The index page for the 1954 French flap section of this website is here.
Reference for this case: 19-22-Oct-54-Melun.
Please cite this reference in any correspondence with me regarding this case.
In the newspapers for October 22 and 23, 1954, we read that in Melun itself, several girls coming out of an evening class would have, according to their statements, seen in the sky, a "craft roughly similar" to another seen in the region, which would have been oval-shaped and yellow-orange in color, which, after stopping for ten minutes, rose very quickly in the sky.
In his 1997 book "Le Dossier 1954 et l'Imposture Rationaliste", ufologist and author Jean Sider announced that he had found this case in the newspaper La République de Seine-et-Marne, of Melun, on page 1 for October 26, 1954, reporting that between October 19 and October 25, 1954, at 8:15 p.m., several young girls who remained anonymous, were returning from an evening class on Boulevard Gambetta in Melun, when they saw a very bright oval-shaped yellow orange ball that slowly rose above the rooftops after hovering for about ten minutes in the night, above the nearby buildings.
According to Jean Sider the newspaper wrote that the ball had been at a fairly low altitude, and that one of the witnesses had claimed to have been able to distinguish silhouettes inside the ball; which then disappeared at very high speed. Jean Sider noted that at this moment, the moon was in another part of the sky.
[Ref. jps1:] NEWSPAPER "LE JOURNAL DU PAS-DE-CALAIS ET DE LA SOMME":
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Melun, 22. -- Many witnesses, residents of the communes of the regions of Bray-sur-Seine, Lagny, Moret, Thomery, said they saw a strange phenomenon after dark: an oval-shaped object, yellow orange in color, measuring more than 20 meters, at 300 or 400 meters of altitude. Clarification: the 20 meters would be the real measure of the object and not its size as it appeared to them.
The craft remained motionless for a while and disappeared at breakneck speed.
One of the witnesses, Mr. André L..., a weather specialist, who lives in Thomery, believes that the speed of machine was of the order of 10,000 km.p.h, quite simply. Mr. L... clarified:
"I am absolutely certain, because I know this question well, that it is neither an airplane nor a weather balloon."
In Melun itself, several young girls coming out of an evening class claim to have seen an almost similar craft in the sky; which, after having stopped for ten minutes, would have risen very quickly in the sky.
However, a luminous ball resembling a car headlight would have appeared, six times, to two industrialists from Melun who were traveling on the road national Melun-Rubelles. The appearance of this luminous hearth would have caused each time a very large flash illuminating the region.
Finally, several horsemen from a horse center in La Rochelle claim to have seen a character flee from their park. "He was strange", they said, "he could only be a Martian".
La Rochelle. -- A motorist from Cherbonnières was driving on the road to Souzou with his three-year-old son when he felt all over his body tingling sensations similar to electric shocks which increased as his car moved forward. The child, who felt the same discomfort, began to cry. Soon the car engine stopped and the headlights went out.
At the same time, a bright glow was seen, going from bright red to orange. Blinded, the motorist could however distinguish a craft stationary in space, for a few moments and then it would disappear soon. Immediately afterwards, the driver was able to restart the engine of his car.
Rome, 22. -- Many discs, saucers and flying cigars were seen in the sky of Italy. Several people saw these craft move over Milan. While inhabitants of Perugia, Bologna, and other localities in the north of the Peninsula were also eyewitnesses to these incursions of flying discs or cigars.
The most precise testimony was collected in Naples, where two workers who were in the suburbs of the city clearly distinguished an apparatus, of circular shape, moving in the sky at an altitude of 800 meters approximately following a North-East direction. The phenomenon lasted three minutes and the two workers were able to specify that the metal carcass of the disc was painted red and that white smoke escaped from it.
[Ref. lml1:] NEWSPAPER "LE MERIDIONAL":
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Melun. -- A very large number of witnesses, inhabitants of the communities of the areas of Bray-sur-Seine, Lagny, Moret, Thomery stated to have seen, at the fallen night, a strange phenomenon: a craft of oval form, yellow orange color, measuring more than 20 meters, at 300 or 400 meters altitude. Precision: The 20 meters are said to be the real measurement of the object and not its dimension such as it appeared to them.
The machine remained motionless during a certain time and disappeared at a vertiginous speed.
One of the witnesses, Mr. André L..., weather specialist, who lives in Thomery, estimates that the speed of the machine was approximately 10.000 kilometer-hour. Quite simply!
Mr. L... specified: "I am absolutely certain, for I know this question well, that it was neither a plane, nor of a weather-balloon."
In Melun directly, several girls leaving an evening course claim to have seen in the sky a machine that was more or less similar, which, after having stopped during ten minutes, had risen very quickly in the sky.
Meanwhile, a luminous ball resembling a headlight of a car is said to have appeared, six times, to two industrialists of Melun who circulated on the national road Melun-Rubelles. The appearance of this luminous source is said to have caused each time a very broad flash illuminating the area.
Finally, several horse riders of center of a horsing center of La Rochelle claim to have seen a character fleeing from their park.
"He was strange, they say. It could only have been a Martian."
[Ref. cpd1:] NEWSPAPER "LE COURRIER PICARD":
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MELUN, October 22. -- Numerous witnesses, residents of municipalities in the regions of Bray-sur-Seine, Lagny, Moret, Thomery, declared to have seen, at nightfall, a strange phenomenon: an oval shaped object, of yellow orange color, measuring more than 20 meters, at 200 or 400 meters of altitude. Note: the 20 meters would be the real measure of the object and not its size as it appeared to them.
The craft remained motionless for a while and disappeared at breakneck speed.
One of the witnesses, Mr. André L..., weather specialist, who lives in Thomery, estimates that the speed of the craft was of the order of 10,000 km/hour, quite simply.
Mr. L... said: "I am absolutely certain, because I know this question well, that it is neither an airplane nor a sounding balloon."
In Melun itself, several young girls coming out of an evening class, claim to have seen an almost similar craft in the sky which, after having stopped for ten minutes, would have risen very quickly in the sky.
Also, a luminous ball resembling a car headlight appeared six times to two industrialists from Melun who were traveling on the Melun-Rubelles national road. The appearance of this luminous focus would have caused each time a very large flash illuminating the region.
Finally, several riders from a horse racing center in La Rochelle (Seine-et-Marne) [sic], claim to have seen a character run away in the park. "He was strange, they say. He could only be a Martian."
In the Charente-Maritime, on the other hand, a motorist from Cherbonnières was driving on the road to Sousou with his 3-year-old son, when he felt tingling all over his body similar to electric shocks, which increased as his car moved. The child, who felt the same discomfort, began to cry.
Soon the car engine stopped and the headlights went out. At the same time, a bright glow was seen, going from bright red to orange.
Blinded, the motorist could however distinguish a craft stationary in space for a few moments, then this one will disappear soon. Immediately afterwards, the driver was able to restart the engine of his car.
In the department of Isère, in recent days, motorists claim to have seen, in the Morestel region, a mysterious craft which must have landed near this location.
Continued on 2nd page under the title Flying Saucers
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(Continued from 1st page)
However, the next morning, a farmer from a neighboring hamlet noticed that a strange device was in a field. What increased his surprise was that an intermittent light emanated from the device.
It was actually a sounding balloon with its recording devices which included bulbs, whose light would vary, it is said, according to certain temperature conditions.
The farmer shipped the balloon and the devices to the address indicated on the attached sheet, that is to say the Observatoire de Trappes (Seine-et-Oise).
It is probably the luminous "saucer" seen the previous evening by motorists victims of an optical illusion.
Many discs, saucers and flying cigars were seen yesterday in the sky of Italy. Several people saw these craft moving above Milan, while residents of Perugia, Bologna and other localities of the North of the peninsula were also eyewitnesses of these incursions of flying discs or cigars.
The most precise testimony was collected in Naples, where two workers who were in the suburbs of the city, clearly distinguished an apparatus, of circular shape, moving in the sky at 800 meters of altitude, following a northeast direction.
The phenomenon lasted 2 minutes and the two workers were able to specify that the metal carcass of the disc was painted red and that white smoke escaped from it.
Around Kongsvinger, a town about 80 km northeast of Oslo, several people said they saw several luminous objects crisscrossing the sky last night at an extraordinary speed, from west to southeast, disappearing on the horizon after a few minutes,
Some witnesses claim that these fireballs exploded in their course.
According to most observations, it is a giant fireball that ignites on contact with the atmosphere.
[Ref. lon1:] NEWSPAPER "L'OISE-MATIN":
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IT IS, in our region, in Noyon, in Morenval, and in Mesnil-en-Thelle, in the rest of the country, in the regions of Bray-sur-Seine, Lagny, Moret, Thoméry, Melun and the Rochelle, that "saucers", "cigars", "disks" and other flying craft - with and without "Martians" have been reported in the past 24 hours.
In Noyon they are young people and several other reliable people who claimed to have seen Tuesday evening, around 9 pm, "a mysterious luminous craft, having the shape of a cigar tapering at both ends and representing rather well the profile of a saucer."
The craft; which according to the statements of the witnesses was "of variable color, brilliant and indefinable", carried out, they say, vertical oscillations above the village of Vauchelles.
The phenomenon concludes the witnesses could be observed for half an hour, then the saucer seemed to dive towards the ground and disappeared behind the hills of Porquericourt.
Tuesday evening, Mssrs. Baquet, a schoolteacher in the hamlet of Morenval, and Letombe, his neighbor, took advantage of the moonlight to hunt for wild boars.
Both leaving, rifles on their shoulders, they reached around 9:30 p.m. a cornfield located at the place "la pointe de Blérancourt" along the Tracy-le-Mont-Blérancourt road.
Suddenly, Mr. Letembe, looking up, saw a luminous craft in the shape of an "elongated spheroid"; which moved horizontally in the sky, at a dizzying pace. Mr. Letombe, calling for the attention of Mr. Baquet, the two hunters were able to follow for about ten seconds, the course of the craft which, without the slightest noise, continued its course from east to west, until it disappears on the horizon.
The same phenomena woas reportedly also seen more or less at the same time, by residents of Attichy and Carlepont.
For their part, Mssrs. René Didelet, technical agent at the S.N.C.F., and Omer Van de Sompaele, farmer, living in Mesnil-en-Thelle, declared that they saw "towards the south, a red sphere the size of a fist, which moved horizontally at breakneck speed, leaving behind an incandescent trail."
Numerous witnesses living in the municipalities of the regions of Bray-sur-Seine, Lagny, Moret, Thomery, also declared having seen, at nightfall, a strange phenomenon: an oval-shaped machine, yellow-orange in color, measuring more than 20 meters, at an altitude of 300 or 400 meters.
The craft stood still for some time and disappeared at breakneck speed.
One of the witnesses, Mr. André L ..., a weather specialist, who live in Thomery, estimates that the speed of the craft was of the order of 10,000 kilometers per hour.
Mr. L ... specified:
"I am absolutely certain, because I am familiar with this matter, that it is neither an airplane nor a weather balloon."
In Melun itself, several young girls coming out of an evening class, claim to have seen a similar machine in the sky, which, after stopping for ten minutes, would have risen very quickly in the sky.
However, a luminous ball resembling a car headlight reportedly appeared, on six occasions, at two industrialists from Melun who were circulating on the national road Melun-Rubelles. The appearance of this luminous focus would have caused each time a very large flash of lightning illuminating the region.
For their part, several riders from a horse riding center in La Rochelle, claim to have seen a character flee from their park.
"He was strange, they say, he could only be a Martian."
Finally, a motorist from Cherbonnières was driving on the road to Souzou, near La Rochelle, with his 3-year-old son, when he felt a tingling sensation all over his body similar to electric shocks which increased as his car moved forward. The child, who felt the same discomfort, began to cry. Soon the engine of the car stopped, and the headlights went out. At the same time, a bright glow was seen, going from bright red to orange. Blinded, the motorist was however able to distinguish a machine motionless in space for a few moments then it soon disappeared. Immediately afterwards, the driver was able to restart the engine of his car.
Many disks, saucers and flying cigars were also reported yesterday in the skies over Italy. Several people said they saw these craft flying over Milan, while residents of Perugia, Bologna, and other localities in the north of the peninsula also claimed to have seen incursions of discs or flying cigars.
[Ref. ler1:] NEWSPAPER "L'EST REPUBLICAIN":
Paris. -- The gentle sky of Ile-de-France has been criss-crossed over the past twenty-four hours by many mysterious craft.
All of them did not appear until dark, but the witnesses brought a lot of details and they are now on the long list of "those who have seen it". In Bray-sur-Seine like in Lagny, in Moret like in Thomery, many inhabitants have seen at nightfall, an oval-shaped craft, of orange-yellow color, measuring more than 20 meters at 300 or 400 meters of altitude. Precision: the 20 meters would be the real measure of the object and not its dimension as it appeared to them.
The craft remained stationary for some time and disappeared at a dizzying speed. It could only be a Martian!
One of the witnesses, Mr. André L..., a weather expert, estimated that the craft was traveling at ten thousand Kms-hour approximately. So he must have, at the same time, a good view and a precise idea of the speed. Mr. L... specified: "I am absolutely certain of what I am saying, because I know the question well." But no one doubts it.
In Melun itself, several young girls, coming out of an evening class, claim to have seen in the sky, a similar craft which, after stopping for about ten minutes, would have gone up very rapidly in the sky.
Meanwhile, a luminous ball resembling a car headlight appeared six times to two industrialists of Melun who were traveling on the national road Melun-Rubelles. The appearance of this luminous spot caused every time a very wide flash illuminating the area.
Finally, several riders from a horse racing center in La Rochelle say they saw a character escape from their park. "He was strange," they said. "It could only be a Martian." These are witnesses who are not devoid of a certain sense of humor.
Much more disturbing, if not funny, is the testimony of a motorist of Cherbonnières (Charente-Maritime). He was driving along the road to Souzou with his son, aged three, when he felt tingling like electric shocks all over his body which increased as his car moved on. The child who felt the same discomforts, began to weep. Soon the engine stopped and the headlights went out. At the same moment a bright glow "changed" from a bright red color to an orange color.
Blinded, the motorist was able, however, to distinguish a stationary machine in space for a few moments, then the latter disappeared soon. Immediately after that, the driver was able to restart the engine of his car.
Numerous discs, saucers and flying cigars have, moreover, been seen in the Italian sky, above Milan as well as Perugia or Bologna.
The most precise testimony was taken in Naples, where two workers who were in the suburb of the city, clearly distinguished a craft, circular in shape, moving in the sky at about eight hundred meters, in a northeasterly direction. The phenomenon lasted three minutes and both workers were able to specify that the metal carcass of the disc was painted red and that a white smoke came out of it.
Finally, a luminous object having, according to certain witnesses, of the appearance of a rotating disc, and according to Others that of a violently lit aircraft, was seen over several cities in the center-west of Sweden. The object was surrounded by sparks. It is assumed to be an aerolite of exceptional brightness.
[Ref. ppe1:] NEWSPAPER "PARIS-PRESSE":
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VERY numerous witnesses, residents of the communes of the regions of Bray-sur-Seine, Lagny, Moret, Thomery declared to have seen, at nightfall, a strange phenomenon: an oval shaped object, of orange yellow color, measuring more than twenty meters, at 300 or 400 meters of altitude.
One of the witnesses, Mr. André L ..., weather specialist, who lives in Thomery, estimates that its speed was of bout 10,000 kilometers per hour.
"I am absolutely certain, because I know this question well, that it is neither an airplane nor a weather balloon," he said.
In Melun itself, several young girls coming out of an evening class, claim to have seen in the sky an almost similar machine which, after having stopped for ten minutes, would have risen very quickly in the sky.
Also, a luminous ball resembling a car headlight would have appeared, six times, to two industrialists from Melun who were traveling on the Melun-Rubelles national road. The appearance of this luminous source would have caused each time a very large flash illuminating the region.
Other "flying saucers" were seen yesterday. One near Luzy, the second on the RN 393, near Turquestein; the last ones finally near Ham, in Lorient and in Chevenon.
Near Altkirch, a motorist thought he had seen one too, but it was only the moon.
[Ref. nll1:] NEWSPAPER "NORD LITTORAL":
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Melun, October 22.
Numerous witnesses, residents of municipalities in the regions of Bray-sur-Seine, Lagny, Moret, Thomery declared to have seen, at nightfall, a strange phenomenon: an oval shaped object, yellow orange in color, measuring more than 20 meters, at 300 or 400 meters of height. Clarification: the 20 meters would be the real measure of the object and not its size as it appeared to them.
The craft remained motionless for a while and disappeared at breakneck speed.
One of the witnesses, Mr. André L ..., weather specialist, who lives in Thomery, estimates that the speed of the craft was of the order of 10,000 km per h., quite simply. Mr. L ... clarified:
"I am absolutely certain, because I know this question well, that it is neither an airplane nor a weather balloon."
In Melun itself, several young girls coming out of an evening class claim to have seen an almost similar craft in the sky, which, after having stopped for ten minutes, would have risen very quickly in the sky.
However, a luminous ball resembling a car headlight would have appeared, six times, to two industrialists from Melun who were traveling on the national road Melun-Rubelles. The appearance of this luminous focus would have caused each time a very large flash illuminating the region.
Finally, several riders from an equestrian center in La Rochelle claim to have seen a character flee from their park.
"He was strange, they said. He could only be a Martian."
La Rochelle, October 22.
A motorist from Cherbonnière was driving on the road to Pouzou with his five-year-old son when he felt all over his body tingling sensations like electric shocks which increased as his car moved forward. The child, who felt the same discomfort, began to cry. Soon the car engine stopped and the headlights went out. At the same time, a bright glow was seen, changing from bright red to orange. Blinded, the motorist could however distinguish a craft hovering in space for a few moments and then it soon disappeared. Immediately afterwards, the driver was able to restart the engine of his car.
Rome, October 22.
Many discs, saucers, and flying cigars were seen yesterday in the sky of Italy. Several people have seen these craft move over Milan. While residents of Perugia, Bologna, and other localities in the north of the peninsula were also eyewitnesses to these incursions of flying discs or cigars.
The most precise testimony was collected in Naples, where two workers who were in the suburbs of the city clearly distinguished a circular craft, moving in the sky at about eight hundred meters of altitude, following a direction to the northeast. The phenomenon lasted three minutes and the two workers were able to specify that the metal casing of the discs was painted red and that white smoke escaped from it.
Oslo, October 22.
Around Kongsvinger, a city about eighty kilometers northeast of Oslo, several people said they saw several luminous objects flying in the sky last night at an extraordinary speed, from the west to the southeast, to disappear on the horizon after a few seconds.
Some witnesses claim that these balls of fire exploded in their course.
According to most observations, it is a giant fireball that ignites on contact with the atmosphere.
[Ref. usa1:] US AIR FORCE ARCHIVE:
The file of the US Air Force UFO investigation project "Blue Book" include a number of Press reports about the flying saucers in France in 1954, including this one, with no source reference:
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In Melun, several girls leaving an evening course declare they saw an almost identical object in the sky. After having stopped for some ten minutes, it supposedly rose very rapidly into the sky.
Note: The object to which this one is said to be "almost identical" was seen in several other cases in Bray and Thoméry and is described there as an "oval-shaped craft" of "yellow orange" color.
[Ref. gqy1:] GUY QUINCY:
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Night of October 22 to 23 [, 1954]
[... other cases...]
? [=unknown hour]: Region of Bray-sur-Seine/Lagny/Moret/Thomery/Melun (Seine-et-Marne): lumin.obj.
[... other cases...]
[Ref. jsr1:] JEAN SIDER:
Ufologist and author Jean Sider learned via an article from the newspaper La République de Seine-et-Marne, of Melun, on page 1 for October 26, 1954, that between October 19 and October 25, 1954, at 08:15 p.m., several anonymous girls who returned from an evening course, in Gambetta boulevard in Melun, saw an orange yellow ball, very luminous and of oval shapewhich slowly rised above the roofs after having remained stationary for approximately ten minutes in the night, above the nearby buildings.
It had been at a rather low altitude. Jean Sider notes that at this moment, the moon was in another part of the sky. One of the witnesses had stated to have been able to distinguish silhouettes inside the ball, which then disappeared at very high speed.
[Ref. lcn1:] LUC CHASTAN:
Luc Chastan indicates that in Seine et Marne at Melun on October 21, 1954, at an unknown hour, "Observation by a group of girls of an oval object which after having stopped during ten minutes rose quickly in the sky."
Luc Chastan indicates that the source is "Le Méridional".
[Ref. jgz1:] JULIEN GONZALEZ:
The author indicates that in Melun, in the Seine-et-Marne, between October 19 and 25, 1954, at 08:15, there was a close meeting of the third kind:
Several anonymous young girls returning from an evening lesson on Boulevard Gambetta in Melun saw in the night, above the neighboring buildings, a bright orange yellow ball of oval shape which rose slowly above the roofs after having remained stationary for about ten minutes, at quite a low altitude. At that moment, the moon was in another part of the sky.
One of the witnesses said she could see silhouettes inside the ball, which disappeared at a very high speed.
Julien Gonzalez indicates that the sources are La République de Seine-et-Marne (Melun) of October 26, 1954; Jean Sider, Le Dossier 1954 et l'imposture rationaliste, page 212.
[Ref. ubk1:] "UFO-DATENBANK":
| Case Nr. | New case Nr. | Investigator | Date of observation | Zip | Place of observation | Country of observation | Hour of observation | Classification | Comments | Identification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19541022 | 22.10.1954 | Melun | France | 19.00 | NL |
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Not looked for yet.
(These keywords are only to help queries and are not implying anything.)
Melun, Seine-et-Marne, multiple, girls, evening, night, city, ball, yellow, orange, luminous, oval, occupants, stationary, fast, low, duration
[----] indicates sources that are not yet available to me.
| Version: | Created/Changed by: | Date: | Change Description: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.1 | Patrick Gross | February 28, 2006 | First published. |
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | March 1, 2010 | Conversion from HTML to XHTML Strict. First formal version. |
| 1.1 | Patrick Gross | July 17, 2010 | Additions [usa1]. |
| 1.2 | Patrick Gross | November 28, 2016 | Additions [ler1], [ubk1]. |
| 1.3 | Patrick Gross | January 12, 2019 | Addition [jgz1]. |
| 1.4 | Patrick Gross | april 19, 1954 | Addition of the Summary. |
| 1.5 | Patrick Gross | January 3, 2020 | Addition [ppe1]. |
| 1.6 | Patrick Gross | May 7, 2020 | Addition [cpd1]. |
| 1.7 | Patrick Gross | June 11, 2020 | Addition [nll1]. |
| 1.8 | Patrick Gross | July 6, 2020 | Addition [jps1]. In the Summary, "Le Méridional and L'Est Républicain for October 23" changed to "for October 22 and 23". |
| 1.9 | Patrick Gross | May 14, 2021 | Addition [lon1]. |
| 2.0 | Patrick Gross | May 20, 2022 | Addition [gqy1]. |
