The 1954 French flap:

THE ROUND OF THE SAUCERS
CONTINUES TO FAVOR
HUNDREDS OF WITNESSES

THE ROUND OF THE SAUCERS continues to describe graceful interlacing, from Mantua, Italy, to Peros-Guirec [sic], and from Clermont to Dunkirk. Can we put all these testimonies on the account of the hallucination? Or are jokes spreading in all directions?

In Mantua, traffic was interrupted for more than an hour in the center by groups of people gathered to observe a strange "white object" which, at a high height, stood out clearly against the background of the blue sky.

After having carried out extremely fast moves, the craft, of spherical shape, remained motionless for some time in the sky, before disappearing on the horizon.

AN ODOR OF NITRO-BENZINE...

Two saucers were seen yesterday in the Clermont sky. The first one was moving west-east. The witnesses declared that the object approached them and became less and less brilliant. When it was no more than 150 meters away, they felt a "curious feeling" and were as if nailed on the spot. At that moment, a smell of nitro-benzine was released and the craft went away. The discomfort ceased and the saucer disappeared.

The other saucer moved vertically above the Chantorgues [sic] hills and was of a brilliant white.

Farmers from La Rochelle also found after the departure of a spherical saucer, 2 to 3 meters high and a diameter of 5 meters, traces of oily origin on the grass, not far from their farm.

In the same region, several people saw a squadron of elongated luminous objects passing at very high speed and high altitude.

Two residents of Lézignan who were driving in a truck claimed to have seen a disc-shaped object landing in a field between the village of Lagrasse and the hamlet of Villemagne (Aude).

The craft, they said, was about ten meters in diameter. But before they could get close, it wrapped them in a bright glow and disappeared.

CHILD'S SIZE

Luckier, a young cultivator of Mégrit (Côtes du Nord) said he had seen a craft in his farm of a diameter of about a meter inside which were lined two human forms, immobile, the size of a child. However, he did not have the chance to experience the adventure of another Britton.

Mr. Pierre Lucas, a baker's worker in Loctudy (Finistère) suddenly saw in the night a craft in the shape of a saucer from 2.50 to 3 meters in diameter, he saw an individual about 1.20 meter tall come out and it approached him and tapped him on the shoulder, articulating unintelligible words. The baker succeeded in keeping his in cold blood and returned to the bakery where the unknown followed him.

In the light, Mr. Lucas could stare at his visitor. He had an oval face, 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 had his saucer, of which no trace was found.

A merchant from Dunkirk had, several days ago, declared to have seen strange luminous objects in the sky of Bray-Dunes. An investigation had been opened which concluded that these were two military aircraft whose metallic coating had given the illusion!!!

DAILY HARVESTING

And the other testimonies accumulate. In Bergerac, a firefighter claims to have seen a luminous disc supported by three crutches land in his garden.

In Paris, a saucer leaving in its wake a plume of smoke, like a rocket, was seen near the Porte Dorée, in the Faubourg Saint-Antoine, rue de la Pompe.

At Le Bourget, one explained that it is impossible, given the intensity of air traffic, to confirm by radar the passage of the craft.

Finally, saucers, discs, cigars, spheres of all diameters and other flying objects were seen at Quend, Grandvillars (Belfort), at Forges (Corrèze) and Perros-Guirec (Côtes du Nord).

THE TESTIMONY OF AN ENGINEER

Coulommiers' newspaper, "Le Pays Briard", publishes a letter from one of its readers, Mr. E. Farnier, member of the Society of Civil Engineers of France, regarding a flying saucer.

Mr. Farnier specifies that he saw above his property, in Jouy-sur-Morin, a large disc 8 to 10 meters in diameter, "turning on the spot while letting escape red-violet gleams, with a whistling reminding a little the arrival of a jet plane. The craft was about 400 meters high and hovered more than twenty minutes above me. I therefore, says Mr. Farnier, had the leisure to examine it. The object then disappeared in the direction of Coulommiers."

In his letter, Mr. Farnier adds:

"Former commissioner with the Aero-Club of France, having served in aviation, I was not the victim of a hallucination and this craft was not a sounding balloon, but a thick circular wing hovering over the place and moving at very high speed gradually gaining height."

"Saucers" drop anti-communist leaflets over Czechoslovakia

VIENNA. -- "Flying saucers" regularly reported for some time in Austria are, according to the "Bild Telegraph", unmanned devices used by certain powers to drop anti-communist leaflets over Czechoslovakia. This newspaper reports, in fact, that leaflets written in the Czech language were found near Eferding, in Upper Austria (Soviet zone), after the passage of two "luminous discs" whose maneuvers were observed by two gendarmes of a nearby community.

These leaflets distributed by a group of immigrants belonging to the "Czechoslovak opposition" movement invite Czechoslovak peasants to leave agricultural communities and state cooperatives...

Two other daily newspapers also mention the testimony of more than one peasant who claims to have seen a "saucer" taken by the beam of a projector from the Soviet D.C.A.

(Read more on 5^th page)

Saucers...

(Continued from the first page)

The round in France continues

PARlS. -- In the meantime, the flying saucers continue their round in the sky of France.

A truck driver saw a "shining globe" of bluish color "which was moving at an altitude of about 150 meters producing a very soft humming sound." This was near Cabestany (Pyrénées Orientales).

"Saucers" have been seen in Auge (Deux-Sèvres), near Brest, in the Seine-et-Marne (the craft was heading towards Coulommiers) and a "cigar" was observed in Montpellier.

Also, cigars and saucers are reported in Algeria, Morocco and Denmark the cigar left behind "tongues of fire."

SAUCERS

- CONTINUED FROM PAGE ONE -

[]be. They have been observed for more than one hour.

LA ROCHELLE, 6. -- Mr. and Mrs. Guillemoteau were in front of their farm when they saw, about a meter from the ground, a spherical saucer that could have measured 2 to 3 meters in height and of a diameter of 5 meters. The craft, which produced no noise, stopped a few minutes, then went up vertically. Mr. Guillemoteau the next day, went to the place where he had seen the craft and could find oily traces on the grass.

A WHISTLING DISK

MELUN, 6. - Coulommiers newspaper "Le Pays Briard", published a letter from one of his readers, Mr. E. Farnier, Member of the Society of Civil Engineers of France, about a flying saucer.

In this letter, Mr. Farnier says he has seen over his property in Jouy-sur-Morin, a large disk of 8 to 10 meters in diameter "turning on the spot while releasing red-violet light, with a whistling sound somewhat reminiscent of the arrival of a jet plane. The craft was about 400 meters in height and hovered over twenty minutes above me. So I, said Mr. Farnier, had all the time to observe it. The craft then disappeared towards Coulommiers."

In his letter, Mr. Farnier states:

"Former commissioner of the Aero Club of France, having served in aviation, I have not been hallucinating and this thing was not a weather balloon, but a thick circular wing hovering on up and moving at very high speed gradually taking height."

ITALIAN STYLE SAUCERS

MANTUA, 6. - Traffic was interrupted for more than an hour in the center of Mantua by groups of people gathered to observe a strange "black object" which, at a high altitude, stood out clearly on the blue sky background.

After making extremely rapid maneuvers, the spherical shaped craft - and according to some witnesses, it was part of "a formation of flying saucers" - remained for some time motionless in the sky before disappearing at the horizon.

On the other hand the "Martians" also seem to want to visit Italy. Indeed, a fisherman of Roverbella, province of Mantova, said he was approached last night by a "mysterious person", dressed in red, who would have told him "unintelligible words" and who would have quickly left before the fisherman had time to call his wife.

Finally! Paris had his saucers too!

A few days ago, a French radio broadcaster complained bitterly of the disdain that the "Uranids" and their heavenly vehicles were showing towards the capital. Only the inhabitants of the countryside seemed to interest the interplanetary travelers who approached them willingly and even tried to enter into conversation with them. Well, it was not an arbitrary privilege. Injustice is repaired. Paris, the big city, had its flying saucers!

Several Parisians have indeed said they saw, Tuesday afternoon, a craft moving in the sky. Passersby claimed to have seen one around 04:30 p.m., near the Porte Dorée.

Mr. Pierre Allouis, salesman in cardboard, went to his business by taxi, when the vehicle was stopped by a red light; Hearing, he said, a shrill whistling sound, he looked out of the door and saw a flying craft escaping high, leaving a plume of smoke in its wake.

Mr. Allouis describes the saucer as a disc bigger than a normal plane and silver. The same testimony is given by Mr. Gilbert Bacon and Mr. Paul Julien, a house painter. The latter, however, believe that it is not a saucer but a flying wing that affects the shape of a triangle with rounded edges.

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

Finally! Paris had his saucers too!

(Continued from the first page.)

LEZIGNAN. -- Two inhabitants of Lezignan, Messrs. André Garcia and André Darzens, who were driving in a truck on the departmental road D3, claimed to have seen a disc-shaped machine land in a field between the village of Lagrasse and the hamlet of Villemagne (Aude).

The craft, they said, was about ten meters in diameter. Before they could get close, it surrounded them in a bright glow and disappeared.

BERGERAC. -- Mr. Jean Defix, firefighter at Bergerac, and Mr. Jean Labonne, said that they saw a luminous disk about 3 meters in diameter, supported by three crutches, in the garden of the latter.

DINAN. -- In Megrit (Côtes du Nord), a young farmer, Mr. Henri Leherissé, said he saw in the yard of his farm a craft with a diameter of about 1 meter, around which appeared two human forms, immobile and the size of a child.

NEVERS. -- In Nevers, five residents of Château-Chinon said they saw Monday evening, at very high altitude, a kind of bright spot that split into two discs. These, they say, began to turn by changing color several times.

DUNKIRK. -- A Dunkirk merchant had, several days ago, said to have seen strange luminous objects in the sky of Bray-Dunes. An investigation had been opened. It concluded that they were two military planes whose metal coating had been misleading.

CLERMONT-FERRAND. -- Two saucers were seen Tuesday in the sky of Clermont. The first 10 kilometers from Beaumont at 03:45 p.m. It was moving west-east. Witnesses testified that the craft got closer to them and became less and less brilliant.

When they were only 150 meters away, they felt a "curious sensation" and were nailed to the spot. At that moment there was a smell of nitro-benzene. Soon the machine moved away, the discomfort ceased, and the saucer disappeared.

The other saucer was sighted over the hills of Chanturgue, near Clermont. It was moving vertically and was bright white.

A saucer was also sighted in Billom by a group of 30 people. The craft was moving over the city. It was moving horizontally. It was visible for 3 to 4 minutes before disappearing. An intense light emanated from the craft.

SAINT-BRIEUC. -- Several residents of Saint-Brieuc saw, during the night of Tuesday to Wednesday, a flying saucer that took the shape of a cigar before disappearing. They could watch it for over an hour.

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

LA ROCHELLE. -- In the night from Tuesday to Wednesday, several people from Thouare-sur-Vie (Vendée) saw in the sky a dozen luminous objects having an elongated shape and passing at a very high speed and high altitude.

LA ROCHELLE. -- Mr. and Mrs. Guillemoteau were standing in front of their farm when they saw about one meter from the ground, a spherical saucer measuring 2 to 3 meters in height and 5 meters in diameter.

The machine, which produced no noise, stopped for a few minutes, then climbed vertically. Mr. Guillemoteau went to the place where he had seen the machine the next day and was able to note oily traces on the grass.

QUIMPER. -- Around 4 o'clock Tuesday morning, Mr. Pierre Lucas, baker worker in Loctudy (Finistère), who was busy drawing water from the bakery yard, suddenly saw in the night a craft of the shape of a saucer 2 m 50 to 3 m in diameter. He saw an individual about 1m20 come out of it and hit him on the shoulder while uttering unintelligible words.

The baker's worker managed to keep his cool and returned to the bakehouse where the stranger followed him. In the light, Mr. Lucas could stare at the visitor. His face was hairy and his eyes were the size of a raven'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, for his part, said he saw in the sky two luminous discs of the shape of round tables prolonged by a kind of tail. One of the disks was motionless while the other was moving nearby. Both disks disappeared after ten minutes after having launching a rocket.

Italy does not stay on the sidelines of this invasion

MANTUA. -- The traffic was interrupted for more than an hour in the center of Mantua by groups of people gathered to observe a strange "white object" which, at a high height stood out clearly on the background of the blue sky.

After making extremely rapid maneuvers, the spherical machine - which according to some witnesses, was part of "a flying saucer formation" - remained motionless for some time in the sky, before disappear on the horizon.

On the other hand, the "Uranids" seem to want to visit the whole peninsula. Indeed, a fisherman from Roverbella, in the province of Mantua, said he was approached during the night by a a mysterious individual, dressed in red, who would have told him "unintelligible words" and who would have moved away quickly before the fisherman had time to call his wife.

Finally, a host of testimonials of saucers, disks, cigars, spheres and other flying objects having been seen in Quend (Somme), in Grandvillars (Belfort territory), in Magnac-Laval (Haute-Vienne), in Saint-Jean-d'Angely (Charente-Maritime), in Forges (Corrèze), in Perros-Guirrec (Côtes-du-Nord).

Finally, to a host of testimonials that may be doubted can be added some information such as the one we produce below, the indisputable seriousness of which leaves the most skeptical speechless.

MELUN. -- The Coulommiers newspaper, "Le Pays Briard", publishes a letter sent by one of their readers, Mr. Eugène Farnier, a member of the Society of Civil Engineers of France, about a flying saucer.

In this letter, Mr. Farnier states that he saw above his property, in Jouy-sur-Morin, a big disc of 8 to 10 meters in diameter "turning on itself", letting out red-violet gleams, with a tail reminding a little of the arrival of a jet plane. "The craft was about 400 meters above the ground and it was more above me for than 20 minutes," said Mr. Farnier, "so I had the opportunity to examine it well." The craft then disappeared in the direction of Coulommiers."

In his letter Mr. Farnier said: "Former Commissioner of the French Flying Club, having been in the aviation, I could not be a victim of hallucination. This machine was not a balloon but a thick wing hovering on the spot and moving at a very high speed while gradually taking height."

THE FACE COVERED WITH HAIR

AND THE EYES LIKE "A CORBEL'S EGG"

Such appeared the occupant of a saucer to a baker apprentice of the Finistère

Quimper. At about four o'clock on Tuesday morning Mr. Pierre Lucas, a baker at Loctudy (Finistere), who was busy getting water from the bakery yard, suddenly saw in the night a machine in the shape of a saucer of 2 m. 50 to 3 meters in diameter. He saw an individual measuring about 1 m. 20 who approached him and patted him on the shoulder, uttering unintelligible words. The baker's workman managed to keep his cool and went back to the bakery where the stranger followed him.

In the light, Mr. Lucas was able to stare at the visitor: his face was oval, covered with hair, and eyes as large as a corbel's egg. The young man called his boss, but before the latter had the time to come down, the stranger had disappeared as well as his saucer, of which there no trace was found.

A beer-dealer of Concarneau, for his part, declared that he saw in the sky two luminous disks of the form of round tables extended with a sort of tail. One of the discs was motionless while the other was maneuvering nearby. The two disks disappeared after ten minutes after launching a rocket.

Also in Italy

Mantua. -- The traffic was interrupted for more than one hour in the center of Mantova by groups of people gathered to observe a strange "white object" which moved, at a high altitude, clearly visible on the background of the blue sky.

After performing extremely rapid maneuvers, the sphere-shaped apparatus - which, according to some witnesses, was part of a "flying saucer formation" - stood motionless in the sky for some time before it sisappeared on the horizon.

On the other hand, the "Martians" seem to want to visit Italy too. Indeed, a fisherman from Roverbella, in the province of Mantua, said he was approached last night by a "mysterious individual", dressed in red, who reportedly told him "unintelligible words", and who reportedly quickly moved away before the fisher had the time to call his wife.

The saucer turns into a cigar

Saint Brieuc. -- Several residents of Saint-Brieuc saw last night, a flying saucer that 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.

Nailed on the spot

Two saucers were seen in the sky of Clermont. The first, 10 kilometers from Beaumont. It moved west to east. 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 timet 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 hills 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 craft.

A SERIOUS WITNESS

The newspaper of Coulommiers "Le Pays Briard" publishes a letter sent by one of its readers, Mr. E. Farnier, member of the Society of Civil Engineers of France, about a flying saucer.

In this letter Mr. Farnier stated that he saw above his property at Jouy-sur-Morin a large disc of 8 to 10 meters in diameter, rotating on the spot, with red-violet lights, making a whistling sound a bit similar to that of the arrival of a jet plane. The craft was about 400 meters high and hovered for more than 20 minutes above me", Mr. Farnier said, "so had all the time to check it out. The machine then disappeared in the direction of Coulommiers."

In his letter, Mr. Farnier specified:

"Former commissioner with the Aero-Club of France, having served in the aviation, I was not the victim of a hallucination and this machine was not a sounding-balloon, but a thick circular wing hovering on the spot and moving at very high speed gradually taking altitude."

Martians are normal men:
they pet dogs...

Limoges, 7. -- A farmer from Chaleix (Dordogne), Mr. Garreau said on honor that he had seen a "flying soup 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, amazed, did not respond. The two men petted his dog and climbed back into their craft; which flew away silently at a dizzying pace.

At the place indicated by Mr. Garreau, it was found that the grass had been trampled.

... and have fun swinging...

La Rochelle, 7. -- A mason living on the Ile de Ré, Mr. Simonetti, said he saw a luminous sphere of 12 meters in diameter approximately which oscillated at about fifty meters from the ground.

The sphere, he said, turned red, turned blue, and rose vertically very quickly.

Two other residents of the Ré Island said they had witnessed the same phenomenon.

Two Parisians on vacation in the town of Mouchamps Mr. and Mrs Laroche, claimed to have seen, at nightfall, a incandescent sphere.

... and tear off the lawn

Dijon, 7. -- Mrs. Thérèse Fourneret, 23 years old, living in Poncey-sur-l'Ignon (Côte d'Or), saw, Monday evening, a craft land in a meadow not far from her home. She said that she was frightened and had been careful not to observe this phenomenon any longer and had taken refuge with neighbors. The gendarmerie revealed very clear traces on the ground at the indicated place. Clods of earth were allegedly torn off and thrown off on a four-meter radius.

Fantastic ray

Rouen, 7. -- Mr. Landrin, a water attendant in Duclair (Seine-Inférieur) who was walking with his wife, was blinded by a beam of light. When he opened his eyes, he said, he saw a ball that disappeared a few minutes later.

Things are flying...

Finally, saucers, cigars, discs, crowns, balls, lights, luminous streaks of various colors and all other objects were seen in Saint-Etienne, in several villages of the Eure et Loir, in Heyrieux (Isère), Dieulanvallon (Côtes du Nord), Ajort (Calvados) and in Biarritz.

A denial for
some observers
official

The flying saucer is not (always) a weather balloon

Melun, 7. -- Mr. E. Farnier, member of the Society of Civilian Engineers of France declares to have seen, above his property in Jouy-sur-Morin, a large disc of 8 to 10 meters in diameter "rotating on the spot letting red-purple gleams escape, with a hissing sound reminding a bit of the arrival of a jet plane. The craft was about 400 meters high and hovered more than 20 minutes above me, said Mr. Farnier, so I had the opportunity to examine it carefully. The craft then disappeared in the direction of Coulommier."

Mr. Farnier specifies: "Former commissioner of the the Aero-Club of France, having served in aviation, I was not the victim of a hallucination and this machine was not a sounding balloon but a thick circular wing hovering on the spot and moving at very high speed gradually increasing its height."

DAILY SAUCERS

An engineer observes a large rotating disc that hovered at a height of 400 meters height

Mr. E. Farnier, member of the company of the civil engineers of France, about a flying saucer, just sent a letter to one of our colleague newspaper, in which he specifies that he saw above his property in Jouy-sur-Morin, a large disc from 8 to 10 meters in diameter, rotating on the spot while letting escape red-violet gleams with a whistling sound reminding a little of the arrival of a jet.

"The machine was at a height of approximately 400 meters and hovered more than twenty minutes above me. I thus had, says Mr. Farnier, the time to examine it well." The machine disappeared then in direction of Coulommiers.

In his letter, Mr. Farnier specifies: "Former chief at the Flying-club of France, having served in the aviation, I was not victim of a hallucination and this craft was not a weather balloon, but a circular thick wing hovering motionless and moving at a very high speed while gradually taking altitude."

[...]

IT KEEPS UP

A Parisian weekly magazine has just published a really disconcerting testimony. That of Mr. Eugene Farnier, one of the pioneers of aviation, former pilot and airplanes manufacturer, who was the flight instructor of Roland Garros and Guynemer.

Mr. Farnier had a long discussion with engineer Leduc, the father of the fastest airplane of the world, who was deeply disturbed by the statement of his interlocutor.

Last 30 September, Mr. Farnier observed during twenty minutes a flying saucer which was slightly swinging within 300 meters above his property of Jouy-sur-Morin. Many witnesses confirmed this appearance and the question was even mentioned in front of the city council of the place.

Before raising in the airs at very high speed, the machine rocked on itself, showing its profile to the observer who made a sketch of it. This sketch strangely resembles that of an alleged cigar which a customs officer of Marignane saw landed with at 100 meters in front of him, on the airfield, in October 1952. The simplicity of this customs officer and competences of Mr. Farnier militate in favor of their testimonies. Will we finally see through this clearly?

Vallée du Grand-Morin

One will notice the submarine style of the two meters high, ten meters long saucer, with the bottom striped of black features. Observed by Mr. Farnier, former pilot whose report puzzled the celebrated engineer Leduc.

Is it a new weapon?
or an interstellar craft?

I saw,
I saw with my own eyes during
20 minutes a REAL

Flying
Saucer

By Eugène Farnier
Former certified commissioner of l'Aéro-Club de France

This brief booklet is only intended to demonstrate for the general public the reality of the existence of the Flying saucers. It confirms its description that I verbally made on October 9 on Jean Nohain and André Leclerc's show on Radio Luxembourg, on October 23 at the Club du Faubourg and tomorrow on the Television.

My words could not have been better than in the article France-Dimanche, #425, of October 17, 1954 and my dialogue with the Authority of the Doctor of the University of Paris, engineer René Leduc, the air speed ace.

Oct. 26, 1954
E. Farnier
Civilian Engineer.

(Extract from France-Dimanche, #425)

FINALLY

... the first really puzzling
testimony

The opinion of engineer Leduc, rocket-plane specialist.

Saucers, cigars, flying discs cast a real shadow above our heads this week: testimonies flowed in from all the corners of the country. But France Dimanche wanted to retain only one of them, most disconcerting because it is most serious. It emanates, indeed, from a former civil engineer in aeronautics, Mr. Eugene Farnier, who observed a

saucer during twenty minutes, and it is impossible to question his good faith. However, so get this testimony screened by most severe criticism, we put Mr. Farnier in the presence of engineer René Leduc, inventor of the most revolutionary machine of these last years: "the flying pipe," an aircraft whose final prototype, the 022 [1], will get close to the 4000 kilometers per hour speed, and constitutes the best an earthman can produce in the field of superspeeds. Mr. Leduc, who is skeptic as for the technical possibility of the "flying saucers," listened to Mr. Farnier, asked him questions and forced him in his last resorts. He recognizes that Mr. Farnier is not an impostor and that there remains an irreducible element in his testimony.

Little chance that the saucer of Coulommiers is a terrestrial machine.

Mr. Eugène FARNIER is 75. Nowadays he is retired in Jouy-sur-Morin. He has a whole life devoted to aviation behind him. He was one of the first pilots of a plane in 1907. First commissioner of a flying-club, he is the one who tested Roland Garros for his pilot licence, on July 15, 1910. It is him again who gave the first piloting lessons Guynemer. Wounded during an emergency landing in Etampes, at the time of the Paris-Pau race in 1910, Mr. Eugene Farnier, military pilot during the great war, was to be seriously wounded again during a dogfight with the enemy. In 1922, he founded a price to promote gliding. Manufacturer of planes between the two wars, nothing that relates to aviation by far or near is unknown for him. He thus knows what he speaks of. He is now an old man, very dynamic, active, positive, whose observations were precisely taken into account by Mr. Leduc.

Here is the conversation that the two men, specialists and impassioned with aviation, exchanged Monday in the office of the industrialist, in Argenteuil.

Mr. Farnier first exposes the circumstances in which the "saucer" appeared to him:

Mr. FARNIER. -- It was on September 30. I was with my dog in the vine which I have at the location called "Gailles" to the side of the hill which overhangs the village and the valley of Grand-Morin. It is a strategic place. The Germans had built an observation tower there during the occupation.

Engineer Leduc, on the left, asks questions to Mr. Eugene Farnier. The rocket specialist is puzzled by the precise details from aviation pioneer who "saw" a saucer. Underneath, the saucer drawn according Mr. Farnier's data.

Suddenly, I heard a whistling sound similar to that of jet airplanes but much weaker. The noise had me look up. I perceived a humming and I saw the machine above me, at a height from three to four hundred meters. It had the shape of a lens whose diameter may have been of ten meters.

Mr. LEDUC. -- You heard a humming, but the craft did not rotate?

Mr. FARNIER. -- Indeed it was rotating, at a hundred tour per minute approximately, but still too quickly so that I could not see the port-holes with which it seemed equipped with at its top part. I saw this part, topped by a 50 centimeters cupola, only at the time when the craft flew away.

Mr. LEDUC. -- Was the weather fine?

Mr. FARNIER. -- Yes, the sky was very clear. There were no clouds. it was 05:20 p.m..

Mr. LEDUC. -- So the craft was hovering motionless?

Mr. FARNIER. -- Yes, as if it were observing or as if aerial photographs were being taken.

Mr. LEDUC. -- What color was the craft?

Mr. FARNIER. -- Shining grey as if it was made of aluminum.

Mr. LEDUC. -- Did you observe smoke?

Mr. FARNIER. -- Yes, I clearly saw quite thick exhausts on the rim of the "lens."

Mr. LEDUC. -- Did you see flames?

Mr. FARNIER. -- Yes, they were of red purple color. When the machine disappeared, as the day dropped, these gleams reflected themselves on its polished wall, which explains why the other witnesses believed they saw a ball of fire.

Mr. LEDUC. -- Until now, all the people who had seen "saucers" had heard no noise accompanying their evolutions. You seem to be the first to have perceived a whistling sound. Was it as strong as the whistling sound emitted by a jet?

Mr. FARNIER. -- No. I see jet aircraft at Villaroche, where I often go, and above my home, because Jouy is within a few kilometers of the Voisin airport where jets of the Dijon air base land.

At this time the whistling sound of an engine that workmen started in a nearby workshop is heard in Mr. Leduc's office.

Mr. LEDUC. -- You are hearing a small engine with 100 kilos of push force, locked up fifty meters away. Was this also strong?

Mr. FARNIER. -- Oh no! Not so powerful... I did not have the impression that this noise was caused by a motor or an engine, but rather by a turbine.

Mr. LEDUC. -- I still remain skeptic. You say the craft stayed on the location. For how long?

Mr. FARNIER. -- Twenty minutes. It was rotating on itself while going up and down slightly without displacement

on the sides. Suddenly, it bent and it raised up almost vertically at an extraordinary speed, undoubtedly about several thousands of kilometers per hour.

Mr. LEDUC. -- And it was not a jet airplane? Excuse-me for insisting.

Mr. FARNIER. -- No, I already told you. I see jets everyday. What astonishes me, however, it is that the radar of Voisin did not perceive it.

Mr. LEDUC. -- If the craft flew at supersonic speed, you should have heard the classic sonic boom.

Mr. FARNIER. -- Nothing of the sort. Only, on departure, the swish of the air penetrated by the craft.

Mr. LEDUC. -- That's amazing!

Mr. FARNIER. -- I know. I doubted what I saw, me too. I pinched myself to convince me that I was not dreaming. That lasted twenty minutes. I looked at my watch.

Mr. LEDUC. -- Was the craft thick? Was it not a disk?

Mr. FARNIER. -- It may have had two meters in its most important height.

Mr. LEDUC. -- And you observed nothing else? Landing gear for example?

Mr. FARNIER. -- I saw black features below the apparatus, but it turned too quickly for me to distinguish what they were exactly.

Mr. LEDUC. -- In the current state of the technique, a machine such as that you describe to me is impossible to realize. I am building an avant-garde supersonic aircraft, the 022; well, it could not remain motionless like that for twenty minutes and gain in a few seconds the acceleration which you give credence to this machine. In any case, it cannot be a French apparatus.

Mr. FARNIER. -- Certainly it could not.

Mr. LEDUC. -- You distinguished no life signs inside?

Mr. FARNIER. -- It seemed me that I saw that the interior of the machine was lit, but I can affirm nothing because of its constant rotation.

Mr. LEDUC. -- But if this apparatus was so smooth, how could you see it rotating on itself?

Mr. FARNIER. -- Because of the exhausts which made like a halation around it.

Mr. LEDUC. -- I see that you are informed. You know about modern airplanes.

Mr. FARNIER. -- I'm an aviation old-timer.

Mr. LEDUC. -- Yet I do not see how a craft of this type, propelled by thermal energy, could travel long distances. If it is admitted that it was manufactured abroad, in U.R.S.S. or in the U.S.A., for example, it would need one frightening quantity of fuel.

Mr. FARNIER. -- What if we did not know about its fuel? If it was of atomic origin?

Mr. LEDUC. -- Atomic energy is not yet sufficiently under control to allow the functionning an engine at pilot's will. I know that there is the "Nautilus", the american atomic submarine, but to my knowledge one cannot reach an air speed as high as that which seems to be the prerogative of the "saucers". Instead of the 10.000 calories necessary per kilo of fuel, one would need 100.000 of them. By the way, was there at any time a of more important emission of flames?

Mr. FARNIER. -- Yes, when the craft flew away, but only a little more.

Mr. LEDUC. -- when the craft disappeared, did you hear any noise?

Mr. FARNIER. -- No. And when it flew above Jouy, at an altitude of 2000 meters, the witnesses did not hear anything either.

Mr. LEDUC. -- That is astonishing. When the apparatus was above you, are you certain that it was not more than 300 or 400 meters high?

Mr. FARNIER. -- Yes, because I measured it up against a tree? I am used to to measuring angles quickly.

Mr. LEDUC. -- I think that the official services should investigate on this problem.

Mr. FARNIER. -- Maybe it is a new weapon.

Mr. LEDUC. -- In this case, why take the risk to fly such a machine above a foreign country at the risk of a crash. All mechanical apparatuses have troubles. How to explain that one would send such an exceptional machine "to trott in country". The known apparatuses consume much. for example the "Comet" [2] carries 40% of its weight. The apparatus which carried the most fuel was the "Messerschmitt 163" [3] with 50%. By admitting that the machine that you saw weighs two tons, there would thus be a ton of fuel in its tanks. But with a ton of fuel one does not go far. Then there is no funny business remaining in one location for twenty minutes to waste energy.

Mr. FARNIER. -- Yes, but maybe was it a fuel which we do not know of...

Mr. LEDUC. -- Do you believe that a foreign power which would have this fuel would send the machine which uses it to fly over the other nations at the risk of an accident which would allow to discover its secret? There is another thing: the heating of the metal, caused by the heating of the air on the wall (At 4000 km-hour, for example, the temperature would be of 600°C.) How could the passengers live inside a light fuselage?

Mr. FARNIER. -- Maybe it is possible to isolate them.

Mr. LEDUC. -- I believe you, but I am trying to understand.

Mr. FARNIER. -- You can believe me.

Mr. LEDUC. -- You said that you saw the machine hovering. Wouldn't it be a propeller, which by turning at high speed, would have given the impression of a disc to you?

Mr. FARNIER. -- No. It was solid as a large lens.

Mr. LEDUC. -- Another thing: on lift; if you make a craft of this shape rotate, it falls down.

Mr. FARNIER. -- But perhaps it is precisely because it rotates that it does not fall.

Mr. LEDUC. -- No, because if it remains on the spot it must fatally fall, unless there is an aspiration by the top, that you would not have noticed.

[Captioned drawing:] The rocket plane engineered by engineer Leduc.

Mr. FARNIER. -- Possibly, because I was placed below the apparatus and I saw his top part only at the end, when it bent to fly away, therefore not long enough.

Mr. LEDUC. -- It is a pity that "flying saucers" always appear in the countryside. One never saw any above Paris, as you saw one in Jouy. If one saw a saucer at 300 meters above the capital, that would cause at least an intervention at the French Congress.

Mr. FARNIER. -- They were not seen in Paris, but above Melun. The same day as me. Moreover I am not alone in Jouy to have seen this machine. It was debated at the city council, which prompted me to come forward. I know that there was, not far from me, country-women who saw it, they said that it was a sign of the end the world.

Mr. LEDUC. -- If I had seen what you saw, I would not like to be laughed at. I must acknowledged that you puzzled me, but I persist in thinking that the human hand cannot yet build such amazing machines.

Mr. FARNIER. -- So?

Mr. LEDUC. -- Then it would get us to imagine that the flying saucers come from another planet, which is prohibited to believe in, by astronomy, in the current state of Science...

Argenteuil, Oct. 11, 1954

CONCLUSIONS:

In the meantime, the Press announces that this may have been a phenomenon of ionization, which would produce an optical illusion.

However, with regard to the apparatus that I really saw, there is no hallucination, nor any possible doubt, it was really a metal apparatus evolving and humming above me.

However, the problem is certainly the following.

It is a new modern weapon most probably planetary and which for the moment one does not want it to be revealed to the general public.

In my opinion, it is a machine for scientific research in peace time, which would explain its successive overflights of a currently prospected area, but which in the event of war would become a terrible new weapon.

E. FARNIER

CALCULATION OF THE SPEED OF A SAUCER
for ten hours:

a = 3Gs at more or less 30 m/s²
V = at
= 30 x 60 = 1 800 m/s
1 800 x 60 = 108 000 m/s
108 000 X 3,6 gives more or less 400 000 Km h
after 10 H to V = Cte
L = 400 000 x 10 = 4 milion kilometers.

Lecture by Eugène FARNIER (Club du Faubourg, Paris, Jan. 8.) -- Mr. E. Farnier, civilian Eng., former Commissioner accredited by the Aéro-Club de France Member of OURANOS the Study Committee, recalled the extraordinary observation made by him at Jouy-sur-Morin, on September 30th, the subject of his recent brochure, and commented on it with precision the main points. C. - Aug. Bontemps intervened to dispute the speed of the machine. Georges Lange, a member of the OURANOS Study Committee, pointed out that observations made with theodolite and radar indicated speeds of 30,000 km-h. on average. Professor Becquerel spoke in turn to assert that since F. S. cannot come from another planet in our solar system, they are of terrestrial origin.

J'AI VU, de mes YEUX VU, Une VRAIE S. V., par Eugène Farnier, ing. civ., ancien Commissaire agréé de l'Aéro-Club de France, Meembre du Comité d'étude Ouranos.

"Dans l'état actuel de la technique, un engin tel que celui que vous me décrivez est impossible à réaliser", déclara l'ingénieur Leduc à Eugène Farnier, après avoir écouté tout son récit. Pourtant celui-ce a bien vu ce qu'il a vu et qu'il décrit dans cette plaquette - éditée à frais d'auteur - où alternent son extraordinaire témoignage et les réflexions stupéfiantes mais logiques de son célèbre interlocuteur.

1 plaquette 8 p. 14x21 avec photo et schéma, franco à Ouranos (envoi par retour)., 235 fr.

September 30 [, 1954]

[... Other cases...]

05:20 p.m.: Jouy-sur-Morin (S.et-M.): lenticular biconvex craft of 10 m diametee+ bulging cockpit, moving at 400 m altit.

[... Other cases...]

September 30, 1954:

Jouy-sur-Morin 4 km INS to the WNW La Ferté-Gaucher (Seine-et-Marne): Mr. Eugène Farnier, retired civilian aeronautical engineer (lenticular biconvex ESPI with convex cockpit, from about 8 m to 10 m in diameter, oscillating in place at low altitude).

Sketch from the descriptions of Mr. Farnier. The craft seemed metallic and spun on itself while emitting a low whistling sound. Flames escaped from several openings around the apparatus. After hovering for twenty minutes, it tilted, then rose almost vertically at fantastic speed.

30 September. Jouy-sur-Morin, France, (no time)

Famed aviation pioneer sees hovering flying saucer. (See below)

France

Jouy-sur-Morin, September 30, 1954 Le Courrier de 1'Ouest October 19, 1954

IT KEEPS UP

A Parisian daily hat just published some most thought-provoking testimony by M. Bugene Farnier, one of the pioneers of aviation, former pilot and airplane buildor, the teacher of Roland Garros and Ouynemer.

M. Farnier had a long discussion with the engineer Leduc, the father of the world's fasteet plane, who was profoundly shaken by the statements of his interlocuter.

On September 30, M. Farnier observed for the space of 20 minutes a flying saucer hovering at 300 meters above his property at Jouy-sur-Morin. Numerous other witnesses confirmed this appearance and the question was even raised before the municipal coucil there.

Before rising at very high speed, the craft tilted, showing its profile to the observer, who made a sketch. The sketoh strongly resembles that of a so-called cigar which a customs officer of Marignane saw land 100 mwters from him in October, 1952. The honnesty of this officer and the competence of M. Farnier militate in favor of their testimony. Will this affair eventually be cleared up?

3872: 1954/09/30 17:20 20 3:16:20 E 48:47:40 N 3333 WEU FRN S&M 7:7

JOUY-sur-MORIN,FR:Cvl ENGINEER:10M SCR HVRS OVHD:SPINS+WHISTLES:>>S:/r197p53

Ref# 3 VALLEE:UFO ENIGMA: Challenge/Science Page No. 213 : FARMLANDS

September 1954

30

17:20 Eugene Farnier 6 walks his dog in Jouy-sur-Marin, when he attends a spectacle which astounds him: I initially perceived a whistling sound similar to that of a jet but much weaker then, at 300 or 400 m above me, I saw an apparatus in the shape of a lens from 8 to 10 m in diameter and 2 m in thickness. It was gray, shining like aluminium and released red and violet flames. The machine remained on the spot during 20 mn while rotating at 300 tours/mn approximately. Suddenly, it titled and climbed vertically at an extraordinary speed of several tousands of km/h — without making a sonic boom! I then distinguished the presence of port-holes and a cupola of 50 cm.

Eugène Farnier

Eugene Farnier, pilot and planes manufacturer, member of the Company of the Civil Engineers of France (today CNIF) and commissioner at the Flying-club of France, was one of the pioneers of aviation.

He was one of the first plane pilots in 1907. Eugene Farnier was especially the first commisioner of flying-club, and it is him who was in charge of granting a pilot licence, on July 15, 1910, in Roland Garros, and who gave its first piloting lessons to the future "ace" Guynemer. Wounded during an emergency landing in Etampes in 1910 (Paris-Pau race), Eugene Farnier was a then a military pilot during Worl War I, where he was to be again seriously wounded during an engagement with the enemy. In 1922, he founded a price to encourage gliding, he was a also a plane manufacturer in the inter-war period.

Retired after World War II on the community of Jouy-on-Morin, it is there at the age of 75, that on September 30, 1954, he testifies to have seen a UFO on the territory of the community, above the Way of Gailles. While the affair is only only one of many testimonys of what is called "the French flap" of 1954 of UFO sightings, the affair was publicized by many medias of the time, because of the personality and of the aeronautics CV of the witness: daily newspaper Le Quotidien de la Haute-Loire (October 8, 1954), daily newspaper Le Courrier de l'Ouest (October 19, 1954), weekly France-Dimanche (October 17, 1954), Radio Luxembourg (future RTL, October 23, 1954) and the RTF (Television, October 24, 1954).

Testimony of U.F.O. on September 30, 1954: at the end of the afternoon of September 30, 1954, Eugene Farnier, member of the company of the civil engineers of France, says he had observed during 20 minutes a flying saucer above localities "Les Gailles." It is especially the personality of the observer, historical pioneer of French aviation retired in Jouy, which contributed to publicize at the time the affair with much interviews (in national daily newspapers, on the radio, and even during the meeting of the town council of Jouy-on-Morin). It is also socially to recontextualize [sic] within the framework of the "French flap" of 1954, who constitutes 2% of the statistics of UFO (or UAP) sightings listed in the world.

Jouy-sur-Morin

THE BRIE OF THE STRANGE 2/6: the "true saucer" of Jouy-sur-Morin

September 30, 1954. A resident of Jouy-sur-Morin sees a flying saucer. "Le Pays Briard" does not believe in it and gets scolded...

September 1954. The flying saucers, UFOs and other extraterrestrial spaceship are numerous in France and in Europe. The Brie is no exception and, in addition to the case of Quincy-Voisins – Maisoncelles – Mouroux mentioned in our last issue, "apparitions" of the same kind are reported in Melun and in Rebais... Le Pays Briard is then skeptical, it is the least that can be said and your favorite bi-weekly makes a headline only when one believes to have unmasked the pranksters, the famous columerian roadmenders (read our last issue) who would have finally admitted in front of the gendarmes that they just wanted to have some fun...

Headlining on the ufo topic only to stress this hoax, our newspaper angers one of the figures of pionneering aviation, Eugène Farnier*. The man, then aged 75 but still very "alert", as the magazine of the time put it, lives in Jouy-sur-Morin and, by mail, informs or director of extraordinary events he personally witnessed: "At about 5:20, on the evening (of September 30, 1954 thus, editor's note), being on my estate called "Les Gailles", in Jouy-sur-Morin, my attention was attracted by a whistling sound resembling a bit the arrival of a jet plane. And a few seconds later, exactly above me, I saw a big disc of 8 to 10 meters in diameter turning on the spot while letting escape red-purple gleams. It was at about 400 meters in height no more, and this craft hoveredfor more than 20 minutes above me. I thus had the time to check it out well; then after that it disappeared in the direction of Coulommiers. I learned since then that it had been seen half an hour later near Melun (told by "L'Aurore"). I said nothing. What's the use of convincing skeptics."

A reliable witness

An the former pilot prevents in advance the accusations of hallucinations: "Former commissionner to the Aéro-club of France, having served in aviation, I was not the victim of an hallucination, and itwas not a sounding balloon, but exactly a thick circular wing hovering on the spt and then moving at a very high speed while gaining altitude. My son-in-law, polytechnician, told me that with friends, seen in the region of Grenoble, an dientical craft. This kind of craftthus really exists whatever those who did not see it are saying."

And he added an angry post-scriptum against our director: "Be sure that after the Press campaign doubting the reality of the flying saucers, witness will remain silent for fear of being ridiculed."

"Such a craft is impossible"

Later, Eugène Farnier will tell his adventure on the airwaves of Radio Luxembourg and a small booklet will be published to transcript his interview by the engineer René Leduc, then builder of a very promising rocket plane. In this document, some additional information is published: the craft is said to have been "brillant grey as if it was built in aluminum" and it was probably inhabited, "It seemed to me that I saw the inside of the craft lighted, but I cannot be affirmative because of its constqnt rotation."

Mr. Farnier, with his experience, thought of a "new weapon", but his interviewer, René Leduc, did not believe in this: "In the current state of the technique, a craft such as the one you describe to meis impossible to build."

Engineer Leduc, builder of supersonic craft, thought the thing was impossible because he did not know how to do it, but was it really? The mystery of Jouy-sur-Morin remained and all the assumptions are still open nowadays...

Jean-Michel ROCHET

* Member of the Society of Civilian Engineers of France, former commissionner of the Aéro-club of France, having served in aviation during the Great War, first instructor of Guynemer and examiner who made Roland Garros pass his certificate.