The index page for the 1954 French flap section of this website is here.
Reference for this case: 6-Oct-54-Escout.
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 7, 1954, reported among other sightings and misinterpretations, that a mysterious balloon and kite had landed on the ground in Escout, in the neighborhood called "Bois de Herrère."
It was, said the newspaper, a large rubberized canvas balloon, 3 meters in circumference, gray in color, attached to a kite made of a thin sheet of aluminum and thick cardboard. A second identical balloon, but burst, was also attached to the kite.
The Oloron gendarmes came to Escout to take this mysterious device, "the origin of which is being investigated."
The next day, October 8, 1954, this newspaper explained that the mysterious balloon of Escout "may be a radar target!"
Transported from the Oloron gendarmerie to the gendarmerie company in Pau, the latter passed it on to the military subdivision; according to "the initial observations, it seems to be a device used by air bases for radar detection exercises."
[Ref. jbz1:] NEWSPAPER "LE JOURNAL DE BIARRITZ":
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(CONTINUED FROM PAGE ONE)
spread in town that a flying saucer had landed in the park of the Saint-Bernard College in Bayonne. After investigation, we are in a position to deny this rumor.
MYSTERIOUS BALLOON AND KITE IN ESCOUT
In the neighborhood called "Bois de Herrère," in Escout, near Oloron, a large rubberized canvas balloon, three meters in circumference and gray in color, landed on the ground, attached to a kite made of a thin sheet of aluminum and thick cardboard. A second identical balloon, but burst, was also attached to the kite.
The Oloron gendarmes came to Escout to take this mysterious device, the origin of which is being investigated.
A MYSTERIOUS DISC IN THE SKY OF ORTHEZ
In the Lapoustelle neighborhood of Orthez, near the Moncade Tower, a very bright disc about half the diameter of the full moon was seen Wednesday evening at 7 p.m. in the sky by about twenty people. This very luminous disc took on a red hue, hovered for a moment, then disappeared.
[Ref. jbz2:] JOURNAL "LE JOURNAL DE BIARRITZ":
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We announced yesterday the discovery in ESCOUT near Oloron, of a mysterious balloon attached to a kind of kite.
This balloon was transported from the Oloron gendarmerie to the gendarmerie company in Pau. The latter passed it on to the military subdivision.
According to initial observations, it seems to be a device used by air bases for radar detection exercises.
FROM MELON TO BANANA
Mrs. Monnier, living in the Château de Biron, near Monpazier (Dordogne), observed an orange ball the size of a small melon from which emerged a sort of cigar.
Mr. Jean Dubreuilh, a bank employee in Blaye, who was in the company of his wife, saw in the sky, just above the train station, a luminous banana giving off an orange glow.
Two residents of Cissac, Miss Ducasse and Mr. Couty, saw a flying saucer.
A SUPPOSED MARTIAN IN HAUTE-MARNE
Chaumont. -- Mr. André Narcy, a roadmender in Mertrud (Haute-Marne) claims to have seen, in the middle of a field, a strange machine, a kind of spherical saucer ten meters in diameter, into which a little man about 1.20 m tall rushed.
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about, covered with hair, or at least wearing a very tight fur overcoat. He also wore, fastened around his waist, an orange-red corset, and on his head, a cap which seemed to Mr. Narcy to be made of velvet.
Frightened, this mysterious character hurriedly left aboard the "saucer."
A FLYING SAUCER WITH TWO OCCUPANTS
Limoges. -- A farmer from Chalais [sic] (Dordogne), Mr. Garreau, swore on his honor that he had seen a "flying tureen" land on his property. Mr. Garreau stated that two perfectly normal men, dressed in khaki overalls, got out, shook his hand, and spoke to him in an unknown language. Mr. Garreau, astonished, did not reply. The two men petted his dog and got back into their craft, which took off silently at a dizzying speed.
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Here we have a French-style "mini-Roswell": some ufologists explain that the very famous "Roswell incident" of 1947 is explained in the same way, that is to say, the "recovered flying disc" reported as such by the local military was later identified as the remains of balloons and a radar target.
Let us note, however, that in this French case, there were no contradictory testimonies or claims about any extraordinary nature of the recovered material.
It should also be noted that it still took three military "authorities" to provide the identification.
This case is a "negative case," identified from the outset.
A negative case is one explained as having an ordinary cause, right away, without the intervention of ufologists or other investigators, by one or more witnesses, or by relatives or third parties.
Often silenced, negative cases are nevertheless important, in that they allow for comparative ufology through the collection of possible ordinary explanations and the comparison between explained and unexplained observations.
(These keywords are only to help queries and are not implying anything.)
Escout, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, balloon, radar target, negative case, gendarmes, landing, crash, multiple
[----] 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 27, 2025 | First published, [jbz1]. |
