The 1954 French flap:

Paris, Oct. 13 (AFP) -- Observations of flying saucers and cigars were again reported today from certain points of France and Europe. Inquiries into previous reports were also in progress.

Military authorities continue their investigation of the saucer which appeared in the beam of a searchlight installed at the Metz Fair-Exposition. The searchlight operators saw, at a distance estimated as 10 km, a luminous circle which remained immobile during several hours. However, the radar operators, who were alerted, were unable to detect anything. Military authorities are investigating the possibility that some peculiar meteorological phenomenon may have been responsible.

Near the locality of Chateaubriant, in the center of France, a thirteen-year-old boy claims to have seen a machine shaped like a phosphorescent cigar only a dozen meters away. A passenger, dressed in a suit and grey hat, and wearing boots, supposedly told him "Look, but don't touch." The man is said to have got back into the flying cigar, which took off vertically.

On the other hand, Anatolia [region of Turkey] had not previously had the privilege of seeing flying saucers above its territory. A report originating from Ankara [the capital] indicates that this gap is now filled. Several persons living in the Ulus quarter [suburb] of Ankara saw, about noon, an object which remained immobile above them a long time. Suddenly, it moved off at great speed, and disappeared.

FOR THREE HOURS IN METZ
military specialists
observed
50 meters diameter globe

During the Metz fair-exhibition, the army stand installed a radar device and a powerful projector for visitors; which works non-stop after dark. Sunday, around 8:10 p.m., the projector spotted, in its beam, the presence of a motionless globe in the sky: "It looked like a Christmas tree ball," said the head of the radar station, Commander Cotel, who was soon surrounded by fifteen military specialists.

It was first believed that it was a sounding balloon, then all kinds of assumptions were made. The servants of the projector, at first incredulous, cleaned the windows then even changed the coals of the device. But immediately when turned on again, the projector found the luminous globe whose altitude was evaluated at more than 10,000 meters. This globe had a diameter of 50 meters and remained visible for three hours. It was impossible, on radar, to detect the mysterious craft, since it was not sensitive to metallic waves. Finally, at 11:00 p.m., the strange globe moved east and disappeared. The General Governor of Metz asked Commander Cottel for a full report.

SYMPATHETIC
"MARTIANS GIRLS"

Near Albi, a technical agent from a company exhibiting in the Household Arts of Toulouse, Mr. Jean-Pierre Mitto, returned to his home at the end of the working day. Suddenly, he saw in the beam of his headlights, and the two parents who accompanied him also affirm it, little figures crossing the road. He stopped immediately and saw a large red disc with a diameter of about six meters rising vertically from a neighboring meadow.

A colonial teacher on leave on the island of Oléron does not hesitate to associate his name with an incredible adventure. Mr. Martin was walking on the island when he encountered pretty "Martian" girls, measuring about 1.70 m., booted, gloved and with leather helmets. The two "Martians" grabbed Mr. Martin's pen and traced incomprehensible signs on his notebook, trying to make themselves understood.

The teacher keeps the manuscript preciously.

At Riom, peacekeepers who were doing a round saw in the sky a cigar going up to the north. Three fireballs detached themselves and lit up part of the sky for a few moments. Similar phenomena were seen in Bompas, in the Pyrénées-Orientales, in Quimper (Finistère), in Limoges, in Fontainebleau, in Melun and Mulhouse while in Moncourt (Meurthe-et-Moselle) the inhabitants of a farm were dazzled by a blinding light passing through their shutters. The light disappeared vertically.

SAUCERS (CONTINUED)

Military services are investigating

... and a Martian
talked to a kid

The testimonies on the "saucers" accumulate. The details often agree on the appearance and disappearance of the "luminous craft". So, is it not astonishing to see the military services worrying... and children claiming to have spoken to a "Martian!"

Yesterday, we reported the astonishing appearance of a disc of fifty meters in diameter above the fair of Metz.

Indeed, this projector has only a range of 5,000 meters, a distance at which, in very clear weather, it could perhaps distinguish something. The luminous circle could then be explained by the presence of a whirling cumulus, lit by the moon, full at this time, and hidden behind a curtain of clouds. We remain skeptical about the presence of a round object which would have been fifty meters in diameter, and which would have remained perfectly still for several hours.

However, the military services are continuing their investigations, and will draw conclusions from this case as soon as they are in possession of the report by Commandant Cottel.

Imagination at work

Gilbert Lelay, aged 13,, claims to have seen a mysterious object in a meadow, some 600 meters from his parents' home, near Châteaubriant. The boy declares to have remained ten minutes to observe, at ten meters this object, which had the shape of a phosphorescent cigar. A man, dressed in a suit and a gray hat, wearing boots, reportedly said to him in French: "Look, but don't touch". He put a hand on his shoulder, while with the other he held a ball launching purple fires. He climbed into the craft through a door, which he slammed, and the craft slowly rose vertically, launching fires in all directions, made two turns in the air and suddenly disappeared.

The military governor of Metz studies the report by Commander Cottel who saw a luminous device caught in the beam of a searchlight

(From our special envoy Henri PIGNOLET)

METZ, October 13 (by phone).

The military governor of Metz, General Navereau, commanding the 6th region, is awaiting this morning the report of Captain Cottel, specialist of the anti-aircraft ground forces, about the presence last Sunday in the sky of the city of a mysterious craft which during three hours remained in the evening in the beam of a powerful army projector.

This report, we can imagine with what words and what prudence the commander of the F.T.A.A. [A.A.] crafted it. Commander Cottel ran the radar station installed at the army stand at the Metz trade fair which has just closed. The station had a powerful spotlight which, during the whole fair, swept the sky of the city. A dozen men were around the device when, on Sunday evening, the beam of light suddenly stopped on a motionless globe in the sky, "glittering," said the commander, "like a Christmas tree ball."

The beam was vertical. The "thing" seemed to be at 16,000 meters. That is what connoisseurs say. There was no panic, it must be said.

"It's a balloon," said one of the servants of the projector.

- Impossible, "that" must be fifty meters in diameter.

Everyone agreed.

But then?

The radar had not caught anything

Then, as they did not want to believe in flying saucers, it was decided to clean the mirrors and even to change the coals of the projector. When it was turned on again, the ball was still there.

The curious, who had gathered around the searchlight, also saw "the Christmas tree ball". They saw it until, at about ten o'clock, they resigned themselves to turning the projector off. Besides, they were not alone, since the inhabitants of the Faubourg de Sablon were to report the phenomenon the next day.

The radar, however, whose beam had ceaselessly swept through space, had caught nothing.

- The "thing", explained a technician, is not metallic. It is not detectable by radar.

The day before yesterday, the fair of Metz, which had received more than 800,000 visitors, closed its doors. No more searchlight, no more radar set, no mysterious sphere. All that remained was the testimony of some fifteen people, the servants of the projector, an officer in the geographical service of the army and Commander Cottel, whose report, which was expected at the palace of the military governor, with the impatience ... and the curiosity that one guesses, will record this episoode of the history of the flying saucers.

In the flying saucers file

A MACHINE SEEN IN THE SKY OF METZ HOLDS THE ATTENTION OF THE MILITARY AUTORITIES

Metz, October 13. -- Throughout the fair of Metz, a military projector, installed at the army axhibit, swept, each evening, the sky of Metz with its beam of light. Sunday evening, the servants of the device saw, at a height estimated at more than 10.000 meters, a luminous circle which remained motionless above their head during several hours. The radar service, also set up at the army exhibit, vainly tried to catch the strange circle in their device.

A local newspaper having reported the facts, the General governor commanding the 6th military area ordered an investigation which, until now, did not conclude. General Navereau awaits the report by Major Cottel, person in charge of the Army exhibit.

According to the first information collected as of yesterday, it seems impossible that the projector set up at the fair of Metz could catch any object put so high. Indeed, this projector hardly has a 5.000 meters range, a distances at which, in very clear weather, it could perhaps make it possible to distinguish something.

The luminous circle caught in the projector's beam could be explained by the presence, at a great altitude, of a whirling cumulus lit by the moon, full, and hidden at this time behind a curtain of clouds. One remains skeptical, in expectation, on the presence of a round object, which would have had, one estimated, fifty meters in diameter, and which would have remained perfectly motionless during several hours.

However the military services continue their investigations and will draw the conclusions from this case as soon as they are in possession of the report by Major Cottel.

A little boy meets a French-speaking "Martian"...

Chateaubriant, Oct. 13. -- A 13 year old little boy, young Gilbert Lelay, claims to have seen yesterday evening, at about 10:30 p.m., a mysterious machine in a meadow, at a few 600 meters of the residence of his parents, at the village of Sainte-Marie-en-Erbray, close to Chateaubriant.

The child states he stayed ten minutes to observe, within ten meters, this machine which had the shape of a phosphorescent cigar. A passenger, a man dressed of a suit and a gray hat, fitted with boots, reportedly told him in French: "Look, but do not touch." He put a hand on the boy's shoulder while, with the other hand, he held a ball throwing purple fires. He climbed in the apparatus thtough a door which he slammed. On what could be a dashboard, were several multicoloured buttons.

Still according to the child, the machine rose slowly vertically, throwing fires in all the directions, made two turns in the airs and disappeared suddenly.

In Tyrol

Vienna, Oct. 13. -- Mr. Harald Kreutzberg, the Austrian Serge Lifar, Seefeld resident, in the Tyrol, observed as he was in his garden, a flying saucer who flew over the small city during a few seconds before moving towards the north and disappear behind the mountains.

Some residents of Seefeld also observed the phenomenon and vainly tried to photograph the mysterious craft.

A strange sphere remains during three hours in the beam of a projector of the army

The military governor of Metz studies the report by the commander who observed the mysterious craft

Metz (A.C.P.)

General Navereau, chief of the 6th Region, and governor of Metz, received yesterday morning the report by commander Cottel, specialist in the anti-aircraft terrestrial forces, about the mysterious craft which, during three hours last Sunday, remained in the beam of a powerful projector of the army, in the middle of the sky of Metz.

No information was communicated on the contents of this report, but one imagines with which careful sagacity the commander Cottel must analyze a "phenomenon" that had several tens of witnesses.

A strange sphere

The army, indeed, had set up an exhibit at the Fair of Metz. It is there that, at the fall of the night, a powerful projector functioned without stop, sweeping [illegible line] projector "captured" in its beam a strange sphere, motionless:

"You would have said a Christmas tree ball", stated commander Cottel thereafter.

Initially, it was believed it could be a weather balloon. Soon, a dozen military experts surrounded the commander. They all agreed:

"It cannot be a weather balloon: its diameter is fifty meters at least."

The radar set is helpless

All kinds of hypothesis were then emitted, the specialists not really daring to put forth that of a flying saucer. It was decided to clean the glass and to even change the coals of the projector. But when it was lit again, the "thing" was still there. It remained there up to 11 p.m., hour when one resigned to turn off the projector. During this time, the radar set, that had not stopped to scan the sky, failed to detect the mysterious craft.

Numerous witnesses

"The 'thing', commented on a technician, is undoubtedly not metallic, that is why the radar set was unable to detect it".

Many curious passer-by who had grouped around the projector managed to observe, too, the "ball of Christmas tree". Some residents of the suburb of Sablon were to claim the next day, that they too noted the phenomenon.

"Officials" saw a saucer
in an army projector...

... but, as usual
we won't know anything for a long time

General Navereau, commander of the 6th Region and Military Governor of Metz yesterday morning received the report from Commander Cottel, specialist in antiaircraft land forces, concerning the mysterious craft which, for three hours, last Sunday, remained in the beam of a powerful army searchlight in the Metz sky.

No information was communicated on the contents of this report, but one imagines with what prudent sagacity the commander Cottel had to analyze a "phenomenon" which had several dozen witnesses.

The Army had, in fact, set up a stand at the Exhibit-Fair in Metz. It was there that, at nightfall, a powerful searchlight kept running, sweeping the city sky.

Sunday therefore, around 8:10 p.m., the projector "ctahces" in its beam a strange motionless globe.

"It looked like a Christmas tree ball," said Commander Cottel afterwards.

First, one believed in the presence of a weather balloon. Soon, a dozen military experts surrounded the commander. They all agreed:

"It cannot be a weather balloon: its diameter is at least fifty meters."

The "thing" was still there

All kinds of hypotheses were then put forward, the specialists not daring to advance too much that of a flying saucer. It was decided to clean the windows and even change the coals of the projector. But when it was turned on again, the "thing" was still there. It stayed there until 11 p.m., when one resigned to turning off the projector. Meanwhile, the radar set which had constantly swept the sky had failed to detect the mysterious craft:

"The "thing", commented a technician, "is probably not metallic and that is why the radar could not detect it."

As usual, we won't know anything for a long time.

Many curious people who had gathered around the searchlight were also able to observe the "Christmas tree ball". Some residents of the Faubourg de Sablon were to say the next day that they too had noticed the phenomenon.

In the Loire-Inférieure
a boy meets
a French-speaking "Martian"

A 13-year-old boy, the little Gilbert Lelay, claims to have seen Tuesday evening, around 10:30 p.m., a mysterious craft in a meadow, some 500 meters from his parents' home, in the village of Ste-Marie-en-Erbray, near Châteaubriand.

The child declares that he stayed for ten minutes to observe, about ten meters away, this craft which had the shape of a phosphorescent cigar. A passenger, a man dressed in a suit, a gray hat, wearing boots, reportedly said to him in French: "Look, but don't touch." He put his hand on the boy's shoulder while, in the other hand, he was holding a ball launching purple flashes. He got into the craft through a door which he slammed. On what could be a dashboard were several multicolored buttons.

Still according to the child, the object rose slowly vertically, throwing fires in all directions, made two turns in the air and suddenly disappeared.

Giant rocket in the sky
of Toulouse

Two residents of the Toulouse suburbs, MM. Pierre Vidal and his nephew Ancel Hurle, were able to see, yesterday morning, at dawn, barely a hundred meters from their house, a giant rocket which, departing from a field, quickly disappeared in the sky generating a clarity of rare intensity.

The two men then went to the place where they located the starting point of the mysterious object. There they found that the grass had been packed on a circular surface 5 meters in diameter. In the center of this area, they discovered in the ground, four prints appearing to have been left by the feet of a heavy craft.

The grass was covered with droplets from the condensation of fatty vapor and which smelled of petroleum.

An electric saucer

Two residents of Clamecy (Nièvre), MM. Henri Gallois and Louis Vigneron, fairground merchants, said they had seen a cylindrical craft in a meadow near Corbigny.

They state that while they were about 50 meters from the craft, they felt an electric shock while the engine of their truck stopped and the headlights went out. When the craft was gone, the headlights turned back on, but they had to restart the engine.

The luminous circle seen
in Metz in the beam
of a military projector would be
a natural phenomenon

Metz, 13. -- During the duration of the Metz fair-exhibition, a military projector, installed at the Army stand, swept the Metz sky every evening with its beam of light.

On Sunday evening, the operators of the device saw, at an estimated height of over 10,000 meters, a luminous circle which remained motionless above their heads for several hours. The radar service, also mounted at the army stand, tried in vain to seize the unusual circle in their device.

A local newspaper having reported the facts, the governor general, commander of the military region, ordered an investigation which has so far been unsuccessful. General Navereau awaits the report of Commander Cottel, who is in charge of the army stand.

According to the first information collected as soon as yesterday, it seems impossible that the projector installed at the fair in Metz could have caight any object located so high. In fact, this projector has only a range of 3,000 meters, a distance at which, on very clear days, it could perhaps distinguish something.

The luminous circle seized in the beam of the projector could be explained by the presence at a great height, of a whirling cumulus lit by the moon, full at this moment, and hidden behind a curtain of clouds.

One remains skeptical, meanwhile, about the presence of a round craft which would have had, it is estimated, 50 meters in diameter and which would have remained perfectly still for several hours.

However, the military services are continuing their investigations and will draw conclusions from this case as soon as they are in possession of Commander Cottel's report.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 8

The saucers

(Continued from the first page)

A young boy meets a "Martian" speaking... French!

Chateaubriand, 13. -- A 13-year-old boy, young Gilbert Lelay, claims to have seen around 10:30 p.m. last night, a mysterious craft in a meadow, some 600 meters from his parents' home, in the village of Sainte-Marie-en-Erbray, near Chateaubriand.

The child states that he stayed 10 minutes to observe, about ten meters away, this craft which had the shape of a phosphorescent cigar. A passenger, a man, dressed in a suit and a gray hat, wearing boots, would have told him in French: "Look - put a hand on the shoulder, whn-, [sic, mixture of lines] but don't touch." He told that, on the other, he was holding a ball launching purple fires. He got into the craft through a door which he slammed. On what could be a dashboard were several multicolored buttons.

Still according to the child, the object rose slowly vertically, launching fires in all directions, made two turns in the air and suddenly disappeared.

Toulouse. -- Two residents of the Toulouse suburbs, Mssrs. Pierre Vidal and his nephew Angel Hurle, were able to see, at daybreak, barely a hundred meters from their house, a giant rocket which, from a field, quickly disappeared in the sky causing a clarity of rare intensity.

The two men then went to the place where they located the starting point of the mysterious object. There they found that the grass had been packed on a circular surface three meters in diameter. In the center of this area, they discovered four footprints in the ground that appeared to have been made by the feet of a heavy craft.

The grass was covered with droplets from the condensation of fatty vapor and smelled of petroleum.

More and more amazing!

In the Lower Loire, a young boy meets a French-speaking Martian

The military authority opens an investigation into the presence of a mysterious craft above Metz

Chateaubriant, October 13. -- A 13-year-old young boy, little Gilbert Lelay, laims to have seen, yesterday evening towards 10 p.m., a mysterious craft in a meadow, at some 600 m of his parents' home, at the village of Ste Marie-en-Erblay, close to Chateaubriant.

The child states to have stayed ten minutes watching, at ten meters, this craft which had the shape of a phosphorescent cigar. A passenger, a man dressed of a suit and a gray hat, fitted with boots, reportedly told him in French: "look at it, but do not touch!". He put his hand on the child's shoulder, while the other hand held a ball launching purple fires. He went up in the apparatus by a door which he shut noisily. On what could be a dashboard were several multicoloured buttons.

Still according to the child, the craft rose slowly vertically, throwing fires of all the directions, made two turns in the airs and disappeared suddenly.

A mysterious craft above Metz

Throughout the Metz fair, a military projector is installed at the Army's exhibit, sweeping each evening the sky of Metz with its beam of light. Sunday evening, the users of the device saw, at a height estimated at more than 10 000 m, a luminous circle which remained motionless above their heads during several hours. The radar service, also set up at the army's exhibit, vainly tried to catch the strange circle in its device.

A local journalist having reported the facts, the General governor, in command of the 6th military area, ordered an investigation, which, until now, did not succeed. General Navereva awaits the report by commander Cottel, person in charge of the army exhibit.

According to the first information collected as of yesterday, it seems impossible that the projector set up at the Metz fair of Metz could catch an unspecified object placed so high. Indeed, this headlight hardly has a range of 5000 meters, distances which in very clear weather would perhaps make it possible to distinguish something. The luminous circle caught in the projector beam could be explained by the presence, at a great height, of an illuminated cumulus lit by the moon, full at that time, and hidden behind a curtain of clouds. One remains skeptikal meanwhile, waiting on the presence of a round object which would have had, one estimated, fifty meters diameter and which would be remained perfectly motionless during several hours.

However, the military services continue their investigations and will draw the conclusions of this case as soon as they will be in possession of the report by commander Cottel.

Descended from a mysterious craft
a diver,
with huge, small eyes,
appeared to a
former Toulouse aviator

Toulouse. -- A small diver with a big head compared to the body, huge eyes, such is the description given by a Toulouse resident, Mr. Olivier, of a mysterious character, coming down from a spherical object which had just landed at 7:35 p.m., on a vacant lot.

Mr. Olivier, owner of the Javel-Neto establishments, rue des Fontaines, in Toulouse, was accompanied by an employee, Mr. Perano, and a young boy of about fifteen. All three saw the luminous object, spherical in shape and reddish in color. Then, [they] saw the figure coming towards them, whose suit, according to witnesses, shone like glass.

The mysterious individual, measuring approximately 1.20 m., protruded by the head and therefore had to bend to enter it.

One of the witnesses assured that the saucer was surrounded by iridescent reflections and emitted around it a light mist. He added that having wanted to approach, he had been held at about twenty meters by a paralyzing force and that, when the spacecraft rose in the sky, he was violently thrown to the ground.

Subsequently, Mr. Olivier, a former aviation pilot, drew in chalk, in a striking manner, on a door, the diver. "I didn't believe it," added Mr. Perano, "but I saw it like I see you. It is quite a shock."

After a very short time, about a minute, the diver returned to the luminous sphere, which flew away vertically, silently, and disappeared into the sky at a prodigious speed, leaving a trail of fire.

A torpedo in Montluçon

For his part, Mr. Laugère, from Montluçon, was leaving his work and crossing the tracks near a S.N.C.F. bridge, when he saw a metallic object placed a short distance from a diesel tank intended for the railcar supply. Beside the apparatus, which was in the shape of a torpedo and could be four meters long, was a man covered in hair, unless he was dressed in a long-hait

Read more on the last page under the title:
SAUCERS

SAUCERS

coat. Mr. Laugère, surprised, asked him what he was doing. The stranger replied in unintelligible terms, but the railwayman though he distinguished the words "diesel", however.

Mr. Laugère did not ask for more and went to alert his comrades. No sooner had they made 100 meters than he saw the craft rise vertically, without any noise. It soon disappeared from view. Only the fear of the irony of his comrades had prevented him from telling his adventure; which dates back to Sunday evening.

Seven tiny beings
and weird seeds

Several hunters in the town of Saint-Ambroix (Gard) have recently seen seven tiny beings whose shape vaguely recalled that of a human body. When they tried to approach, the beings rushed towards a phosphorescent object, which flew away immediately.

At the place where the pilots of the flying saucer were, the hunters discovered on the ground a number of seeds of bizarre appearance, which they had examined by seed makers. The latter were unable to classify them in a known species.

The army says "No"

As a result of the investigation which had been opened by the military authority, after the publication of information announcing that the soldiers charged of the handling of a headlight installed at the Metz fair, had seen, and Sunday evening, a mysterious luminous circle, the military governor published the following press release:

"It is reported in the press about the observation of unknown craft by a post of the antiaircraft forces deployed at the Fair-Exhibition of Metz. It is not necessary to take into account this information in this particular case."

Note that the military authorities rarely recognized the existence of these saucers, even if the testimony of many and often serious people are sometimes very disturbing.

Plants endowed with reason

"The pilots of the "flying saucers" are plants endowed with reason" - such is the theory which exposed to a correspondent of Agence France-Presse professor Hermann Oberth, inventor and builder of the famous "V 2" rocket.

According to the German scientist, the "Uranids" (this is the name he named these plants with) are thousands of years ahead of Earth men, both in terms of their spiritual development and their technique. The homeland of Uranids is a planet where there is no oxygen in the gaseous state; which prohibits the development of animal life. Plants, on the other hand, get the oxygen they need from the oxides in the soil.

This planet would be outside the solar system, but the mysterious craft in which intelligent plants travel could move at a speed close to that of light (200,000 km per second).

Those of these craft seen above the Earth would be responsible for monitoring the progress of Earth's humanity in the atomic sciences, because these advances "represent a danger for the whole Cosmos."

Two jet planes
are chasing
a saucer

MARSEILLE. - In the sky of Vaucluse, two jet planes chased a flying saucer.

Around 2 p.m., in Fontaine-de-Vaucluse, yesterday afternoon, two children signaled in the sky a white disc surmounted by a spherical cap. This craft that part of the population was able to see for a long time launched two powerful fires, varying from white to purplish.

Alerted, the Caritat air base sent two jet planes. Shortly after, the airmen announced by radio: "We spotted the craft which escaped at a speed higher than that of our aircraft."

The vision of the craft lasted nearly ten minutes above Fontaine-de-Vaucluse.

A. Isenberg file

Paris - AFP Oct. 3, 1954.

METZ -- At Fair, searchlight beam crew saw at est. 10 km. luminous circle which remained motionless for several hours. Radar detected nothing. Military authorities: "Special meteorological phenomenon?"

See also Michel.

Flying saucers

(CONTINUED FROM OUR FIRST PAGE)

A mysterious
individual
comes out of a torpedo

Montluçon, 14. -- The saucer file has been further increased by several testimonies, the most important of which seems to be that of an employee of the railway station of Montluçon, Mr. Langère, who made contact on Sunday evening with a mysterious individual who had emerged from a torpedo-shaped craft.

Mr. Laugère was leaving his job and was crossing the tracks near the S.N.C.F. bridge, when he saw a metallic apparatus posed a short distance from a diesel tank intended to supply railcars. Beside the apparatus, which had the shape of a torpedo and might have been four meters, stood a man covered with hair, unless he was dressed in a rather long-haired coat. Mr. Laugère, surprised, asked him what he was doing. The stranger answered him in unintelligible words, but the railwayman seemed to distinguish the words "diesel."

Mr. Laugere asked him no more and went off to alert his comrades. No sooner had he gone a hundred meters than he saw the craft rise vertically without any noise. It soon disappeared from his eyes. Only the fear of the irony of his comrades had prevented him until yesterday, Wednesday, from telling his adventure.

***

Melun, 14. -- A second testimony was collected from a young 17-year-old man, Marc Germain, living in Pontault, who declared to the police station of this locality that had seen, this night, during approximately half an hour, a craft which was a flying saucer in his opinion. This craft was in the sky at an altitude of 200 or 300 meters and had the shape of a very bright disc. It remained motionless for 3 minutes then set off at breakneck speed, leaving behind a trail of fire. The young man declared to himself that he had not rather alerted the police station, because he had insisted on staying there in case the saucer would land.

***

Limoges, 14. -- In Saint-Marc de Lombaud (Creuse), residents of Vallières saw in the night from Monday to Tuesday, a white ball which was moving in the sky. The ball changed color, disappeared and reappeared before finally disappearing.

***

Evreux, 14. -- Also, an update has just been made today by a person about the "saucer" which was seen above the region of Saint-André, at the border of the departments of Eure and Eure-et-Loir, Saturday around 6:30 p.m.

Mrs. Omonis, from Groth-Soret said the object was just a balloon. "A design," she said, "appeared to be painted in red color on the top of the balloon and ropes held the basket."

The flying saucers
drivers interested
in Vietnamese questions

Toulouse, 14 -- Mr. Jean Marty, 42, mechanic, living in Leguevin (Haute-Garonne), stated that he had seen in the night from Tuesday to Wednesday land in the middle of a field a luminous disc measuring from 6 to 7 meters in diameter and 2.50 meters in height. The disc was of orange color.

Mr. Marty was working around 10:30 p.m. in his workshop located on the road to Toulouse, in front of a field, 1 kilometer 500 meters from Leguevin. Looking up, he saw the luminous object. Intrigued, he got out, crossed the road and walked towards the disc which then rose into the air, silently, vertically, and disappeared at a prodigious speed. Mr. Marty went to the middle of the field to examine the place where the craft had landed. He found no trace but found laying on the grass, two sheets of glossy white paper covered with block letters.

The pages, commercial size type, were not soiled, neither damp, nor wrinkled, but absolutely crisp as if they had just been torn from a new brochure. Mr. Marti handed them over to the gendarmerie. They were examined today by a former multilingual soldier who spent many years in Indochina and who lives in retirement in Leguevin, Mr. Maggy. He declared that it was a text in Kuoc-Nu, an Annamese dialect, and that this text was about issues of interest to the Vietminh and Vietnam.

The text would be recent but could only be imperfectly translated. It was specified that it was the pages numbered 9-10 and 59-60 of a brochure reproducing in offset a typewritten document. The sheets were entrusted to the military authority. One was previously able to take pictures that would be entrusted this morning to a translator.

A "mysterious
craft"
intrigues the military

Metz, 14. -- During the Metz fair-exhibition, a military projector, installed at the army stand, swept, every evening, the Metz sky with its light beam. Sunday evening, the servants of the apparatus saw, at an estimated height of more than 10,000 meters, a luminous circle which remained motionless above their heads for several hours. The radar set, also mounted at the army stand, tried in vain to capture the unusual circle in its device.

A local newspaper having reported the facts, the governor general commanding the 6th military region, ordered an investigation which, so far, has not been successful. General Navereau awaits the report of Commander Cottel, responsible for the army stand.

According to the first information gathered yesterday, it seems impossible that the projector installed at the Metz fair could have catched any object so high up. Indeed, this projector only has a range of 6,000 meters, a distance at which, on a very clear day, it would perhaps make it possible to distinguish something. The circle of light captured in the projector beam could be explained by the presence, at a great height, of a swirling cumulus cloud illuminated by the moon, full at this time, and hidden behind a curtain of clouds. One remains skeptical, in the meantime, anout the presence of a round object which would have been, it was estimated, 50 meters in diameter, and which would have remained perfectly still for several hours.

However, the military services are continuing their investigations and will draw the conclusions of this case as soon as they are in possession of Commander Cottel's report.

In the flying saucers file

A Toulouse industrialist makes a sketch of a "Martian" before it disappears

Toulouse, October 14. -- Yesterday in Toulouse an event so extraordinary occurred, that all the city talks about it.

The witness, Mr. Olivier, one is not a crackpot. He is the owner of a factory, and a former plane pilot.

It is while crossing a garden, as he returned home, that he saw at approximately 80 meters, a kind of luminous ball, of reddish color, posed on the ground, in front of a tree trunk, near a bordering soccer field.

He at once alerted a neighbor, Mr. Perano, to make him note the phenomenon. But the two men's surprise was great, when they saw a being, moving close to the luminous ball, a human form, of small size and dressed of a kind of diving-suit of orange color. Another witness joined the two men then.

Without losing his head, Mr. Olivier hastened to draw on a nearby door the silhouette of the "Martian", estimating, not without reason, that it was the surest means to engrave it in his memory. A camera would have made the deal certainly better, but Mr. Olivier did not have any at hand - neither did Mr. Perano - and the strange unknown had not left him time to get one.

Either to escape the curiosity of which he was the object, or for any other reason known only of him, he penetrated in his ball, and the latter rose immediately in the sky at a pace that the two witnesses did not hesitate to qualify as a vertiginous one, leaving behind a trail of sparks of a striking effect.

An investigation is started to try to elucidate certain still obscure aspects of this new manifestation of the interplanetary relations.

The air police force interrogated these three people. One of the witnesses has

(Continued on page 3)

In the flying saucers file

(Continued from page 1)

stated that the saucer was surrounded by iridescent reflections and emitted a slight fog around it. He added that having wanted to approach, he had been stopped at about twenty meters by a paralyzing force and that when the machine had risen in the sky, he was violently thrown at the ground.

According to professor Oberth:

The "pilots" of the saucers would be plants gifted of reason

Hamburg, October 13. -- "The "flying saucers" pilots are plants gifted of reason". Such is the theory that professor Hermann Oberth, inventor and manufacturer of the famous "V-2" rocket exposed to a correspondent of the France-Presse Agency.

According to the German scientist, the "Uranides" (such is the name with which he baptizes these plants) have thousands of years in advance on the earth men as well with regard to their spiritual evolution as their technology.The fatherland of the Uranides would be a planet where oxygen in a gas state does not exist, which prohibits the development of animal life. The plants, on the other hand, draw the oxygen they need from oxides contained in the ground.

The said planet would be apart from the solar system, but the mysterious machines in which the intelligent plants move might travel at a speed close to that of the light (300.000 kilometers per second).

Those of these machines seen above the earth would have a mission to watch progresses of earth's humanity in atomic sciences because this progress "represents a danger to the entire cosmos".

Official "case withdrawal" in the Metz affair

Metz, October 14. -- In reference to the investigation which had been opened by the military authority after the publication of information announcing that the soldiers in charge of the handling of a headlight installed at the fair of Metz had seen Sunday evening a mysterious luminous circle, the military autorities publishes the following official statement:

"The observation of unknown machines by a station of the anti-aircraft forces deployed at the Metz fair is noted in the Press. It is not necessary to take into consideration

"The observation of unknown machines by the Anti-Aircraft Forces station Forces deployed at the exhibition of Metz is stated in the press. It is not necessary to take into account this information in this particular case."

"The observation of unknown machines by the Anti-Aircraft Forces station Forces deployed at the exhibition of Metz is stated in the press. It is not necessary to take into account this information in this particular case."

October 10 [, 1954]

[... other cases...]

08:10 p.m.: Metz (Moselle):circle 4. diameter 50 m stat.svrl.hours,motionless / -iè at 10.000 of altitude,visible 3 hours

[... other cases...]

For all those interested in this research, a word to end on a fact that particularly struck us. This is an observation that was made on October 10, 1954 at the METZ fair. A. MICHEL tells it, savoringly, in his already cited book. A M.O.C. ["Mysterious celestial Object"] is caught in the light of an Army searchlight. The latter exhibited its machines and made demonstrations. The M.O.C. remained motionless for 3 hours, vertically above METZ, leaving [sic, tiring] the patience of the military operators, who, failing to wait, were unable to observe its departure. They had assessed the altitude of the M.O.C. at 10,000 meters. The fact is curious, especially funny by its comments, and we had filed it, nothing more. The study of the faults would shed a whole new light on it: METZ is located exactly on a 110 kilometers long fault, one of the longest in our country.

It would therefore seem that it is not necessary to sort the observations to choose the one at low altitude intended for the study, the case of METZ would lead to believe that the M.O.C. have the ability to "work" at high altitude.

October 5th. Metz, France, (no known hour)

A metallic-like globe hung motionless in the sky above Metz, France, for three hours. A French army searchlight found it in the night heavens at an altitude of approximately 30,000 feet. 56.

56. Wilkins, Harold T. Flying Saucers Uncensored. p. 231.

19 - Case of Remiremont, Vosges

Page 178, their version [that of Barthel and Brucker [bbr1]] of this case is as follows:

"That same day in Remiremont, if we are to believe L’Est Républicain, it was around a hundred people visiting the fair-exhibition who observed... what we believed to be a flying saucer which released a trail of smoke in its wake... Inquiries taken, what was believed to be a UFO was only a balloon released for the occasion".

"That same day" refers to Sunday, October 3, 1954, a memorable day at the time, because a plethora of observations were made at different places in France, particularly in the East, in Moselle more precisely. L'Est Républicain (undated, therefore another borrowing from a casual author or more probably from an incomplete file), is a title that did not exist in 1954. At that time it was was still called Le Lorrain, and did not become L'Est Républicain until several years later, even though some of its inside pages bear this title at the top.

All the October 1954 issues of this daily were scrutinized by me page by page at the B.N. de Versailles [National Library], in vain. That of October 5 includes a substantial article on the events of October 3, but none related to Remiremont. I also checked La Liberté de l'Est, which covers this city, with no more success. In its issue of October 4, we find the one and only observation made in the Remiremont sector on October 3, in the hamlet of Saulceray, commune of St. Michel-sur-Meurthe, but it is unrelated to that put forward by our couple of censors.

Figuet's catalogue, no more than Michel's M.O.C., mention an incident in Remiremont for that day, nor on any other date, moreover, at least for 1954. It is the expression "Fair-Exposition" which will put me on track. In Le Lorrain of October 14, page 5, we can read the following:

"One remains skeptical about the presence of a mysterious craft above the Metz Fair (Sunday October 10 - Author's note). A luminous circle was caught in the beam of a military searchlight for several hours. In high places, an investigation was ordered. The person in charge of the Army stand, a commander, was instructed to transmit a report to the hierarchy."

The content of this report was never released to the press.

On the other hand, in Le Lorrain of October 16, page 7, a short text appeared which ended with this sentence: "There is no reason to take into consideration the information in this particular case". No explanation was given, so the B& B explanation is imaginary!

In other words, B & B have offered their readers authentic fiction! Let's do the count, according to the "information taken" by our two debunkers. We have: an undated inaccurate reference, a wrong city, a wrong date, and a bogus solution!

It is to believe that Monnerie did not read the manuscript, since he writes on page 13: "The concern of my friends (B & B - NdA), is precision".

You bet Joe! I would rather say: it's the IMAGINATION!

4055: 1954/10/10 21:10 200 6:10:00 E 49:08:00 N 3333 WEU FRN MSL 6:C

METZ,MSL,FR:BBK:LRG CROWD+SPOTLITE BEAMS:ODD CLOUD OVR FAIR/3hrs+:NEVER MOVES:

Ref# 30 FIGEUT[sic]&RUCHON: OVNI: Le 1er Dossier Page No. 145 : TOWN &CITY

in our archive

Mysterious Lorraine

A ufo at the Metz fair

We are at the Metz Fair on Sunday, October 10, 1954. On the exhibit of the French army, visitors can admire a powerful projector and a radar station, ultramodern gear of the FTA (Anti-aircraft Land Forces) of the time. They were installed and regulated by some military technicians, under the authority of Commander Cottel.

When around 8 p.m. the projector was lit up and turned to the sky, its beam was caught on a motionless globe, in midair, at the vertical of the fair. It was an object "glittering like a Christmas tree ball!", Commander Cottel later said.

Unexplained phenomenon

Incredulous technicians decided to turn off the machine and clean its components, but nothing changes: once the projector is turned on again, the mysterious globe is still there, at an altitude that the military estimates at 12,000 m. It is here, the spectators see it, and yet, the radar does not detect its presence!

The machine, estimated at about fifty meters in diameter, is parked in the sky during the three hours of the demonstration of the projector.

The phenomenon is relayed by the press: Le Républicain Lorrain, the AFP, L'Alsace, Le Provençal... The news worries the military authorities and the General Governor of Metz requires a report from Commander Cottel.

Investigation is underway, especially on the possibility of a meteorological phenomenon. Yet, no communication from the army will ever come to clear the mystery...

[Photo caption:] A UFO photographed in the USA in 1966. Photo rue des Archives

UFO wave?

Between October 1st and October 21st, 1954, about twenty testimonies of UFO observers in Moselle were recorded: in the communes of Vergaville, Bidestroff, Kerprich, Guébling, Morsbach, Moncourt, Saint-Avold, Saint-Quirin or Jouy-aux-Arches. Most have been reported in our columns.

Spheres, cones or luminous cigars, batteries that discharge, dancing colors, the phenomena follow each other.

In Pournoy-la-Chétive, two children even saw a furry-faced extraterrestrial descending of his flying saucer and speak to them in an incomprehensible language.

Collective madness or encounter of the third kind? No definitive answer will ever be made.

Tuesday, February 10, 2015

UFOs: 1950s, pilots and military witness [sic]

In this article a little "specialized", you will find real testimonies of civilian or military pilots, but also of military personnel on the ground (gendarmes too) involved during appearances of identified aerial phenomena ... as not being explicable by natural or technologically human phenomena... All these testimonies are excerpts from various known books and from several periods, many in France but also in other parts of the world, and have all been the subject of verifications and investigations, both by ufologists than by official services such as gendarmeries or military police or counter-intelligence ... The sources are listed at the end of the article. This article is part of a historical informative and educational investigation and is composed of extracts limited exclusively to a well-defined topic.

[... other cases...]

(3): Foire de Metz, 10 octobre 1954. Vers 23 heures, un projecteur de D.C.A., installé au stand de l'Armée à la Foire de Metz, et qui balayait le ciel pour la plus grande joie des badauds, accrocha soudain dans son faisceau un mystérieux objet, un globe lumineux, immobile en plein ciel et qui, selon l'expression de certains témoins, "scintillait comme une boule d'arbre de Noël". Une dizaine de servants (YH: des militaires donc) se trouvaient autour du projecteur. Le rayon était orienté à la verticale. La chose semblait se trouver à environ 10 000 mètres d'altitude.

Afin de s'assurer qu'il ne s'agissait pas d'un phénomène ou d'une illusion d'optique, on décida de procéder à un nettoyage complet du projecteur. On changea aussi les charbons et on le ralluma. L'objet était toujours là. " Il a au moins 50 mètres de diamètre ", estima l'officier. De nombreux curieux, qui s'étaient groupés entre temps autour du projecteur aperçurent aussi la "boule de Noël". Elle resta là jusqu'à 23 heures, heure à laquelle on se décida à éteindre le projecteur. Le radar avait sans cesse balayé l'espace sans rien accrocher. Cela pouvait signifier deux choses: ou bien l'objet n'était pas métallique ou bien il se trouvait au-delà de la portée utile des radars du type de celui qui fonctionnait à Metz.

[... other cases...]

[...] (3), [...]: "Face aux Extra-Terrestres - Le dossier français des atterrissages (1947-1975)" by Charles Garreau and Raymond Lavier, Editions Jean-Pierre Delarge (1975)

UFO wave in Metz and its region

Comments »0

[... Other cases...]

A mysterious phenomenon also occurred on October 10, 1954 at the Foire Internationale de Metz (FIM). A powerful searchlight and a radar station of the FTA (Anti-Aircraft Land Forces) of the time had been installed on the stand of the French army. When around 8 p.m. the projector was switched on and raised to the sky for a demonstration, its beam caught a motionless globe in the sky in the vertical direction of the fair. Incredulous, the soldiers switched off the device to clean its components. After the manipulation and once the projector was switched on, the globe was still there, at an altitude of 12,000 meters according to the operators. Everyone could see the object except the radar installed next to it that did not detect its presence. The craft, estimated at about fifty meters in diameter, was stationed in the sky during the three hours of the demonstration of the projector. Research was subsequently carried out to determine if it was not a meteorological phenomenon, but the army never communicated about the event.