05:12 P.M.. We were returning by car from the col du Chat [pass of the Cat], when suddenly I saw at an apparent location of above la croix du Nivolet, at an altitude which I evaluated of 2000 meters, at the limit of the foggy zone, an aluminium gray body. Having driven past the air force base of Le Bourget, I stopped my vehicle, the three others did stop too, and we followed the evolutions of the object. It was then 05:14:30 P.M.."

"First of all, I thought of some atmospheric phenomenon, such as a cloudburst etc. But the wind blew from the North-West, and the phenomenon came from the South. Thirty seconds later, whereas we were about fifteen people to observe this object, it started to go down in a falling leaf manner, offering the aspect of a plate whose relief had been turned upwards. At 05:16 P.M., it suddenly presented itself upfron in the shape of a perfect disc. After that, it came to the apparent vertical location above the cablecar station of Revard, went down a little, then suddenly accelerated and disappeared as fast as a thunderflash. It was exactly 05:18:40 P.M."

"Depending on the angles of observation, the object went from a dark gray aluminum to a clearer gray. The phenomenon had lasted a little more than four minutes, during which I noted all his complicated moves on my note-book."

[Ref. gqy1:] GUY QUINCY:

Scan.

September 26 [1954]

05:12 p.m.: Croix-du-Nivolet/Challes-les-Eaux/Mont-Revard (Savoie):br /> craft in the shape of an upside down soup plate

[Ref. pmi1:] PAUL MISRAKI:

Indeed, during this same day [September 26, 1954], an "unknown object with aluminum tints" was seen by a former artillery observer above Challes-les-Eaux (Savoie), while the passengers of a coach, then a household of roadmenders, observed a luminous, reddish object, first in the sky, then landed in a field, near Foussignargues (Gard). However, if we draw a straight line from Foussignargues to Challes-les-Eaux, this line crosses Chabeuil.)

[Note: this paragraph was removed from the 1978 reprint titled "Des Signes dans le Ciel".]

[Ref. cln1:] CORAL AND JIM LORENZEN:

These American authors note that on September 26, 1954, in France, half an hour after Madame Leboeuf's encounters, witnesses at Col du Chat, 65 miles northeast of the place of her sighting in Chabeuil, saw an object arrive at that location.

[Ref. obr1:] OTTO BINDER:

September 26, 1954, Col du Chat, France. Fifteen people saw a disc like an "inverted plate" that was descending "like a falling leaf."

[Ref. lex1:] UFOLOGY BULLETIN "LES EXTRATERRESTRES":

Scan.

how to describe a "flying saucer"?

There are two kinds:

- The classic "saucer" in the shape of a disc (Vermon [sic] August 23, 1954) or an upside-down plate (Col du chat on September 26, 1954) (Fouesnant on October 15, 1954). Sometimes the disc is surmounted by a cupola or dome (Royan October 11, 1954), sometimes it has a dark spot or a darker area in the center of the lower part light or lighter (Col du Chat).

[Ref. lex2:] UFOLOGY BULLETIN "LES EXTRATERRESTRES":

Scan.

The craft starts to come down like a falling leaf (col du chat).

[Ref. hdt1:] "HENRY DURRANT":

Discussing the "ways of moving these craft", the author notes that at the Col du Chat, the craft "starts to come down in falling leaf motion..."

[Ref. lpo1:] UFOLOGY BULLETIN "LE PHENOMENE OVNI":

Scan.

THE 1954 WAVE IN SAVOIE

Only 2 observations have come to our attention [Note by Patrick Gross: 20 in my catalogue], for this famous French wave.

The first has become a great classic of this wave, and was published and studied by Aimé MICHEL, in his book "Mystérieux Objets Célestials" (Seghers publisher 1977 reporint, page 115 to 117. We recite this text in full:

1) SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 26, 1954 / Observation of Dr. MARTINET -

"The witnesses are Dr. MARTINET, dermatologist in Chambéry, his wife, 3 students from the Bourget du Lac air base, and the occupants of 3 cars, in all about fifteen people. Dr. Martinet is a former artillery observer.

It was around 5:12 p.m., he reports. We were returning by car from the Col du Chat, when suddenly I saw, directly above the Croix Ddu Nivolet (1,547 m. alt), at an altitude which I estimated at 2000 meters, at the limit of the misty zone, an aluminum gray body. Having passed the Bourget du Lac air base, I stopped my vehicle, 3 other cars did the same, and we followed the moves of the object. It was then 5:14:30 p.m.

First, I thought of some atmospheric phenomena, such as waterspouts, etc. But the wind was blowing from the NW, and the phenomenon was coming from the south. Thirty seconds later, when there were about fifteen of us studying this object, it began to descend like a dead leaf, giving the appearance of a plate of which the relief had been turned upwards. At 5:16 p.m., it suddenly appeared face-on, in the form of a perfect disc. We were then able to note that a clearer zone occupied the center of the craft and that dark spots were all around. After which, it came directly above the Revard cable car station, descended a little, then suddenly accelerated and disappeared like lightning. It was exactly 5:10:40 p.m.

Depending on the viewing angles, the object changed from a dark gray to a lighter gray. The phenomenon had lasted a little over 4 minutes, during which I noted all its extremely complicated movements on my notebook.

This story, or summary, was published by all the newspapers. A few days later, Michel GUYARD, chief pilot at the Challes les Eaux airfield (6 km south of the Nivolet cross), reported that that day, at the same time, having thought he saw a flying saucer, he had then identified it as a flock of starlings. And everyone was well pleased with such a reassuring explanation, given by someone so qualified.

Nobody had the curiosity to take a look at the map. However, the map reveals that the Nivolet cross is more than 8 km in straight line from the Mont Revard cable car station. Therefore, one of two things:

.) either the witnesses and Mr. Martinet, evaluated without error the real distance of the phenomenon, and it must be deduced that it traveled IN A STRAIGHT LINE 8,000 meters in 4 minutes, which puts the AVERAGE speed of the flight of starlings at

Scan.

more than 100 km/h, and, given the fantasies of the trajectory, the real speed at 250 km/h, not to mention the stops and the lightning final departure.

.) or the witnesses have underestimated the distances, and then the speed of the starlings is increased accordingly.

.) or the witnesses overestimated the distances, and in this case the pilot of Challes could not see what the witnesses saw, and his flight of starlings.

There is no escaping this dilemma."-

(NOTE: this observation is in a straight line with the two other observations of this day: CHABEUIL (Drôme) and a href="27sep1954foussignargues.htm">FOUSSIGNARGUES (Gard) - [and 4 other, non aligned, sightings]

CSERU NOTE:

The distance between Le Revard station and the Nivolet cross is exactly 7.5 kilometres, which does not change anything to Aimé Michel's demonstration. This observation presents 2 essential characteristics of the UFO phenomenon: The "dead leaf" descent and the lightning departure.

A counter-investigation is impossible, Dr. Martinet having tragically died fifteen years ago, and the rest of his family having left Chambéry.

[Ref. gab1:] UFOLOGY GROUP "G.A.B.R.I.E.L.":

Scan.

The "Compact Saucers"

[... other case...]

Nr 5. Col du Chat (Savoie) 03:10 p.m.; unknown diameter.

[... other case...]

These four craft correspond to what is commonly called "Flying Saucers", they often look like upside-down plates. We called them "Compact" because they do not reveal any structure and the only elements that can be detected on each of them are often made up of simple spots of light.

[Ref. gab2:] UFOLOGY GROUP "G.A.B.R.I.E.L.":

09/26/1954 Col du Chat (Savoie)

This Sunday, around 5:15 p.m., Doctor Martinet observed at an altitude estimated by him at 2000m a dark disc giving the appearance of an upturned hollow plate... The object began to descend in zig-zag and in rolling from one edge to the other, like a dead leaf falling. (A.Michel)

[Ref. bbr1:] GERARD BARTHEL AND JACQUES BRUCKER:

The two authors indicate that Doctor Martinet told:

"It was approximately 05:12 p.m., we were returnin from the Pass of the Cat (Col du Chat) when I suddenly saw above Croix du Nivollet, at an altitude of 2000 meters, at the limit of the foggy area, an aluminum gray body. After the Bourget air base, I stopped as well as the occupants of the other cars, it was 105:14 30 seconds p.m.; thirty seconds later, the object started to go down like a falling leaf, offering the aspect of a plate whose convex side had been turned upwards. At 05:16 it was facing us, in the shape of a perfect disc. In the center of the machine, a clearer zone and dark spots around. Then it went down suddenly, accelerated and disappeared in a split second. Depending on the observation angle, the object changed from dark gray to clear gray."

The two authors comment:

"This testimony is one of most precise there is. Its narrator, whose good faith and the perfect operation of the wristwatch cannot be questioned, the significant number of witnesses result that in this case we have to the perfect elements to analyze this UFO..."

Further in the book, they add that according to France-Soir for October 1, 1954, "a balloon was indeed observed".

[Ref. mft2:] MICHEL FIGUET:

[... Other information...]

About the sighting by Dr Martinet, it is really 05:12 p.m., 05:14 p.m. or 05:18 p.m. according to the different newspapers of the time.

[... Other information...]

[Ref. bbr2:] GERARD BARTHEL AND JACQUES BRUCKER:

These authors indicate in criticism of an article by Michel Figuet that Dr. Martinet made his observation at 05:12 p.m. or 05:14 p.m. or p.m. 05:18 p.m. according to France Soir of October 1, 1954 and their investigation on the location on February 20, 1977.

The authors say that the explanation is that he had seen a balloon, also seen in many departments such as Savoy and Drôme in cases which they investigated.

They add that France Soir of October 1, 1954, dates the case as September 29, 1954, and that this case is variously located depending to the sources as at "col du Chat", "croix de Nivolet", "Challes les Eaux".

[Ref. gep1:] UFOLOGY GROUP "GEPO":

09.26/54 (17) Col du Chat-Nivolet F 1014C2

[Ref. via1:] UFOLOGY BULLETIN "VIMANA 21":

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 30: CARROUSEL OF FLYING SAUCERS IN THE SKY OF FRANCE -

One of the craft was reportedly filmed.

Lyon - In the departments of the Rhone, Isère, Savoie, Drome, many people claim to have seen, in recent days, with more or less sharpness, craft having either the shape of cigar, or of disk.

In the Arbresle region (the Rhône), one of these witnesses, director of a Parisian music hall, even filmed one of these mysterious apparatuses, which moved at a height estimated by him at about 700m. We will know, after development, whether or not it is an optical illusion.

Near Feyzin (the Isère) a young man reportedly saw in the countryside, not far from the ground, a craft shaped like a dome and from which a very bright light burst out. The witness compared it to that caused by the burning of magnesium. The apparatus suddenly climbed vertically leaving behind it, a shower of sparks and disappeared.

In the Drôme, a resident of Valence, who was walking near Chabeuil, claims to have encountered, in the path she followed, a small being, dressed so oddly that she first thought it was a scarecrow in cellophane. The dog that accompanied the walker barked furiously, seized with terror. As for her, terrified as well, she hid behind a hedge. That's when she saw rise from the maize field that bordered the road, a disc from which came a hissing sound.

Shortly thereafter, the witness and the peasants went to the field where, according to them, a round trace of about 30 meters diameter, with maize lying down and branches broken at the edge. Other residents of Chabeuil also said they saw that day, a flying saucer moving over the countryside.

Finally, in the Savoy, near the Bourget Lake, above Mount Revard, several motorists, fifteen people, saw simultaneously a craft in the shape of a disc, move for about 4 minutes then disappear suddenly. One of the witnesses, a doctor in Chambéry is a a former artillery observer, he carefully noted the observations and drew a sketch reproducing the path of the mysterious apparatus.

The source is said to be the newspaper Le Bien Public.

[Ref. lgs4:] LOREN GROSS:

Scan.

"Carrousel de soucoupes volantes."

"Soucoupe volante" activity was on the rise in France as September came to a close. As a French newspaper put it: "carrousel dans in [sic] le ciel de France. "

Of the more interesting stories in the article is a sighting at Lyons by at least 16 people. One of the witnesses, a doctor, said that in the air just above a 6,000 foot mountain a dark gray mass had appeared. The "mass" sank to a lower altitude and its shape was seen clearer. The "mass" was actually an object that resembled an "inverted plate" covered with dark patches.

[Ref. lgs1:] LOREN GROSS:

Loren Gross reproduced this newspaper article without giving its source:

Scan.

CARROUSSEL OF FLYING SAUCERS
in the sky of France

One of the craft was reportdely filmed

Lyon, September 29. -- In the departments of Rhône, Isère, Drôme and Savoy, many people claim to have seen in recent days, with more or less clarity, craft either in the shape of cigars or in the shape of discs.

In the region of Arbresles (Rhône), one of these witnesses, director of a Paris music hall, even filmed one of these mysterious apparatuses that moved at a height estimated by him at about 700 meters. We will thus know after development of the film whether or not it is an optical illusion.

Near Feyzin (Isère), a young man reportedly saw in the countryside, not far from the ground, a machine in the shape of a dome and from which a very bright light sprang forth. The witness compared it to that caused by the burning of magnesium. The craft suddenly climbed vertically leaving behind a shower of sparks and disappeared.

In the Drôme, a resident of Valence, Mrs. L... who was walking near Chabeuil, claims to have met in the path she followed, a being of small size dressed so oddly that she thought at first that it was a cellophane scarecrow. The

Continued on 12th page.

dog that accompanied the walker barked furiously in terror. As for Mrs. L... also terrified, she hid behind a hedge.

It was then that she saw rising from the corn field that bordered the road, a disc whence emanated a hissing sound. Shortly after, the witness and some peasants went to the field where, according to them, a circular trace of about three meters in diameter was clearly visible, with maize laid on the ground and broken branches on the border.

Other residents of Chabeuil also said that on that day they saw a flying saucer flying over the countryside.

Finally in Savoie near Lake Bourget, above mount Revard, several motorists, in total about fifteen people, saw simultaneously a craft with the form of a disc molve for about four minutes, then suddenly disappear.

One of the witnesses, a doctor from Chambéry, is a former artillery observer. He carefully noted the observations and drew a sketch reproducing the path of the mysterious craft.

In the Southwest

Perpignan, September 29. -- A baker from Canet-Plage, Mr. Etienne Err, said that after returning from a delivery tour with his van, he had seen above this locality, a brilliant disc which, after having described large circles, moved towards the sea.

On the other hand, seven workers from a factory in the suburbs of Perpignan claim to have also seen an object of an indefinable color moving at high speed, and which would have crossed the Pyrenees towards Spain.

***

Toulouse, September 29. -- Three inhabitants of Lanta, near Villefranche-de-Lauraguais (Haute-Garonne), Mr. and Mrs. Brunet and Mr. Gadra, teacher of the locality, affirm they saw, yesterday evening, above the village, a luminous disk of orange color.

The object was moving at a great height and was moving north-south.

After being visible for thirty to forty seconds, the luminous disc disappeared on the horizon.

At the sight of a "saucer" a locomotive driver falls ill

Rennes, September 29th. - MM. Gérard, a mechanic, and Paroux, a chauffeur, who drove a top-of-the-line machine from Nantes, spotted last night as they passed the place called "La Butte du Rouge", municipality of Saint-Nicolas de Redon (Ille-et-Vilaine), a craft that rose from neighboring marshes.

This craft of some length which was followed by a luminous train flew for about ten seconds above the machine and disappeared in the sky.

If the mechanic kept his composure, the driver was so frightened that he fell ill and had to get a medical examination this morning.

[Ref. lgs5:] LOREN GROSS:

September 26th. 5:10 p.m.

"Gray aluminum-like object."

A fascinating UFO event near Col du Chat, France (the department of Savale [sic]) the afternoon of September 26th was recorded by the French press.

Fifteen people, all occupants of three passing automoblies, saw and reported mysterious aerial objects. According to one witness, a Dr. Marinet, the event happened this way:

"It was 5:10 p.m., or a little later. We were back from Col du Chat when suddenly I noticed, apparently above the Croix du Nivolet, at an altitude which I estimated as 6,500 feet at the edge of the foggy zone, a gray aluminum-like obiect. When I had gone past the air base of Bourget I stopped there, three other cars stopped too, and we watched the maneuvers of th£ ~bject. The time was then exactly 5:14:30.

"At first I thought this must be some atmospheric phenomenon, a waterspout or the like. But the wind was blowing from the northwest later, with about fifteen of us now observing the object, it began to descend like a falling leaf, presenting the appearance of a plate with the bottom turned upward. At 5:16 it suddenly turned face on, in the shape of a perfect disk. We were able to see then that a lighter section occupied the center of the craft and that there were dark spots all around it. After that it moved again until it seemed to be hovering over the radio station of Mount Revard, came down a little, then abruptly accelerated and disappeared in a flash. It was exactly 5:18:40.

"According to the angle from which it was seen, the object changed from dark gray, like aluminum, to a light gray. The phenomenon had lasted a little more than four minutes, during which I wrote down in my notebook each of the complicated moves by the object." 128,

The doctor was an ex-artillery observer and evidently knew something of size and distance. Three of the other witnesses were young men in training at the nearby Bourget-du-Lac air base. 129.

[Ref. lgs2:] LOREN GROSS:

A front page story.

October 3rd. London's Sunday Dispatch.

So much was happening in France the English press was forced to take note. Actually the story was too big. The London Sunday Dispatch could only print a summary on its front page. With the situation unclear, errors and the lack of detail was inevitable in the reporting. The Dispatch informed its readers:

"Near Grenoble farmer Joseph Habrat saw a luminous engine moving at great speed.

"His daughter, Yvette, said it came to within 600 yards with a gentle snoring sound.

"A little later two thousand people saw a dozen of them 'dancing a ballet' in the sky.

"Two people at Rixheim, near Mulhouse, watched a cigar-shaped luminous engine surrounded by twelve smaller satellite cigars.

"Three holiday-makers on Carry-le-Rouet beach saw a half-cigar over the port. Three women who saw it described it as leaving a trail of smoke.

"A flying mushroom was reported by a lorry-driver and his friend at Faremontiers. It was in a field and had three tripod-like legs.

"'I tried to approach it,' he said, 'but about four hundred feet away I was stopped by a ray. I felt little prickings. My head swam. I had a cold sweat. I could not move.'

"The mushroom then rose slowly and flew off.

"Dr. Martinet, skin disease specialist at Chambery, watched a flying saucer manoeuvring in the sky for four minutes.

"In the gulf of Gascony the mate and two seamen of a cargo boat saw a moving disc with a greenish glow.

"Actress Michele Morgan saw a luminous disc over the Invalides air terminal in Paris.

"There have been three reports of men from another planet landing in France.

"At Vienne a farmer said the visitor, who wore a kind of diving suit, caressed his arm.

"A woman at Drome saw a being about the size of a child and with a human face. He seemed to be wrapped in a transparent sack.'

"Both visitors to France returned to their saucers and took off vertically.

"A little helmeted and booted man with a revolver firing 'luminous and paralysing rays' was seen by the foreman of a quarry at Marcilly-sur-Vienne and six of his workmen.

"A whistling sound drew the attention of two men at Blanzy to a cigar-shaped machine in a freshly ploughed field.

"The men said the machine was about six feet in length. The pointed tip was yellow, the rest of the cigar brown.

"As they approached the machine it rose vertically.

"A policeman, a grocer, and eight other people saw an incandescent 'cigar' at Agen.

"A brilliant ball appeared to a stallkeeper at Belesta. He said it left a trail of grey smoke as it shot through the sky."

The author of the aforementioned account noted that at the same time that day (October 3, 1954) 40 miles away an amazing "sky display" was taking place above a wooded area near the village of Marcoign, France, before 20 witnesses. That so many people at the same moment at different locations should have a similar hallucination boggled the writer's mind, so much so he consulted a psychiatrist assigned to the Law Courts of the Seine, a Dr. Gouriou.

"Is mass "delusion upon this scale possible?"

The above question was put to the mental health expert who replied he had never known a flying saucer to play a role in any of his patient's hallucinations, and that hallucinations were usually sounds rather than visual images. Moreover, when on rare occasions visual disorders did occur, such problems were nearly always due to toxemia or cerebral lesions which would certainly help to rule out the possibility of a "mass visual delusion." 24.

Dr. Gouriou then wisely ended the interview with: "...I for one think that those who maintain that they have seen saucers do so in good faith, unless of course they are trying to hoax us. But we must never forget that whatever a normal human being sees, he, to a considerable extent interprets, and this fact alone renders all human evidence fallible." 25.

[Ref. djn1:] DONALD JOHNSON:

Encounter With Aliens On This Day

September 26

[...]

1954 - A disc-shaped object maneuvered around the sky and then hovered over a radio station on a mountain peak in Col-de-Chat, Savoie department, France at 5:14 p.m. There were 15 witnesses, and the sighting lasted at least 4 minutes. A photograph was taken. (Sources: Thomas M. Olsen, The Reference for Outstanding UFO Reports, case 50; Aime Michel, Flying Saucers and the Straight Line Mystery, p. 81).

[Ref. jsr1:] JEAN SIDER:

29 - Case of La Croix-du-Nivolet, Chambéry, Savoie.

On September 26 around 5:15 p.m., so in broad daylight, Dr. Martinet and fifteen other people followed the moves of a phenomenon which, at one time, was observed in the form of a perfect disc.

Page 153, B& B admit that the testimony provided is one of the most precise that we have, "especially since the good faith of the doctor and the large number of witnesses constitute perfect elements for analyzing this UFO". Then, without transition, they move on to the account of other observations made in other places and on different days (but also less precise), a digression which allows them to mislead the reader. Finally the coup de grace appears on page 156: "It is remarkable to note that in the newspaper France-Soir of October 1, 1954, a denial was made specifying that indeed a balloon i> had been observed".

It is a lie! I have a photocopy of this Parisian source, page "seven D" exactly, and in the middle of the 2nd column one can learn with dismay that the observation of the Dr. Martinet is explained from the testimony of Mr. Michel Guyart, chief pilot at the Challes-les-Eaux airfield, who claimed to have seen... a flight of starlings!

B & B do not cite the source from which they learned of Dr. Martinet's description, but all those I have collected, both local and Parisian, give details that have been "redacted" by our censors, including these:

- Dr. Martinet is a former artillery observer.

- First he thought of some atmospheric phenomenon... but the wind was blowing from the northwest, and the phenomenon was coming from the south.

- The phenomenon was visible for more than four minutes, and on a notebook, Dr. Martinet recorded all its extremely complicated movements.

B& B therefore puts forward a false explanation, which moreover is undermined by the italicized elements above. Exit the balloon21! As for the flight of starlings, I did not yet know this kind of explanation before discovering it in France-Soir. If a doctor, a former artillery observer, took (along with 15 other witnesses) a flight of starlings for a saucer, perhaps he was drunk like a Pole, you never know! I have already seen flights of starlings in the Haute-Normandie, and each time I did recognize flights of starlings. And I'm not a former artillery observer...

Note in passing that France-Soir of October 1, 1954, page seven D, gives the testimony of Mr. Guyart, without mentioning the place nor the date of the observation of "his" flight of starlings... Did you say weird?

Starlings do not fly very high, but the explanation lies at the bottom. However, I admit that the story of the gendarmes who allegedly took the Moon for a flying saucer is a record hard to beat!

[Ref. lgs3:] LOREN GROSS:

Scan.

1? October. ? Chambery, France. (no time)

This incident was mentioned briefly on page four of the history monograph UFOs: A History 1954, October, page 4. Here is some additional detail: "Dr. M. Martinet, of Chambery, a former artillery observer, backed up by 15 witnesses, said he saw a dark gray mass hovering over mountains about 6,000 feet up. When it lost height it appeared 'in the shape of a plate, bottomside up."' (xx.)

(xx.) Auckland, New Zealand. Star. 1 October 54. (N.Z.P.A.- Reuter)

[Ref. lhh1:] LARRY HATCH - "*U* COMPUTER DATABASE":

3841: 1954/09/26 17:10 9 5:59:00 E 45:40:00 N 3333 WEU FRN SVO 8:A

Mt.REVARD,FR:15+ OBS:SCR MNVRS:HVRS OVR RADIO STN/peak:FOTO:/r217p60+/r49p81

Ref#197 WEINSTEIN, D: French Newsclips 1954 Page No. 35 : MOUNTAINS

[Ref. lcn1:] LUC CHASTAN:

Luc Chastan indicates in his database that in Savoy in Le Bourget du Lac on September 26, 1954 at 17:12, "The witnesses are Doctor Martinet, dermatologist of Chambéry and former artillery observant, his wife, three pupils of the air base of Le Bourget-du-Lac, and the occupants of three cars, the whole group amounting to about fifteen people."

"'It was approximately 17:12. We returned by car from the Pass of Le Chat, when suddenly I saw at the apparent zenith of the cross of Nivolet, at an altitude I evaluated as 2000 meters, at the limit of the misty zone, a gray aluminum body. Having exceeded the air base of Le Bourget, I stopped my vehicle, the three others did the same, and we followed the maneuvers of the object. It was then 17:14 mn 30 s.'"

"'Initially, I thought of some atmospheric phenomenon, such as a cloudburst etc. But the wind blew from the Northwest, and the phenomenon came from the South Thirty seconds later, whereas we were about fifteen people to observe this object, it started to go down in falling leaf motion, offering the appearance of a plate whose bump had been turned upwards. At 17:16, it suddenly presented its front in the shape of a perfect disc. After that, it came to the apparent zenithof the cable car station of Revard, went down a little, then suddenly accelerated and disappeared like a thunderflash. It was exactly 17:18 mn 40 s. Depending on the angles of observation, the object passed from a dark gray aluminium to a clearer gray. The phenomenon had lasted a little more than four minutes, during which I noted all its complicated displacements on my notebook.'"

The sources are indicated as "UFOs at Close Sight by Gross Patrick ** http://ufologie.net" and "M.O.C. by Michel Aimé ** Arthaud 1958".

[Ref. uda1:] "UFODNA" WEBSITE:

The website indicates that on 29 September 1954 at 17:15 in Chambery, France, "Hovered. A hovering object was observed. A daytime disc was observed by 15 witnesses for over four minutes."

The source is indicated as Del Valle [sic, Delval], Pierre, Pierre Del Valle investigation files, Bordeaux.

[Ref. uda2:] "UFODNA" WEBSITE:

The website indicates that on 29 September 1954 at night in Lyon, France, "Doctor incident." And: "Fleet of large dinner-plate shaped discs, silver with dark spots on sides. A flying disc was observed. One silver disc was observed by over 16 witnesses in a city."

The source is indicated as Hatch, Larry, *U* computer database, Author, Redwood City, 2002.

[Ref. nip1:] "THE NICAP WEBSITE":

*Sep. 26, 1954 - A disc-shaped object maneuvered around the sky and then hovered over a radio station on a mountain peak in Col-de-Chat, Savoie department, France at 5:14 p.m. There were 15 witnesses, and the sighting lasted at least 4 minutes. A photograph was taken. (Sources: Thomas M. Olsen, The Reference for Outstanding UFO Reports, case 50; Aime Michel, Flying Saucers and the Straight Line Mystery, p. 81).

[Ref. tai1:] "THINK ABOUT IT" WEBSITE:

Date: September 26 1954

Location: Challes Airport, Savoie, France

Time: 05:18:40 P.M.

Summary: Doctor Martinet. “First of all, I thought of some atmospheric phenomenon, such as a cloudburst etc. But the wind blew from the North-West, and the phenomenon came from the South. Thirty seconds later, whereas we were about fifteen people to observe this object, it started to go down in a falling leaf manner, offering the aspect of a plate whose relief had been turned upwards. At 05:16 P.M., it suddenly presented itself upfron in the shape of a perfect disc. After that, it came to the apparent vertical location above the cablecar station of Revard, went down a little, then suddenly accelerated and disappeared as fast as a thunderflash. It was exactly 05:18:40 P.M.” “Depending on the angles of observation, the object went from a dark gray aluminum to a clearer gray. The phenomenon had lasted a little more than four minutes, during which I noted all his complicated moves on my note-book.”

Source: “Mystérieux Objets Célestes”, book by Aimé Michel, Seghers publisher, France, pp 115-117, 1958.

[Ref. ubk1:] "UFO-DATENBANK":

Case Nr. New case Nr. Investigator Date of observation Zip Place of observation Country of observation Hour of observation Classification Comments Identification
19540926 26.09.1954 Croix Nivollet France 17.14 NL
19540929 29.09.1954 Chambery France 17.15

Explanations:

Map.

Flock of birds.

The comment of debunkers Barthel and Brucker is quite stunning. The totality of their book is devoted to the idea that there is strictly nothing of interest or truth in the entire French UFO flap of 1954.

It is particularly telling that whereas they repeatedly claim that ufologists that they call "gullible" do not document the sightings properly, omitting the sources and the dates, they themselve here and elsewhere also do not provide anything more than Dr. Martinet's say. They provide no date, no source, and none of the other information which makes indeed this case very interesting.

Lastly, isn't it frankly amazing that, since they estimate that we "have the perfect elements to analyze this UFO" they provide nothing else as an analysis than the "..." which follows this statement, and, further in the book, their judgement that it was a balloon, as in two other quite different cases with different dates.

Keywords:

(These keywords are only to help queries and are not implying anything.)

Croix de Nivollet, Savoie, Col du Chat, Dr. Martinet, multiple, saucer, grey, altitude, manoeuvers, falling leaf, convex

Sources:

[----] indicates sources that are not yet available to me.

Document history:

Version: Created/Changed by: Date: Change Description:
0.1 Patrick Gross November 8, 2006 First published.
1.0 Patrick Gross March 6, 2010 Conversion from HTML to XHTML Strict. First formal version. Additions [lcn1], [uda1].
1.1 Patrick Gross June 8, 2010 Addition [ben1].
1.2 Patrick Gross July 7, 2010 Addition [uda2].
1.3 Patrick Gross September 13, 2014 Addition [lgs1].
1.4 Patrick Gross November 15, 2014 Additions [nip1], [tai1].
1.5 Patrick Gross October 20, 2016 Additions [dle1], [bbr2].
1.6 Patrick Gross January 19, 2017 Addition [ler1].
1.7 Patrick Gross February 9, 2017 Addition [ubk1].
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2.0 Patrick Gross February 20, 2020 Additions [cpd1], [ppe1], [ads1], [via1], [lhh1].
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