The index page for the 1954 French flap section of this website is here.
Reference for this case: 2-Oct-54-Bénesse-Maremne.
Please cite this reference in any correspondence with me regarding this case.
The regional newspaper Le Journal de Biarritz et de la Côte Basque for October 5, 1954, wondered whether a "flying saucer" had been seen in the sky of Bénesse-Maremne.
The newspaper indeed stated that on the night from Saturday to Sunday, that is October 2, 1954, around 9 p.m., Mr. Hontarrède, a carpenter in Bénesse-Maremne, along with several other people, had seen in the sky, for several minutes, a mass of fire moving westward above the sea, descending rapidly.
[Ref. jbz1:]: NEWSPAPER "LE JOURNAL DE BIARRITZ"
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Mysterious craft continue to be observed in various places: in the Sarladais, in the Indre, in the Somme, in the Lot-et-Garonne, in the Gironde, and also in the Landes.
Thus, on the night from Saturday to Sunday, around 9 p.m., Mr. Hontarrède, a carpenter in Benesse-Maremne, along with several other people, saw in the sky, for several minutes, a mass of fire moving westward above the sea. This mass was descending rapidly.
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Since there do not appear to have been other testimonies on that date and at that time in this region that could have confirmed this as a meteor, I think it is more likely that it was a plane or a flare. The duration of "several minutes" also does not strongly support a meteor hypothesis.
(These keywords are only to help queries and are not implying anything.)
Bénesse-Maremne, Landes, night, Hontarrède, carpenter, multiple, duration, fire, sea, descent
[----] indicates sources that are not yet available to me.
| Version: | Created/Changed by: | Date: | Change Description: |
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| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | August 25, 2025 | First published, [jbz1]. |
