The 1954 French flap:

A craft in a field

CLERMONT-FERRAND. -- MISTERS Jean Augard, farmer in Sisternes-la-Forêt (the Puy-de-Dôme) and Jean Chanzotte, former mine worker, stated to have seen, in a field at the edge of the road, an ovoid-shaped craft surmounted of a cupola of a brilliant white. As the two men approached the "saucer", it rose vertically and disappeared in direction of the North-East, leaving behind it a reddish trail.

A few days ago, in Gelles, a nearby village, several people had seen a similar craft, also posed in a field.

Saucers, cigars, etc.

They fly away!

MM. Jean Augard, farmer in Sisternes-la-Forêt [sic] (Puy-de-Dôme), and Jean Chanzotte, former miner, declared to have seen, in a field by the roadside, a craft of ovoid shape surmounted by a dome of a brilliant white color. As the two men approached the "saucer", it rose vertically and disappeared in a northeast direction, leaving behind a reddish trail.

In Gelles, a neighboring town, several people had seen a similar craft, also posed in a field.

In the Vendée, [Error: in Charente-Maritime] in Pont-l'Abbé-d'Arnoult, a mysterious craft that was rising vertically behind a hedge, was seen by Mr. Meunier, foreman in a masonry company.

While pursuing the saucer...
he "drinks the cup"

Several people were running through fields in Moyaux (Calvados), in the direction of a flying saucer which had been pointed out to them by a child.

One of them, a farmer, Mr. Filate, who never took his eyes off the sky, fell into a deep pond where he almost drowned. Fortunately, his companions managed to save him.

"Melon and tandem"

A "melon" made its appearance this time in the skies of Alsace. Indeed, several people, including a few pilots from the Strasbourg Aero-Club, claim to have seen on Saturday evening a shiny craft, having the shape of a melon, and leaving a trace of two meters of white-orange color, fly over the region of the Bas-Rhin.

Two residents of St-Cirgues (Haute-Loire), saw in the sky, at very high altitude, two luminous balls which seemed interconnected by a rod. The craft remained motionless for a quarter of an hour then disappeared at very high speed.

Brigadier are you right?

Monday evening, around 9:25 p.m., in Pommier (Pas-de-Calais), the brigadier head of the gendarmerie and a gendarme saw an orange luminous craft moving at a very high speed from East to West at about 500 meters of altitude.

In the sky of Italy

One also reports the passage of saucers in the Italian sky, above Milan, Trento, Genoa and the Po delta.

One of these craft reportedly even have landed in Capri at night, of course. It is a painter, Mr. Raffaële Castello, who allgedly saw the saucer land on the terrace of the villa of Malaporte [sic, Malaparte]. The painter, who had thought it was a helicopter, approached and was surprised to see four men, small in size, descend from the disc. The passengers of the craft, who were dressed in an outfit, remained around the disc for about half an hour. Bluish gleams escaped the disc incessantly, pin-like and lightning-fast, they went off in all directions.

After some time, about half an hour, the four men re-entered the disc which, with a slight hum, rose slowly, perpendicularly, and then quickly gained altitude.

Report!

Mr. Holaubek, Vienna's Prefect of Police, ordered officers under his command to report all the flying saucer stories and all the statements by people claiming to have seen "visitors from another world."

Still the Flying Saucers

NEW SIGHTINGS IN FRANCE

PARIS. -- The only new reports of mysterious objects flying over France come from the West.

In the Côtes-du-Nord, at Uzel, Mr. and Mrs. Pérrichon reported seeing an orange flying saucer last night. The same phenomenon was observed in several nearby towns.

In the Vendée, at Pont-l'Abbé-d'Arnoult, a mysterious object rising vertically behind a hedge was seen by Mr. Meunier, a construction site foreman.

Finally, in Luçon, Mr. Boulineau observed a large luminous sphere, part of which, in the shape of a crescent, was red. The sphere moved quickly, spinning on itself, and disappeared within seconds.

Two residents of Saint-Cirgues (Haute-Loire) saw two luminous spheres at a very high altitude in the sky, seemingly connected by a rod. The object remained stationary for fifteen minutes before disappearing at high speed.

Mr. Jean Augard, a farmer in Sisternes-la-Forêt (Puy-de-Dôme), and Jean Chanzotte, a former miner, reported seeing an oval-shaped craft with a bright white dome in a field near the roadside. As the two men approached the saucer, it rose vertically and disappeared toward the northeast, leaving a reddish trail behind it.

A few days earlier, in Gelles, a nearby village, several people had seen a similar craft also landed in a field.

IN CAPRI, A FLYING SAUCER LANDS ON CURZIO MALAPARTE'S VILLA

ROME. -- The flying discs continue their dance across the skies of the peninsula, and in Capri, one of these mysterious objects landed on the terrace of the writer Curzio Malaparte's villa.

A painter, Mr. Raphaële Castello, during a nighttime walk near Cape Massulo, saw an enormous disc, approximately five meters in diameter, hovering about a hundred meters in altitude. The craft descended slowly and landed on the terrace of the writer’s villa. Mr. Castello, initially believing it to be a helicopter, approached Malaparte’s summer residence and was astonished to see four small men emerge from the disc. The craft’s passengers, dressed in suits, remained around the disc for about half an hour.

"I had the impression," said the witness of this landing, "that they were not speaking, or if they did, they spoke very softly, as from where I stood, I could hear no sound. What is certain is that bluish lights were constantly emanating from the disc, resembling quick flashes like needles shooting out in all directions.

"After a while, about half an hour, the four men returned to the disc, which, with a soft hum, slowly rose perpendicularly and then quickly gained altitude.

"It disappeared in the direction of Sicily."

Another luminous disc was spotted by residents of Salerno and Vietri-su-Mare, who described it as a ring of fire that, after circling above the cities, moved away, leaving a luminous trail behind it.

But the idea by Mr. Castou to plot all the sighting of the fla on a single map is nevertheless interesting. It gives for Bavic an unexpected result: this alignement goes from 7 spots (counting la Sierra de Gardunha) to 13 spots perfectly in line (two observations in the south of Dole, one on the departmental road 60 between Saint-Romain-sous-Gourdon and les Brosses-Thillot, one in Paray-le-Monial, a second observation in Gelles, one lastly at Orchamps).

[... other cases...]

October 18, 1954: Gelles (9 km ISL in the SW of Pontgibaud--Puy-de-Dôme): several residents (ovoid craft small size posed on the ground)

[... other cases...]

DATE 10/18/1954

HOUR

PLACE Gelles (Puy-de-Dôme)

WITNESSES

THE FACTS.

Several people claim to have seen an ovoid craft of small size posed in a field.

SOURCES.

Regional Press.

INVESTIGATION.

No investigation was made, but the case was reported to the Gendarmerie.

NOTES.

It is interesting to note the existence of three landings the same day in a very small perimeter around Gelles.

[... other cases...]

September 24 [, 1954]: ufos are observed in six cities [in reality at least 11] (Bayonne [in reality the 23rd], Lencouacq [in reality the 23rd], Tulle [in reality the 22nd], Ussel [in reality the 20th], Gelles, Vichy) [in reality with no precise day].

[... other cases...]