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October 2, 1954, Clermont-Ferrand, Puy-de-Dôme:

Reference for this case: 2-oct-54-Clermont.
Please cite this reference in any correspondence with me regarding this case.

Summary:

It seems that according to the regional Press of the time, on October 2, 1954, around 10 a.m., in Clermont-Ferrand, at the modern college, during the break, some girls stopped playing because something had caught their attention in the sky, above Puy-de-Chanturgues.

At the same time, Rue Diomede, one Mrs. S. also looked up, to watch at a strange light shining in the sky. She first thought she was discerning an advertising balloon, but by paying attention, she felt that it was not that because it was a metal mass, almost motionless, but animated by a slight oscillatory movement.

The thing suddenly took speed and went out of her field of vision, going to the North-North-West direction.

In the surrounding houses, other neighbors, including a Mrs. Lacoste, had told of a similar display.

Other press reports say the thing "was moving vertically" and was of shining white color.

Reports:

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

Scan.

SAUCERS HERE
...CIGARS THERE

CLERMONT-FERRAND. -- Two saucers were seen yesterday in the sky of Clermont. The first within 10 kilometers of Beaumont, at 03:45 p.m., it moved in a west to east direction.

The witnesses stated that the machine approached them and became less and less brilliant.

When it was not any more than within 150 meters they felt a "weird feeling" and were like nailed on the spot.

At this time an odor of nitro-benzene emerged. Soon the machine moved away, faintness ceased and the saucer disappeared.

The other saucer was seen above the hills of Chanturgu close to Clermont. It moved vertically and was of a brilliant white color.

A saucer was also seen in Billom by a group of 30 people. The machine moved above the city. It moved horizontally. It was visible during three or four minutes before disappearing. An intense light emerged from the apparatus.

In St-Brieux several people saw a flying saucer which took the shape of a cigar before disappearing. They were able to observe it during more than one hour.

The same phenomenon was noted in Trégueux where a cyclist returned home frightened by what he had seen.

In Thouare-sur-Vie, (the Vendée) witnesses saw in the sky ten luminous objects having a lengthened shape and passing at a very high speed and high altitude.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 10 under the title SAUCERS AND CIGARS

[Ref. pce1:] NEWSPAPER "LE POPULAIRE DU CENTRE":

Scan.

Several Parisians saw "saucers" evolving in the sky of the capital

Paris, October 6 (A.F.P) - Several Parisians said they saw yesterday afternoon flying saucers moving in the sky of the capital, passersby claimed to have seen one around 4:30 p.m., near the Porte Dorée.

Mr. Pierre Allouis, a cartoon trader, went to his business by taxi, when the vehicle was stopped by a red traffic light. Hearing, he said, a hissing whistling sound, he looked through the door and saw a flying machine flying high, leaving in its wake a plume of smoke.

Mr. Allouis describes the saucer as a disc larger than a normal plane, silver-colored.

The same testimony was given by Mr. Gilbert Bacon, residing at 25, Faubourg Saint-Antoine, and by Mr. Paul Julien, a painter, who lives at 3, rue de la Pompe. The latter, however, believes that it is not a flying saucer but a flying wing that has the shape of a triangle with rounded edges.

At Le Bourget, it is explained that, given the intensity of air traffic, it is impossible to confirm by radar the passage of the craft at the insufficiently precise hour. On the other hand, the radar cannot record the passage of a heavier than the air more than by a luminous spot whatever the nature of the craft is.

[Missing part]

time. The first 10 kilometers from Beaumont at 3:45 p.m. It was moving in a westerly direction.

Witnesses said the craft moved closer to them and became less and less brilliant.

When it was only 150 meters away, they felt a curious sensation and were nailed to the spot. At this point there was an odor of nitro-benzine. Soon the craft moved away, the discomfort ceased and the saucer disappeared. The other saucer was seen above the coasts of Chanturgues, near Clermont. It moved vertically and was of a brilliant white.

A saucer was also spotted in Billom by a group of 30 people. The craft moved over the city. It moved horizontally. It was visible for three or four minutes before disappearing. An intense light emanated from the apparatus.

Our readers write to us

Mr. Desbordes of St-Bonnet-de-Bellac said he had seen last Sunday a luminous disk heading for Mézières-sur-Issoire. The machine stopped for several minutes before disappearing to the west. Several people have observed the phenomenon.

[Ref. las1:] NEWSPAPER "LIBRE ARTOIS":

Scan.

The waltz of the flying saucers

A BAKER OF THE FINISTERE CLAIMS HAVING MET A "MARTIAN" WITH A FACE COVERED IN HAIR

Around 4 a.m. yesterday morning Mr. Pierre Lucas, a baker in Loctudy (Finistère), who was busy fetching water from the bakery courtyard suddenly saw a machine in the shape of a saucer 2.5 to 3 meters in diameter in the night.

He saw an individual about 1.20 m tall come out of it, who approached him and tapped him on the shoulder, articulating unintelligible words. The worker baker managed to keep his cool and returned to the bakery where the stranger followed him.

In the light, Mr. Lucas could stare at the visitor: his face was oval, all covered with hair and eyes the size of a crow's egg. The young man called his boss but, before he had time to go down, the stranger had disappeared as well as his saucer, of which no trace was found.

A Concarneau beer merchant said that he saw two luminous discs in the sky of the shape of an extended round table with a kind of tail. One of the disks was stationary, while the other was moving nearby. The two discs disappeared after ten minutes after launching a rocket.

SAUCERS ... EVERYWHERE

Saucers were seen on Tuesday around 3:15 p.m., near Clermont-Ferrand, the first, 10 kilometers from Beaumont.

The witnesses said that the craft approached them and became less and less brilliant. When it was only 150 meters away, they felt a "weird sensation" and were like nailed in place. At this time a smeel of nitro-benzine was released. Soon the craft went away, the discomfort ceased and the saucer disappeared.

The other saucer was seen above the hill of Chanturgue, near Clermont. It moved vertically and was bright white.

A saucer was also spotted in Billom by a group of 30 people.

- Several residents of Saint-Brieuc saw in the night from Tuesday to Wednesday, a flying saucer which took the form of a cigar before disappearing. They were able to observe it for over an hour.

The same phenomenon was observed in Trégueux where a cyclist returned home frightened by what he had seen.

Several people from Thouars-sur-Vie (Vendée) also saw in the sky a dozen luminous objects having an elongated shape and passing at very high speed and high altitude.

IN THE REGION
WHITE GLOW ... IN DUNKERQUE

Last Monday, around 8:20 p.m., while he was maneuvering the American S.S. "Doctor Lyren" in the lock of the Wattier lock in Dunkirk, captain Emmanuel Dubois, aged 30, 34, rue Carnot, in Malo-les-Bains, saw a white glow running along the coast, heading east to west.

Observing this phenomenon for several seconds, he suddenly thought of the flying saucers and called his crew to make them check what he was seeing. But when the first sailor arrived, the glow had suddenly disappeared.

RED DISC...
IN CASSEL

Yesterday around 10:15 a.m., while waiting for the bus, three residents of Cassel, MM. Guy Verbruggue, 17, Grand'Place; Romain Schoerf, rue de Lille, and Guy Hennion, rue Constant-Moncelay, saw a reddish disc in the shape of a saucer which moved a few hundred meters above their heads.

After observing the phenomenon for a good minute, they suddenly saw it disappear on the horizon.

... AND ORANGE
IN THE PICARDY SKY

In the evening of Sunday, an orange "disc" moving at near ground level was seen and observed for a long time by several residents of Boves and of Démuin, near Amiens. The statements of these individuals, collected separately, are absolutely consistent. The orange disc followed almost at ground level, an west - east direction.

Another testimony confirms the presence of this saucer in the Picardy sky, the evening of last Sunday. It is a baker from Moreuil, this time, who brings it. Mr. and Mrs. Dédié, indeed returned from Moreuil, with their children, Mr. and Mrs. Quenehem, when, around 9:15 p.m., between Foucaucourt and Estrées, they saw the luminous object.

Same description as that given by previous witnesses, same observations on the direction of travel.

AMAZING STORY OF AN
AMIENS MERCHANT

But the most astonishing tale is that of a shopkeeper from Amiens, Mrs. Nelly Mansart, grocer, 5, rue de la Marlière, who returned from Hérissart on Sunday. Mrs. Mansart was accompanied by neighbors, Mr. and Mrs. Delarouzée.

The motorists had just left Hérissart, when they saw, in the sky, a dazzling ball which, better observed, appeared to them enormous like a rim of bright orange mushroom. The diameter was around 6 to 8 meters. The mushroom let escape from its upper part, flames turning from purple to greenish, while some kind of cables hung below.

Mrs. Mansart, who was driving the car, was frightened, all the more since the "saucer" seemed to follow the moves of the car, standing at a distance of about 150 meters and flying at near ground level.

"When we passed through a village, declared Mrs. Mansart, the object bypassed it and reappeared at the exit. It followed us like this for approximately 10 kilometers.

"On leaving Pierregot, I stopped. The saucer stopped and waited, turning in a spiral, for three or four hundred meters. As I started again, it followed us again.

"It was only in Rainneville, near Amiens, that the craft left us definitively in the direction of the West to get lost in infinity at a prodigious speed."

You will agree that this is an impressive story. We must also add that of a Rue (Somme) butcher, M. Galland, who with his wife and son returned from Berck by car. They too were followed, for a time, by a mysterious craft of elongated shape and orange in color.

The object was flying at low altitude at a speed not exceeding 50 per hour. It finally disappeared in the direction of Saint-Quentin-en-Tourmont, towards the sea.

Other people also observed the phenomenon, always at the same hour, around 9:00 p.m., Sunday evening.

[Ref. aml1:] AIME MICHEL:

Aimé Michel reports that there was a sighting on October 2, 1954, in Clermont-Ferrand, France.

[Ref. gqy1:] GUY QUINCY:

Saturday October 2 [, 1954]

[...other cases...]

: Clermont-Ferrand(Puy-de-Dôme):lum.obj.

[...other cases...]

[Ref. ldl1:] UFOLOGY MAGAZINE "LUMIERES DANS LA NUIT":

The magazine indicates that on October 2, 1954, in Clermont-Ferrand, Puy-de-Dôme, an object has been seen above Puy-de-Chanturgues, and left in the North-North-East direction under the eyes of numerous witnesses including Mrs Lacoste and college students.

The magazine indicates Aimé Michel and the regional newspaper La Montagne for October 4, 1954, as sources.

[Ref. pis1:] UFOLOGIE "PHENOMENES INCONNUS" UFOLOGY BULLETIN:

This ufology bulletin indicated that there was a case on October 2, 1954, in Clermont; which was a part of a "network" of aligned cases of that day, in their opinion.

[Ref. pis2:] "PHENOMENES INCONNUS" UFOLOGY BULLETIN:

In this ufology bulletin, Alain Barbe stated that the cases of October 2, 1954, including that of Clermont, formed a geometrical shape including parallele lines with growing spacing, which, he thought, could not cased by mere chance. He published this diagram, comprizing however only 8 of the 61 cases or more for that date:

Scan.

He also published a second map with more cases (but far from the 61 cases), including that of Clermont:

Scan.

[Ref. fru1:] MICHEL FIGUET AND JEAN-LOUIS RUCHON:

The two authors indicate that in Clermont-Ferrand in the Puy-de-Dômeson October 2, 1954 at 10:00 a.m., several people observed a luminous machine of metallic color which oscillated in the sky. After having remained motionless a few moments, it fled at a high speed in the North-western Northern direction.

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

3906: 1954/10/02 10:00 1 3:04:20 E 45:46:20 N 3333 WEU FRN PDD 7:9

CLERMONT-FERRAND,FR:SVRL OBS:SLVR UFO OSC HVR THEN ^^>NNE TO SPACE:BACK 03OCT

Ref# 49 MICHEL,Aime: FS & STRAIGHT LINE TH: Page No. 125 : TOWN &CITY

[Ref. goe1:] GODELIEVE VAN OVERMEIRE:

Belgian ufologist Godelieve van Overmeire notes in her catalogue that in France, in 1954, on October 2, in Clermont-Ferrand, around 10 o'clock several people see a luminous machine oscillating slightly in the sky, shining like metal, which, after having hovered a few moments, quickly sprang in space in direction of the NNW.

The source is indicated as M. Figuet / J.L. Ruchon in "Ovni, Premier dossier complet..." Alain Lefeuvre pub. 1979, p. 107.

[Ref. lcn1:] LUC CHASTAN:

Luc Chastan indicates in his database that in the "Puy de Dômes [sic] (63)" in Clermont Ferrand, on October 2, 1954, at 10:00 hours, "Several witnesses observed a luminous machine color metal which oscillated in the sky. After having remained motionless a few moments, it sprang at a high speed in the North North-West direction."

The source is indicated as "Ovni, Premier dossier complet... by Figuet M./ Ruchon J.L. ** Alain Lefeuvre pub. 1979".

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

*Oct. 2, 1954 - At 10:00 o'clock in the morning several people in the city of Clermont-Ferrand, Puy-de-Dome department, France saw a luminous, metallic object oscillating in the sky, then fly off rapidly to the north-northwest. (Source: Michel Figuet & Jean-Louis Ruchon, OVNI: Le premier dossier complet des rencontres rapprochees en France, p. 107).

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

This database recorded this case 4 times:

N° de cas Nouveau N° de cas Enquêteur Date d'observation CP Lieu d'observation Pays d'observation Heure d'observation Classification Commentaires Identification
19541002 02.10.1954 Clermont France
19541005 05.10.1954 Cotes Chanturgus France
19541005 05.10.1954 Chanturgue France NL
18">19541005 05.10.1954 Chanturgue France NL

[Ref. tso1:] "L'EVEIL DE LA HAUTE LOIRE" NEWSPAPER:

Strange Auvergne

1954, the year when UFOs invaded us

WEIRD CLERMONT-FERRAND

Posted on 08/16/2017 at 07:00

1954, the year shen UFOs invaded us

This summer, we offer several stories from our special issue L'Auvergne Etrange, devoted to the most mysterious affairs of the region. Unknown creatures, haunted houses, witchcraft... Today, an an onlook at the extraterrestrials.

We are in 1954. Abbot Pierre launches his call during the cold wave hitting the country. In May, France capitulates in Indochina. In June, Mendes France is elected President of the Council. In November, the Algerian war begins. But from September on, a much lighter (but spectacular) news is installed in the columns of the newspapers, with a metronome regularity.

A light in the sky

For example, October 2, around 10 a.m., in Clermont-Ferrand. At the modern college, during recess, girls stop playing. Something is irresistibly attracting their attention. At the same moment, Rue Diomede, Madame S. looks up in her turn. A strange light shines in the sky. She thinks first of all to discern an advertising balloon. But by paying attention, the object is very different: it is a metal mass, almost motionless, animated by a slight oscillatory movement. Suddenly, the craft picks up speed and disappears from her field of vision. In neighboring houses, other neighbors report a similar scene.

UFOs seriously studied in Auvergne

Eighth episode of the saga of autumn. Another UFO. The year 1954 remains the period when we recorded the most reports in France. 2.000 cases were reported by the press.

Between September and November, the apparitions multiply, from the most disturbing to the most far-fetched. Bright craft are seen by several people at the same time, from Moulins to Puy-en-Velay.

A schoolboy pursued by a flying saucer

And mysterious facts do not just happen in the sky. On the 12th of October, in Montluçon, a railwayman discovered on the railway a person covered with hair who spoke an incomprehensible language. Panicked, the railwayman flees as a luminous machine takes off behind him. In Saint-Palais (Allier), a schoolboy says that a flying saucer has pursued him. In Le Donjon (Allier), hunters reportedly fired at a craft and recovered metal debris.

The panic is such that it reaches the Assemblée Nationale. Three Gaullist MPs ask the Minister of Air for insights into these intrusions. One of them demands that the craft be chased by the army.

Five unsolved UFO cases in Auvergne

The press is in flames. But as the days go by, cases get deflated. Here it was not a saucer but a meteorite. There, an airship. Elsewhere, a balloon. Not to mention the hoaxes. Thus, the hairy creature of Montluçon was only a colleague of work of the witness, disguised with goatskin. And his flying machine was a fireworks rocket. As for the hunters who shot down a craft, they end up confessing their lie.

UFO sightings in Auvergne?

Suddenly, the press gets tired. The stories are becoming scarce. In November, the Parisian doctor Heuyer sealed the end of the wave in front of the Academy of Medicine by putting a name on the phenomenon: "collective psychosis".

However! UFO specialists do not lay down their weapons. Those who believe it say it: out of 2,000 cases, there must be a sign from elsewhere!

The thirty most mysterious stories that have occurred in our region are to be discovered in our special issue L'Auvergne Etrange, to order online on our shop.

Thibaut Solano

Explanations:

Map.

The data coming from the Press is not clear enough and not coherent enough to allow me to eliminate a balloon or an airplane or a helicopter. So the case remains unidentified, but with very little strangeness.

Keywords:

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

Clermont-Ferrand, Puy-de-Dôme, Puy-de-Chanturgues, multiple, Lacoste, students, object, shiny, white, maneuver, oscillation, vertical, fast, balloon, advertising balloon, luminous, metallic, morning, children

Sources:

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

Document history:

Version: Created/Changed by: Date: Change Description:
0.1 Patrick Gross April 16, 2003 First published.
1.0 Patrick Gross February 27, 2009 Conversion from HTML to XHTML Strict. First formal version. Additions [goe1], [lcn1].
1.1 Patrick Gross August 15, 2010 Addition [lml1].
1.2 Patrick Gross October 2, 2014 Addition [nip1].
1.3 Patrick Gross January 2, 2017 Addition [ubk1].
1.4 Patrick Gross january 4, 2017 Addition [pce1].
1.5 Patrick Gross April 21, 2019 Additions [lhh1], [tso1], Summary. Explanations changed, were "Not looked for yet."
1.6 Patrick Gross May 15, 2020 Additions [las1], [pis1], [pis2].
1.7 Patrick Gross April 18, 2022 Addition [gqy1].

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