The 1954 French flap:

Flying saucers in the Picardy sky

NEW AND NUMEROUS TESTIMONIES
including that of an Amiens motorist
who made a "fantastic trip" on Sunday evening

It will one day be necessary for scientists, these worthy gentlemen who know so much and who are ultimately only fifty or one hundred years ahead of the average citizen, to explain the celestial mysteries that intrigue us today.

It is not sufficient to say "The flying saucers do not exist and to leave in ignorance people in good faith who, every day, see incomprehensible phenomena.

Of course! There are the incorrigible pranksters, around 50%, including the manufacturer of hot air balloons whose odyssey will be read elsewhere. These are probably the ones who give the most details: Martians without arms, with a special radar antenna and webbed feet. There, we laugh, and that's normal.

But "apparitions" like those on Sunday evening were checked by many people, all trustworthy and whom we were able to interview separately before they had practically time to get in touch.

So there is "something". It is the opinion of many people. Weather balloons? unmanned vehicles? interstellar ship? No one knows.

The orange disc

Yesterday we talked about the passage on Boves and Demuin of an orange disc which probably moved at low altitude. A third testimony had been collected by our informant from Moreuil before the publication of "Courrier Picard" bearing the date of October 5. Too scrupulous, our correspondent was afraid of transmitting a hoax and it was only yesterday that he noticed, on reading his newspaper, the disturbing coincidence with ours, of the statements collected by him.

These were, in this case, observations made in the evening, by a Moreuil resident, Mr. Julien Bédier, baker, rue Thibeauville.

He was returning, with his wife and children, Mr. and Mrs. Quenehen, butchers in Péronne, by car, on the Amiens-Saint-Quentin road when, between Foucaucourt and Estrées, he saw, towards 9:15 p.m., a luminous object moving at ground level, in the direction of Montdidier, at a distance it was, it will be understood, impossible to assess.

The shape, the size (apparent) of a "four pound bread" (sic) curved on the top, the "thing", the color of minium, was motionless, and the occupants of the car, after stopping, could observe it at leisure, while making the most diverse assumptions. A dark vertical bar, occupying about 1/5th of its width, appeared in the middle of the luminous spot, and stayed there for the duration of the observation, about 10 minutes.

Having resumed their travel, our travelers lost sight of the craft, after having, at Warfusée, taken the Marcelcave road.

M. and Mme Bédier are careful not to draw conclusions. They saw a luminous, strange object, at ground level, and that's it. It was not the moon. On this point, Mr. Bédier is formal: "Well, at the age of 65, we know what a quarter of the moon is, anyway."

Other people also confirmed the passage of the orange disc in the Picardy sky, and in particular M. and Mrs. Bielecka and Miss Janine Boitel who, returning from Paris by car, noticed the "object" all along the road from Saint-Just to Boves, passing through Montdidier and Moreuil.

A coach driver, Mr. Caron, who drove the Roye-Amiens line on Sunday evening, had his attention attracted by a child sitting not far from him and who suddenly exclaimed "Oh, the funny moon!". But a good driver watches his route, and Mr. Caron could only take a quick glance, sufficient nevertheless to assess the diameter of the mysterious craft: about three meters. But how far was it?

Did the saucer
come from the seaside?

It will be understood that it is impossible for us to search for witnesses and to interrogate them in all the villages of the Somme overflown by the alleged saucer. It would first be necessary to be able to reconstruct the "flight line".

From Boves to Santerrre, it is pretty much done. Before, we find a passage on a suburb of Amiens: Montières (witness also trustworthy) and on Dreuil, passage controlled by a peacekeeper.

Did the saucer come from the seaside? It is quite possible since, shortly before it was seen in Picardy (about 20 minutes) a Boulognes engineer, Mr. Marcel Thiebaut noticed, while driving in the car on the Tingry plateau, halfway between Boulogne and Montreuil, two moving red discs. Many motorists also stopped to scrutinize the firmament carefully.

Between Tingry and Dreuil, there was obviously a "hole", but yesterday at the end of the evening, we collected an interesting statement which allows us to complete at least the itinerary of one of the mysterious craft. We will therefore read with interest the following wird statement.

An Amiens motorist
followed by a saucer
between Hérissart and Rainneville

A shopkeeper from Amiens, Mrs. Nelly Mansart, grocer, 6 rue de la Morlière, lived, indeed, on Sunday evening, pathetic minutes whose simple evocation once again moved this young woman, yesterday afternoon, when she told us about the event she witnessed.

Mrs. Mansart had gone to spend the afternoon at her parents' home in Hérissart and around 9:00 p.m., she was returning by car to Amiens, in the company of neighbors, Mr. and Mrs. Delarouzée who live at 5, rue de la Morlière.

While driving and leaving the village of Hérissart, Mrs. Mansart saw on the right a bright ball in the sky. This ball actually was roughly the shape of a mushroom collar and was bright orange in color. Its diameter was around 6 to 8 meters.

Jokingly, Mrs. Mansart said to her friends: "Look, it looks like a flying saucer!..." Then, observing the glow with more attention, Mrs. Mansart noticed, as well as her passengers, that this "mushroom" let out flames turning from purple to greenish at the top, while some kind of cables hung below.

But, let Mrs. Mansart speak: "This strange orange-colored mushroom verging on a fire color impressed me and my friends very much. I admit that I was afraid. It makes you feel funny and I was in a hurry to come gome.

"The "saucer" followed us for ten kilometers, it was flying low, about 150 meters from us and its gleam was reflected in the windows of my car, so much so that Mr. Delarouzée opened the door to better observe it. When we crossed a village, the craft bypassed it and reappeared at the exit. After Rubempré, the scarlet ball went on the hamlet of Septenville then joined us at the top of the hill of Pierregot. At that moment we had the impression that the "saucer" was diving towards us and I was very scared.

I kept on driving in an indescribable state of excitement and I had all the trouble in the world to control myself. The craft did not emit any noise and no doubt it was watching us. At the exit of Pierregot I stopped at the last houses. The "Saucer", which had bypassed the village, was waiting for us and stood still then it moved away as I restarted. It began to spiral for three or four hundred meters and the "mushroom" changed shape to take that of an elongated crescent and overturned with a ball in fusion at the upper horn. We were followed to Rainneville and being at the height of terror, I slowed down at the exit of this country. I was followed, at that time, by a 2 CV that I prevented from bypassing us because I was so afraid. At this moment, the "Saucer" accentuated its gyration then moved away towards the west of Amiens, to get lost in the infinity, in the space of a few seconds, at an incomparable speed."

As soon as she came home, Mrs. Mansart gave her impressions to her husband who remained skeptical but Mrs. and Mr. Delarouzée corroborated her statements. And the next morning the little girl of Mrs. Mansart, three years old, who was part of the fantastic trip and had also seen the phenomenon, said to her mother as she awoke; "Mom, did you see the big moon" and saying that the little girl took a towel to which she gave the shape of the craft seen the day before...

Other events
of unknown craft

Two workers, working in Amiens, but domiciled in Pont-Remy, also claim to have seen a saucer distinctly in the latter locality, Monday evening, around 10:30 p.m.

These are MM. Serge Hetru, radio repairman, at Mr. Van Béghin's, and André Cahon, laborer.

The craft, which was in the countryside, at ground level, apparently, had the shape of a disc swollen in the center and surrounded by a strange blue violet glow. The two men estimated that it was a hundred meters from them and that it had - seen from this distance - about three meters in diameter. It rose noiselessly, diagonally, but along a line closer to the vertical than the horizontal.

We smiled while listening to Mr. Serge Hetru's words and he seemed very upset by that. Besides, his boss did tell us later that he was an excellent worker, serious and incapable of making a joke of this magnitude.

Finally, the last testimony for today, that of a young Amien resident who wrote to us, signing, to tell us that he saw on Monday, around 1 p.m., while he was on the road from Doullens to Amiens, two kilometers from the latter city, a metallic craft spinning at around 1,000 meters of altitude.

Blue-gray color; Oval shape; no noise.

"I think I can tell you that it was a flying saucer", writes our correspondent whose name we do not mention because it was in vain that we tried to reach him yesterday, to make him confirm by voice the terms of his letter.

We would have liked, in conscience, to be as assertive as he is...

In the district of Abbeville

The district of Abbeville, even though thousands of inhabitants do not notice it, is currently the center of mysterious apparitions of flying saucers and cigars - since everyone calls them that - which hit the headlines by generating the most diverse comments.

A cigar on the go
from Berck to Rue

Mr. Georges Galland, butcher on rue Gaston-Caudron in Rue, returned by car from Berck on Sunday evening with his wife and son. All three were followed well before Rue by a mysterious craft which had the shape of a cigar.

Legitimately worried, the driver slowed down the speed of his vehicle and stopped twice. The closer and closer object was still there.

It was a big ball, we were told yesterday evening on the phone, but elongated and orange in color.

From Pont-à-Cailloux to Herre-les-Quend, Mr. Galland, his wife and son, who were starting to worry about the aftermath of the adventure, clearly saw the cigar-saucer which did not move any more, they declared, than 50 km an hour, their car not rolling, to allow them to see the mysterious machine better, more than with 20 or 30 per hour.

The occupants of the car finally saw the craft disappear in the direction of Saint-Quentin-en-Tourmont, towards the sea.

Another detail to note: Mr. Georges Savary, from Rue, working for Mr. Savreux, transporter, saw the same day around 9:15 p.m., a machine resembling a brightly colored spinning top which landed about 400 meters from his home. He wanted to approach it but the mysterious craft took off gently in the direction of Le Crotoy. He climbed vertically at breakneck speed.

Mrs. Savary also noticed the phenomenon, as did Mr. Maurice Véron, truck driver.

A saucer
in Millencourt-en-Ponthieu

Two other appearances of flying saucers, a story we hold from reliable people, were noted Monday evening, around 7 p.m., in the triangle formed north of Abbeville by the municipalities of Millencourt-en-Ponthieu, Agenvillers and Saint-Riquier.

An owner of Caours-l'Heure, who only wanted to entrust his adventure to his children domiciled in Abbeville, saw, at the top of the Millencourt hill, a huge illuminated mass. First he thought it was a heavy truck driven by people he mistook for cattle thieves...

He stood guard for a few minutes, saw nothing but was dazzled. Suddenly feeling tired, he turned around and tried to find his bicycle. The bike had been put down in a usual place, but he did not find it until after ten minutes of search, somewhat upset by the light which came from from the machine, which he had seen shortly after above the wood of Saint-Riquier.

These luminous demonstrations in the sky of the district of Abbeville leave perplexed all those who, over the days, do not claim to be victims of hallucinations.

The waltz of the saucers
continues

A BAKER
OF THE FINISTERE
CLAIMED TO HAVE MEET
A "MARTIAN"
WITH THE FACE COVERED WITH HAIR

Around 4 a.m. yesterday morning, M. Pierre Lucas, a baker in Loctudy (Finistère) who was busy fetching water from the bakery courtyard, suddenly saw a machine in the shape of a 2 m saucer overnight. 50 to 3 meters in diameter. He saw an individual about 1 m tall come out of it. 20 who approached him and tapped him on the shoulder, articulating unintelligible words. The worker-baker managed to keep his cool by going back to the bakery where the individual followed him.

In the light Mr. Lucas was able to stare at the 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 come down, the stranger had disappeared as well as the saucer of which no trace was found.

A Concarneau beer merchant stated that he saw in the sky two luminous discs in the shape of round tables extended of a kind of tail. One of the disks was stationary while the other was moving nearby. The two discs disappeared after ten minutes after launching a rocket.

Saucers ... everywhere

Two saucers were seen on Tuesday around 6:45 p.m. near Clermont-Ferrand, the first, 10 kilometers from Beaumont. The witnesses declared that the object approached them and became less and less brilliant. When it was only 150 meters away, they felt a "curious feeling" and were frozen on the spot. At that time there was a smell of nitro-benzine. As soon as the craft moved away, the discomfort ceased and the "saucer" disappeared.

The other saucer was seen above the Chanturgue hill, near Clermont. It moved vertically and was bright white.

A saucer was also seen in Billom by a group of 30 people.

- Several residents of Saint-Brieuc saw on the night of Tuesday to Wednesday, a flying saucer which took the shape 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.

- Several people from Thouare-sur-Vie (Vendée) also saw in the sky a dozen luminous objects having an elongated shape and passing at a very high speed and at high altitude.

IN THE REGION

White glow... in Dunkirk

Last Monday, around 8:10 p.m. while he was maneuvering the American S8, doctor Leven, in the airlock of the Watier lock in Dunkirk, captain Emmanuel Dubois, 20-year-old, 34 rue Carnot in Mers-les-Bains saw a white glow that ran along the coast, heading from East to West.

Observing this phenomenon for several seconds, he suddenly thought of the flying saucers and called his crew to make them check out what he saw. But when the first sailor arrived, the glow had suddenly disappeared.

Reddish disc... in Cassel

Yesterday around 10:15 a.m., while waiting for the bus, 3 residents of Cassel, MM. Guy Ver[?]ghe, 27, Grand-Place, Romain Scheerf, rue de Lille and Guy M[?] rue Constant Moncelay, saw a reddish disc in the shape of a saucer which moved a few hundred meters above their heads.

After observing the phenomenon for a good minute, they saw it suddenly disappear on the horizon.

... and orange in the Picard sky

In the evening of Sunday an orange "disc" moving at near ground level was seen and observed at length by several residents of Boves and Demuin near Amiens. The statements of these individuals, collected separately, are absolutely consistent. The "orange disc" followed almost at ground level, a west-east direction.

Another testimony confirms the presence of this saucer in the Picardy sky. It is a baker from Moreuil, this time, who reports it. Mr. and Mrs. Dedier, indeed returned from Moreuil, with their children Mr. and Mrs. Quenneben, when, around 9:15 p.m., between Foucaucourt and Estrées, they saw the luminous object.

Same description as that given by previous witnesses, same observations on the direction of travel.

Amazing story
from a shopkeeper from Amiens

But the most astonishing tale is that of a shopkeeper from Amiens, Mrs. Nelly Mansart, grocer, 8 rue de la Mari[]e who, Sunday returned from Hérissart. Mrs. Mansart was accompanied by neighbors, Mr. and Mrs. Delaf[?]rée.

Motorists had just left Hérissart when they saw a bright ball in the sky which, when better observed, then appeared to them like a rim of a bright orange mushroom. The diameter was about 6 to 8 meters. The "mushroom" let escape from its upper part, flames turning from purple to greenish, while some kind of cables hung below.

Mrs. Mansart, who was driving the car, was frightened, all the more so since the "saucer" seemed to follow the progress of the car, standing at a distance of about 130 meters and flying at low speed.

When we crossed a village, Mrs. Mansart said, the craft bypassed it and reappeared at the exit, It followed us like this for ten kilometers approximately.

When I left Pierregot, I stopped. The saucer stopped and waited, turning in a spiral for three or four hundred meters. As I restarted, it followed us again.

It was only in Raineville, near Amiens, that the craft left us definitively, heading west to get lost in infinity at a prodigious speed."

You will agree that this is an impressive story. We must also add that of a butcher of Rue (Somme), Mr. Galland who with his wife and son, was returning from Berck by car. They too were followed, for a time, by a mysterious craft of elongated shape and orange in color.

The object was flying at low altitude at a speed not exceeding 30 per hour. It finally disappeared in the direction of St-Quentin-en-Tourmont, towards the sea.

Other people also observed the phenomenon, always at the same time, around 9 p.m., Sunday evening.

Did the facetious resident of Beuvry
who had not planned
THE SAUCERS PROBLEM
commit Code violations?

The discovery of generous distributions of (fake) saucers by a Beuvry retiree caused a stir and the police, like the gendarmerie, endeavored to seek yesterday the disturbances which could have been caused by the persistent joke of Mr. D'Oliveira.

How many people have mistaking the paper balloons, cleverly adjusted by the Portuguese, for mysterious spacecraft from Mars? We will probably never know.

It was possible that the numerous Sunday appearances throughout northern France were caused by the Beuvry resident. But no, we have to find another explanation for these. Because, that Sunday, Mr. D'Oliveira had not devoted to his favorite pastime. This point could be quickly verified. What could have troubled the brave Santennese?

Certainly, if one of these craft had struck against a haystack, it caused the risk of causing a fire. Mr. D'Oliveira protested moreover forcefully: he uses, as he says, asbestos, thus taking all precautions. And yet the hot air balloon landed at Sailly-Labourse was indeed starting to burn, three meters from a haystack by the way.

And that's why Mr. D'Oliveira will "benefit" from a fine. Could this be the end of his invention? An old law of May 31, 1924, rules the use of aircraft, establishing that they can only be launched into the sky with the authorization of the prefect, on the advice of the mayor.

And the legal requirements define that any object capable of rising in the air must be considered as an aircraft.

These are therefore 5,000 aircraft that Mr. D'Oliveira has delivered to the clouds!

Rest assured that he will not be a fined for all of them, he began his exploits before 1918, at a time when that law did not exist. And there is prescription for crimes prior to 1931.

This being stated very seriously, of course.

AS THE MARTIANS
Take us seriously...

Definitely, the abundance of materials will push us to create a new chronicle: that of flying saucers. It seems that they are no longer just flying. They land, level off, change shape, leave oil traces on the ground, give off a smell of nitro-benzine, let out purple, greenish flames. They are one meter in diameter, 2,3, 10. They move horizontally, vertically, immobilize, vanish.

They have furry passengers like monkeys who enter a baker's bakery, tap a cultivator on the shoulder; beings the size of children. This time, we have more details. Let us rejoice deeply: they have not yet caused harm to anyone. Our visitors, for sure, are almost ready to break the ice.

Let's wait with serenity.

But before this historic hour strikes strong souls no longer dare to look up at the sky without emotion: "It it my turn to see a saucer?"

Planes of Koksijde, which run along the coast, balloons - meteorological probes, fanciful meteors of which Sénèque - already - had described the whims, shooting stars, full or half-full moon when you find yourself gathered in the big celestial concert you must laugh at the people of the earth!

Because today the testimonies are such that nobody is thinking about you anymore.

Go pretend that the orange disc identified by Mr. Julien Bédié, Mr. and Mrs. Quennehen was not a saucer; go pretend to Mrs. Nelly Mansart that she was not literally chased on the road from Hérissart, to Amiens by a dazzling ball which followed her car, bypassing the villages, resuming hunting at their exit, stopping when the car stopped, leaving at the same time as it, that its terrors were in vain... Might as well promise the moon.

In the Somme where sky users become invasive, from Saint-Just to Boves, from Montières to Dreuil, from Rainneville to Amiens, in Brittany, to Saint-Brieuc and Trégueux, in the Vendée, at Thouare-sur-Vie, in the Finistère in Quimper, the daily quota of new visions fuels the myth. Once again let us do so, let us welcome with a wide smirk the accumulation of this new form of testimonies from the beyond.

If it were to be true that beings from other planets would be busy raising, as a scientist from Kenya put it - that's all that far! - the map of the earth, let's not bother them in their work.

Better, shave our mountains, divert the course of our rivers to the best of our industrial aspirations, fertilize the deserts, in short, let us work hard for the good of humanity to change the appearance of this earth. No doubt this will not go unnoticed by the Martians. And that they will take all the time they want to play this card.

Lady, you have to be sure of yourself to change the planet.

And above all, let's take a serious look at our astrology.

Jean HAUTEFEUILLE

- Partly explained by -
a professor from Lille and a retiree
- from Beuvry-les-Béthune -

The mystery of the "flying saucers"

There is novelty on the flying saucer horizon. The mystery remains, but some of the cases were explained. And, for those, the story ends there.

We now know that the craft that were seen in the Beuvry-les-Béthune region were "Paper hot air balloons", sent by a retiree, Mr. Oliveira, passionate about "lighter than air" gear. We announced it in our previous issue.

On the other hand, Mr. Antoine Bonte, I.D.N. engineer, professor of applied geology at the Faculty of Sciences of Lille, gave a scientific explanation of the phenomenon observed by dozens of people, Sunday evening, in the Lille region. Mr. Bonte himself saw the "flying saucer" which was only a lunar phenomenon.

Finally, rockets had been seen Sunday evening, off Calais. "It was like the luminous wake of flying saucers", some said. In fact, it was the signals of distress launched by the spherical balloon of Mrs. Paulette Weber.

So that's a series of solved cases. The others remain. They are disturbing. We will see it below. And we will not fail to compare them with the statements made by Mr. G. Duncan Fletcher, vice-president of the Astronomical Association of Kenya.

This eminent astronomer believes that "visitors from another world are observing the earth and probably mapping it."

But that's just a guess. We are not satisfied yet!

IN THE FINISTERE

A "Martian" follows
a baker boy
into the bakery

Quimper, 6. -- Around 4 a.m., yesterday morning, Mr. Pierre Lucas, worker-baker in Loctudy (Finistère), who was busy drawing water in the courtyard of the bakery, suddenly saw in the night a craft in the shape of a saucer of 2.50 m. to 3 meters in diameter. He saw come out of it an individual measuring about 1.20 m. who approached him and tapped him on the shoulder, mouthing unintelligible words. The baker managed to keep his cool and returned to the bakery where the stranger followed him.

In the light, Mr. Lucas was able to stare at the 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 the latter had time to come down, the stranger had disappeared along with his saucer, of which no trace was found.

A beer merchant of Concarneau, for his part, declared having seen in the sky two luminous disks in the form of round tables extended of a kind of tail. One of the discs was stationary while the other moved nearby. The two discs disappeared after ten minutes after launching a rocket.

Lezignan, 6. -- Two residents of Lezignan, MM. André Gardia and André Darzens, who were driving in a truck on the D-3 departmental road, claimed to have seen a disc-shaped craft 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 approach it, it enveloped them in a bright glow and disappeared.

Bergerac, 6. -- Mr. Jean Defix, firefighter in Bergerac, and Mr. Jean Labonne claimed to have seen land in the garden of the latter a luminous disc about three meters in diameter, supported by three crutches.

Dinan, 6. -- In Mégrit (Côtes-du-Nord), a young farmer, Mr. Henri Lehérisse claimed to have seen in the yard of his farm a craft of a diameter of about 1 meter inside which appeared two human shapes, motionless and the size of a child.

La Rochelle, 6. -- Mr. and Mrs. Guillemoteau were in front of their farm when they saw, about one meter above the ground, a spherical saucer that could measure 2 to 3 meters in height and with a diameter of 5 meters. The craft, which produced no noise, stopped for a few minutes, then rose vertically. Mr. Guillemoteau, the next day, went to the place where he had seen the craft and was able to find oily traces on the grass.

* * *

Valenciennes, 6. -- Mr. Marcel Sénéchal, 20-year-old, from Saint-Amand-les-Eaux, was along the Scarpe canal, in the night from Saturday to Sunday. He was coming up to a pasture when he suddenly heard a conversation held in an unknown language and seeming to come from his right. He turned his head in this direction and to his great astonishment then saw a luminous mass in the shape of a haystack as well as two human forms of 1.20 m. in height approximately, covered with shining garments. A ray of light was coming out of the craft.

Mr. Sénéchal pedaled away at full speed.

A car
followed
by a saucer!

Amiens, 6. A grocer from Amiens, Mrs. Nelly Mansart returned to Amiens on Sunday evening, around 9 p.m., coming from Hérissart in the company of her neighbors. She saw, in the sky, a glowing ball from which hung some kind of cables hung and letting out flames. The "saucer" flew low, about 150 meters above the ground, and followed the car for 10 kilometers.

"When we passed through a village, said Ms. Mansart, the craft bypassed it and reappeared at the exit.

It was making no noise and was definitely watching us. On leaving Pierregot I stopped at the last houses. The "Saucer", which had bypassed the village, was waiting for us and hovered then it moved away as I started again. It began to spiral for three or four hundred meters and changed shape to take that of an elongated, inverted crescent with a molten ball at the upper horn. At Rainneville the "Saucer" increased its gyration then moved away in the direction of the west of Amiens, to lose itself in infinity, in the space of a few seconds, at an incomparable speed."

Italian saucer

Mantua. -- 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 great height, stood out clearly against the background of the blue sky.

After performing extremely rapid moves, the spherical craft - which, according to some witnesses, was part of "a formation of flying saucers" - remained motionless in the sky for some time, before disappearing at the horizon.

Also, the "Martians" seem to want to visit Italy as well. A fisherman from Roverbella, in the province of Mantua, said he was approached last night by a "mysterious individual", dressed in red, who would have said "unintelligible words" to him and who would have quickly moved away, before the fisherman had time to call his wife.

STILL THE FLYING SAUCERS

Some residents of Doullens saw
the mysterious craft

Saucers, cigars... and flying beehives keep crisscrossing the skies of Europe to Africa, if we are to believe the people, every day more numerous, who state they witnessed these curious phenomena.

- A shopkeeper from Amiens, Mrs. Nelly Mansart, grocer, 6, rue de la Morlière, who was driving, lived on Sunday evening, pathetic minutes. Indeed, she was followed by a saucer between Hérissart and Raineville.

- In Vron (Somme), two young men who were riding their bikes, noted an orange-colored object in the middle of the road. Beside it was a living being comparable to a child dressed in a spacesuit. This character climbed into the craft which, without noise, suddenly disappeared.

- Above Auxi-le-Château, the same craft was seen by a Vimeu industrialist, who was returning from hunting.

- Last Sunday, a flying saucer was seen in Ablain-Saint-Nazaire (P.-de-.C.). A resident of Liévin also distinguished a similar craft around the lighthouse of Lorette.

- In Boves, several residents saw Sunday evening at 8:30 p.m., a strange glow that looked like an orange disc.

Finally, in Doullens, at exactly the same hours, two young residents of Doullens, A.C., 18, and J.N., 17, who were going at the "Tivoli-Cinéma" also saw as a powerful hue of orange color. They thus contemplated this strange gleam for 10 minutes. Nothing came to their idea that they were in the presence of a saucer and it was only on reading the narrated account of the residents of Boves, in "Le Courrier Picard", that they decided to tell what they had seen.

It was while passing over the Pont des Tilleuls that they saw a bright orange glow between the great horseman of the Citadel and the Bois de Bretel, appearing behind the trees of the road at the horizon.

This glow, of a very bright brightness, had the shape of a triangle pointed in the air and included in an oval slightly less enlightened. Motionless, that steady glow looked like no electric light.

This vision had somewhat intrigued one of the two young people since the next day he went to the place where he had seen this apparition.

On the other hand, it came to us that several people living on the road to Abbeville had also seen this phenomenon.

The waltz of the flying saucers

A BAKER OF THE FINISTERE CLAIMS HAVING MET A "MARTIAN" WITH A FACE COVERED IN HAIR

Around 4 a.m. yesterday morning Mr. Pierre Lucas, a baker in Loctudy (Finistère), who was busy fetching water from the bakery courtyard suddenly saw a machine in the shape of a saucer 2.5 to 3 meters in diameter in the night.

He saw an individual about 1.20 m tall come out of it, who approached him and tapped him on the shoulder, articulating unintelligible words. The worker baker managed to keep his cool and returned to the bakery where the stranger followed him.

In the light, Mr. Lucas could stare at the visitor: his face was oval, 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 well as his saucer, of which no trace was found.

A Concarneau beer merchant said that he saw two luminous discs in the sky of the shape of an extended round table with a kind of tail. One of the disks was stationary, while the other was moving nearby. The two discs disappeared after ten minutes after launching a rocket.

SAUCERS ... EVERYWHERE

Saucers were seen on Tuesday around 3:15 p.m., near Clermont-Ferrand, the first, 10 kilometers from Beaumont.

The witnesses said that the craft approached them and became less and less brilliant. When it was only 150 meters away, they felt a "weird sensation" and were like nailed in place. At this time a smeel of nitro-benzine was released. Soon the craft went away, the discomfort ceased and the saucer disappeared.

The other saucer was seen above the hill of Chanturgue, near Clermont. It moved vertically and was bright white.

A saucer was also spotted in Billom by a group of 30 people.

- Several residents of Saint-Brieuc saw in the night from Tuesday to Wednesday, a flying saucer which 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.

Several people from Thouars-sur-Vie (Vendée) also saw in the sky a dozen luminous objects having an elongated shape and passing at very high speed and high altitude.

IN THE REGION
WHITE GLOW ... IN DUNKERQUE

Last Monday, around 8:20 p.m., while he was maneuvering the American S.S. "Doctor Lyren" in the lock of the Wattier lock in Dunkirk, captain Emmanuel Dubois, aged 30, 34, rue Carnot, in Malo-les-Bains, saw a white glow running along the coast, heading east to west.

Observing this phenomenon for several seconds, he suddenly thought of the flying saucers and called his crew to make them check what he was seeing. But when the first sailor arrived, the glow had suddenly disappeared.

RED DISC...
IN CASSEL

Yesterday around 10:15 a.m., while waiting for the bus, three residents of Cassel, MM. Guy Verbruggue, 17, Grand'Place; Romain Schoerf, rue de Lille, and Guy Hennion, rue Constant-Moncelay, saw a reddish disc in the shape of a saucer which moved a few hundred meters above their heads.

After observing the phenomenon for a good minute, they suddenly saw it disappear on the horizon.

... AND ORANGE
IN THE PICARDY SKY

In the evening of Sunday, an orange "disc" moving at near ground level was seen and observed for a long time by several residents of Boves and of Démuin, near Amiens. The statements of these individuals, collected separately, are absolutely consistent. The orange disc followed almost at ground level, an west - east direction.

Another testimony confirms the presence of this saucer in the Picardy sky, the evening of last Sunday. It is a baker from Moreuil, this time, who brings it. Mr. and Mrs. Dédié, indeed returned from Moreuil, with their children, Mr. and Mrs. Quenehem, when, around 9:15 p.m., between Foucaucourt and Estrées, they saw the luminous object.

Same description as that given by previous witnesses, same observations on the direction of travel.

AMAZING STORY OF AN
AMIENS MERCHANT

But the most astonishing tale is that of a shopkeeper from Amiens, Mrs. Nelly Mansart, grocer, 5, rue de la Marlière, who returned from Hérissart on Sunday. Mrs. Mansart was accompanied by neighbors, Mr. and Mrs. Delarouzée.

The motorists had just left Hérissart, when they saw, in the sky, a dazzling ball which, better observed, appeared to them enormous like a rim of bright orange mushroom. The diameter was around 6 to 8 meters. The mushroom let escape from its upper part, flames turning from purple to greenish, while some kind of cables hung below.

Mrs. Mansart, who was driving the car, was frightened, all the more since the "saucer" seemed to follow the moves of the car, standing at a distance of about 150 meters and flying at near ground level.

"When we passed through a village, declared Mrs. Mansart, the object bypassed it and reappeared at the exit. It followed us like this for approximately 10 kilometers.

"On leaving Pierregot, I stopped. The saucer stopped and waited, turning in a spiral, for three or four hundred meters. As I started again, it followed us again.

"It was only in Rainneville, near Amiens, that the craft left us definitively in the direction of the West to get lost in infinity at a prodigious speed."

You will agree that this is an impressive story. We must also add that of a Rue (Somme) butcher, M. Galland, who with his wife and son returned from Berck by car. They too were followed, for a time, by a mysterious craft of elongated shape and orange in color.

The object was flying at low altitude at a speed not exceeding 50 per hour. It finally disappeared in the direction of Saint-Quentin-en-Tourmont, towards the sea.

Other people also observed the phenomenon, always at the same hour, around 9:00 p.m., Sunday evening.

PIERREGOT

"I was terribly afraid! Think about it, the saucer followed us during 10 km before disappearing in space at an unimaginable speed!". Mrs. Nelly Mansart, from Amiens, was returning by night from the village of Hérissart, by car, when an orange saucer, in the shape of a mushroom, gave her the chase at near-ground level at less than 200 meters of her car. 3 witnesses confirm her statements. Her 2 passengers, Mr. and Mrs. Delarouzée and her young girl, Nadège, who repeats: "I saw the large moon!"

[Photo caption:]
Mrs Mansart, grocer
Mr. Delarouzée, aged 30
Nadège Mansart, aged 3

October 3 [, 1954]

[... other cases...]

08:59 p.m.: Hérissart (Somme): half-spherical craft + lumin. "cables" below="jellyfish saucer".

[... other cases...]

October 3 [, 1954]

[... other cases...]

09:01 p.m.: Pierregot(Somme): disc chasing car + spirals.

[... other cases...]

October 3, 1954: Hérissart (16 km ISL at the NNE of Amiens--Somme): Mrs. Nelly Mansart; Mr. and Mrs.Delarouzée, automobile drivers (half-spherical craft with luminous cables below called "jellyfish saucer", in low altitude flight)

Everyone remembers the large number of sightings recorded in 1954 in the North of France and especially in Amiens. Among these, we find that of Hérissart which took place on October 3, 1954. It is described at length on page 143 of the book by A. MICHEL: "A Propos des Soucoupes Volantes", published by Planète editions. It is a car which, at 9:05 p.m., leaves Hérissart by the D. 60 in the direction of Amiens. It was followed for 6 km by a mushroom-shaped object.

- The "Medusa-Saucer" (the metaphor alone is significant). It consists of a hemispherical dome that is compared to a half-moon (Champigny-sur-Marne October 3, 1954), to a mushroom cap (Hérissart October 3, 1954), a haystack... or a jellyfish. Why a jellyfish? because it is common for this object to hang from its lower part kinds of short cables (Hérissart), multicolored rods, or antennae. It would also seem that the "jellyfish saucers" have the ability to split, or at least to release an element. I will return to this phenomenon a little later.

The antennas offer little information, on the other hand the lower rods are much more interesting because they are one of the particularities of a very precise type of "Flying Saucer". We will have the opportunity to come back to it, but let us point out right away that their presence is the cause of a very colorful term: the "Jellyfish Saucer". There is no shortage of observations of this type of device, we were spoiled for choice with (Hérissart, Liévin, Rue, Marcoing, Armentières, Milly, Champigny, Corbigny, [...] ... and this is only for France), [...]

The "Jellyfish Saucers"

Perfectly observed, they are a particularly homogeneous whole.

[...other cases...]

No. 3. 10/03/1954 Hérissart (Somme) 9 p.m.; diameter between 6 and 8m. No. 4.

[...other cases...]

The "Jellyfish Saucers" are characterized by their hemispherical shape sometimes flattened into a mushroom cap. Their underside sometimes has an opening (No. 1). Their essential characteristic is the presence of antennae and stems (No. 3-6). They also sometimes release a smaller element (No. 2). Moreover, they are the ones who have the most amazing behavior towards the Earthlings (pursuits, approaches, "games"...

We are convinced that they should be studied "apart" within the whole phenomenon. These are the most astonishing, though, oddly enough, they are also the most "accessible".

Ligescourt (Somme) 6:45 p.m.

[Actually not on the 3rd, but on the 1st october 1954.] Two young people discovered a craft in the shape of a haystack 3m wide and 2m high posed in the middle of the road. The craft was luminous orange in color. Beside it was a being the size of a child who was dressed likee a diver. The being climbed into the craft which took off as the witnesses approached...

Chéreng (Nord) 7:20 p.m.

An oblong luminous object came at full speed and pretended to land, but it regained altitude and disappeared.

Marcoing (Nord) 8 p.m.

An orange-red luminous object stood motionless above a wood; below, and as if suspended at the end of a thread, a small luminous spot swayed gently. At about 08:30 p.m. the smal spot disappeared and the main object took the form of a disc seen from profile, it carried out some moves and disappeared in direction of the south-west.

Hérissart (Somme) 21h south-west of Chéreng

A kind of orange luminous mushroom cap with short cables hanging under it followed a car for 6 km. The chase lasted about 6 minutes and the craft did not approach within 150m of the car. When the car stopped, the craft did the same. Better, for each village crossing, it avoided the village and after having circumvented it, resumed the pursuit. Around 9:05 p.m., it finally disappeared westward at a dizzying pace.

Waben (Somme) 9:05 p.m. west of Hérissart

The same craft engaged in the same game and followed another car under the same conditions as the previous case. Then the craft disappeared west towards the sea.

Armentières (Nord) 9:15 p.m.

A half-moon-shaped craft, yellow-orange or golden in color with a sort of elongated green spot, stood motionless in the sky and then disappeared at lightning speed in a south-southwest direction.

Liévin (Pas de Calais) 9:30 p.m. south southwest of Armentières

An elongated but rounded at the top luminous object was hovering in the sky. It suddenly releases a small luminous thing which quickly descends to the ground, remains there for a few seconds and then goes back up to fix itself at its starting point. The object then left in a southerly direction.

Ablain-Saint Nazaire (Pas de Calais) 9:30 p.m. south of Liévin.

Within a minute of interval, the same phenomenon happened again...

If we stick to these eight testimonies, it is obvious that we are dealing with a "Jellyfish Saucer" of the purest style. This was the conclusion reached by A. Michel, who wondered what this set of maneuvers in three departments corresponded to. But things were not that simple and A. Michel lacked a key piece.

10/03/1954 Annoeulin (Nord)

That evening, around 21:00, Mr. Gaston Lecoeuvre saw a sort of spinning star falling gently into a nearby garden. The witness then discovered that it was a metal dome 3m in diameter which did not rest on the ground but remained motionless at about fifteen centimeters. A small cupola occupied the upper part of the apparatus. Then the craft took off and was joined by two other discs which began to spin around it in opposite directions. The show lasted from 9 p.m. to 9:10 p.m.... (J. Guieu)

However, at 9 p.m., the "Jellyfish Saucer" was pursuing a car near Hérissart... It was therefore not one but at least four "Flying Saucers" which were "prospecting" the northern region that evening...

TIMELINE OF A FANTASTIC SUNDAY

The weekend of October 2-3 appears on all charts as the maximum-maximum of the 1954 wave. Various newspapers and magazines that I have been able to check for this period give us an almost complete overview, in any case very broadly representative of the regional observations that were reported in the press for Sunday October 3rd. I have included the observations of the Somme which seemed to me inseparable from those of the Nord-Pas-de-Calais and which appear moreover in the chapter entitled "Zigzag on the mining country" of the book by A. Michel: "Mysterieux Objets Célestes." I count, as one case, each observation made by an independent group of witnesses. The astonishing number of observations reported below, once again shows the interest of thoroughly digging into the newspapers archives.

OCTOBER 3, 1954:

[...other cases...]

28) 9 p.m., D11, from HERISSART to RAINEVILLE _80_ Mrs Nelly Mansart and Mr and Mrs Delarouzée who were driving towards Amiens observed, on leaving Hérissart, a sort of orange "mushroom collar" 6 to 8 m high. The object released from its upper part flames turning from violet to greenish, some kind of cables were hanging below. The object seemed to follow the car at about 150 m, flying at low level, for 10 km. Bypassing the village to reappear at the exit. After Rulenpré, it headed for $eptenville then joined the car at the top of the Piénegot hill. Mrs. Mansart stops and the object which had circumvented the village also stopped to restart with the car. For 400 m it spirals then takes the form of an elongated and inverted crescent with a molten ball at the upper horn. At the exit of Rainneville, the object accentuated its gyration then moved away towards the West to be lost in infinity. (10/5, Courrier Picard, p.3 - 10/7; NM, p.8; VdN, p.4 10/8, Libre Artois, p.4 - 10/9, Journal de Doullens, p.1)

[...other cases...]

[...]

We know that that evening, at 9:30 p.m., the crescent Moon was setting in the southwest and that according to case 9 it was distorted by low clouds...

Disaster! This bundle of suspicions throws a total discredit on this magnificent series of observations, one of the most beautiful that we have ever found yet. We will have to verify certain data, the direction of certain sightings, the weather conditions, but already the doubt is too great for us to be able to classify these sightings as UFOs.

[...]

Amiens, France. (Approximately 8:33 p.m.) [October 3, 1954]

A brightly-lit orange-colored "mushroom hat" sailed into view near the town of Amiens about 8:30 p.m. One witness was quoted as saying :1he upper part of-the 'mushroom' appeared to vibrate as it changed color from violet to greenish, while short tables' of some kind hung from the bottom surface." 28.

"Three other witnesses in the area, Nine. Nelly Mansart and M. and Mrs. Delarouxe, had just left Herissart village on a drive to Amiens when they spotted the UFO descending out of the clouds. The thing dropped to the ground about 150 yards from them and at that range appeared to be an object 25 feet in diameter and "mushroomed-shaped." After reaching ground level, the strange object followed their car for a time and then took off in the direction of the village of Riannville. 29.

• 26. Vallee, Jacques. Anatomy of a Phenomenon. Chicago,111.: Henry Regnery,1965. pp.216-217.
• 27. Ibid.
• 28. Ibid p.216.
• 29. Michel, Aime. Flying Saucers and the Straight Line Mystery, p.115.

19541003 9999 DI M30? 80 HERISSART, RUBEMPRE->RAINEVILLE 8AMIENS)

u 2 1 1 0 1 E RND O:

DEMICERCLEhxFILS INF D=150 MVTh H°bas? MODIFORME %ROND APPROCHE T-T.RAPIDE, PEUR T-accélère. PH DISPART DERRIERE village SEFIXE AVEC T-. ROT? SPIRALE?(400m)%CROISSANT?EMET PH2 POINT SUP ORANGE, SUIT T-(10km) ROT? RAPIDE S'ELOIGNE T.RAPIDE ACCELERE =W

clv

*LUNE+NUAGES. D. Caudron: "Requiem pour unzig-zag".

VAMC p289*(o),REUF6, GNEOVNI p??8o);CVDA p13;

25 - Case of the D. 940, between Waben and Rue, Somme side.

Here is a particularly unusual abuse [of Barthel and Brucker, according to Sider]. This is the testimony of several adults explained by B & B, hold on tight, thanks to the "lucidity" of a three-year-old girl!

On October 3, Mr. Georges Galland, his wife and son, were driving. Suddenly, they notice an orange object following them, as they cross a deserted area consisting of sand and swamps. After 8km of "pursuit", the object suddenly accelerates, turns to the right, and disappears in the direction of the sea. In Le Journal de Rue, Somme, October 9, 1954, page 2, Mr Galland, a butcher in Rue, specifies that he saw a cigar-shaped craft descend 200 meters, follow the road he was following, then turn off as if to land.

You would have thought that B & B had tried to reach Mr. Galland easier to find than Miss Fin... No way! They much prefer to rely on Radar, a Parisian weekly which they accuse of exaggeration in other pages! Because Radar, whose report they exploit in the direction of their reductive ideas, discloses the "extraordinary" testimony of a three-year-old girl, Nadège Mansart, whose mother, Mrs. Nelly Mansart, made an observation substantially identical to that of Mr. Galland and his family, but in another sector of the same region. The little girl, questioned by a Parisian reporter, would have replied: "I saw the big moon". B& B rushed into the breach to triumph and proclaim that Mrs. Mansart, just like the Galland family, not to mention the other passengers in the two vehicles, all identified in the local newspapers, had only observed our satellite! Unbelievable but true! A three-year-old girl would have identified the cause of a phenomenon that confused her mother as well as other people she was not even with! Note that in M.O.C., p. 143, Michel specifies that Mrs. Mansart saw under a luminous phenomenon in the form of a mushroom, sorts of short cables which hung. So according to B& B, the Moon was wired...

B& B, who know nothing about child psychology, did not understand that the little girl wanted to talk about a light source larger than the Moon, because her conceptual universe and her vocabulary are too limited to be understood by narrow-minded people, moreover: ill-intentioned people!

Note in this case that it would have been an elongated Moon that moved at ground level, capable of turning to spin in another direction... A nice performance for our old Séléné! Figuet, for his part, trusts the "work" of one Mr. Caudron, who "explains" all these zigzags in the mining country by confusions with the Moon, but by calling on a professor of geology, Antoine Bonte, of the Faculty of Sciences of Lille. This academic would have deserved long-term unpaid leave for having informed the press of his time that the testimonies of October 3 (including that of two gendarmes!) were "selenography". These ramblings can be found in La Croix du Nord of October 6, 1954, pages 1 and 8. If B & B had referred to it, that would have allowed them to appeal to an equally stupid judgment, but which, at least, would have flattered their taste for pedantry and pseudo-scientific explanations. Note two more things:

1 - Mr. and Mrs. Galland disputed Mr. Bonte's statements published in the press.

2 - In L'Ardennais of October 19, 1954, page 1, two photos appeared which explain very well the "big moon" of Nadège Mansart,n (D.O. 18).

Question: Are two gendarmes capable of taking the Moon for a UFO to the point of making a sighting report to their chiefs?

3946: 1954/10/03 21:10 5 2:25:00 E 50:01:40 N 3333 WEU FRN SMM 7:4

HERISSART++,FR:7M SCR FOLOS CAR:HIDES/TOWNS+RESUMES AFTER:CABLES HANG:/r138#9

Ref# 49 MICHEL,Aime: FS & STRAIGHT LINE TH: Page No. 115 : ROAD+RAILS

3 October Between Herissart and Amiens, France, (about 8:45 p.m.)

This case is being included because it has more detail than the account in the monograph UFOs A History 1954 October, page 6.

According to Aime Michel:

"Several minutes after 8 45, while the Marcoing witnesses saw the object disappear toward the southwest, an automobile driven by Mme. Nelly Mansart, of No.8, Rue de la Marliere, Amiens (Somme), was leaving Herissart. With Mme Mansart were two other Amiens residents, M. and Mme Delarouzee. As the car was about to turn left into the Amiens road, the three motorists suddenly saw, at low altitude, a luminous ball in the sky, its color a brilliant orange. On closer observation its shape seemed to be 'like a mushroom hat.' "The upper part of the 'mushroom' appeared to vibrate as it changed color from violet to greenish, while short 'cables' of some kind hung from the bottom surface. The witnesses estimated the object's dimensions at 20 or 25 feet, its distance at 150 yards.

"Mme. Mansart made the turn at the crossroad. She then perceived that the object, now almost at ground level, had also turned and was following her car, always at the same distance. The three motorists grew frightened Mme Mansart speeded up, the sooner to reach Rubempre, a village about a mile away, in hopes that the mysterious object would be intimidated by the houses and go away. And in fact it slanted off and disappeared. But hardly were the travelers clear of the village than they again saw behind them, still almost level with the ground and almost no distance away, the tenacious 'mushroom.' It had detoured the village, and now regained the road!

"The next village was Pierregot a mile or so distant. The three motorists began to wonder what this importunate follower wanted of them, and how it would end. At the outskirts of Pierregot, the same maneuver: it slanted off and disappeared. Mme Mansart continues.

"'As we left Pierregot, seeing that the object had rejoined us once again, I stopped the car. The 'saucer' continued on for three or four hundred yards, and then it stopped too, going around in circles, almost on the ground. I waited a moment, then started the car again. It again took up its position and pursuit.

"'It was only as we entered Rainneville, six miles from Amiens, that we saw the "saucer" leave us, and this time for good. It turned off toward the west, picked up speed, and disappeared with dizzying rapidity in that direction.'

'This astounding adventure all occurred in four or five miles of driving, and in less than six minutes." (xx)

• (xx) Michel, Aime. Flying Saucers and the Straight-Line Mystery pp. 115-116.

October 3 1954. 2055hrs.

HERISSART (SOMME : FRANCE)

As they were leaving Herissart, to drive to Amiens, Mrs Nelly Mansart and Mr and Mrs Delarouzee saw a luminous orange mushroom shaped object from which hung cables. The object was 7-8m in diameter and 150m away. It changed colour first to violet, thence to green, while its upper part vibrated. The object descended to ground level, following their car for about 7km through several villages, departing when habitations were reached, and returning when they were left behind. When they stopped the car for a moment, the thing circled at ground level. At Rainnville, 9.6km from Amiens, the object left at high speed.

Michel 1958b p115

Probably the moon again

The Fabulous day of October 3, 1954

[...]

Chronology of the observations of October 3.

We give here only a summary of what was published in the press of the time, for the nord region, regardless of what the ufologists could later say. We have numbered all these observations, the first of which have nothing to do with the setting of the moon, in order to be able to study them globally in a table. Some are already the subject of a special file.

[... other cases...]

28) 09 p.m., D11, from HÉRISSART to RAINNEVILLE (80)

- Mrs Nelly Mansart, her 3-year-old daughter, and Mr. and Mrs. Delarouzée who were driving to Amiens observed, at the exit of Hérissart, a kind of orange "mushroom collar" orange 6 to 8 m. The objet let escape at its top flames changing from purple to greenish, kinds of cables hung below. the objet seemed to follow the car at about 150 m, flying at near ground level, for 10 km, circling villages to reappear at the exit. After Rubempré, it went to Septenville then reached the cas at the top of the hill of Pierregot. Mrs Mansart stopped and the object wich had bypassed the village also stopped to restart with the car. During 400 m it spiralled then took the shape of a reversed elongated crescent with a melting ball t the top corner. At the exit of Rainneville, the object increased its giration then went away to the West to lose itself in the infinite.

(Le Courrier Picard, 6/10 page 3, Nord Matin 7/10 page 8, La Voix du Nord 7/10 page 4, Libre Artois 8/10 page 4, le Journal de Doullens 9/10 page 1)

(The investigation made in 1978 shows that it was quite simply the moon)

[... other cases...]

All this is only a compilation of the information given by all newspapers of the time, including local editions, and of which ufologists only used a part.

We will see that the analysis of this information makes it possible to eliminate the hypothesis of a flying saucer, in favor of those of multiple observations of the moon, whose image was reddened and deformed by clouds, which also gave it a illusory apparent movement.

Analysis of the observations of October 3, 1954

[... other cases cas...]

28) 9 p.m., D11, from HÉRISSART to RAINNEVILLE (80)

Identified as the Moon by the investigation.

[... other cases cas...]

Hérissart, October 3, 1954: look for the error

24/01/12, 02:37 pm

The Hérissart affair got the honor of being quoted in two pages, by Aimé Michel, in his historical M.O.C., and had the honor of a complete plate in "Ceux venus d'ailleurs", by Lob and Gigi. In one of the images of this board, there is an error...

or more exactly, only one of these images has only one error. It's the image on the top right, with the signpost: The distance is correct but the sign is the wrong way round. In fact, I had the opportunity to investigate the Hérissart affair on August 18, 1978. Mrs. Nelly Mansart was kind enough to take me in her car to do a reconstruction. I had then carefully noted the positions of the object. Once back home, I showed her Lob and Gigi's board: But according to her, there was nothing real, except for the distance indicated by the signpost.

Let's start at the beginning: Gigi designed a Simca Vedette, as the car. But Mrs. Mansart was not nearly driving in October 1954 a car which was not sold until November. In fact, the car was an old Citroen C4 wagon, like the one seen below.

We can see that there is a small difference. It's hard to imagine that one could have driven in 1954 in such antiques. Yet such cars were still driving when I was young

Then the driver seems to discover the "saucer" after having entered the D60. In reality, according to Ms. Mansart, it was her passenger, Mr. Delarouzée who discovered the object a hundred meters before the intersection and warned the driver: "Here is a flying saucer!"

"- Nah!", replied Mrs. Mansart, who knew Mr. Delarouzée as a prankster.

Then she discovered the object when she arrived at the crossroads.

According to Le Courrier Picard, it was Mrs. Mansart who jokingly said: "Look, it looks like a flying saucer!"

the Radar article. In reality, Mrs. Mansart would not have responded to the Radar journalists, who had to photograph her on the sly

Another error comes from the ambiguity of the word "tracking". Mrs. Mansart should have said "accompanied". Because whereas Gigi drew the object behind the car, the object was actually in the front right.

Another error in the representation: Too big, too high, and there was no tail. One wonders where Gigi gets this trail from, since both Le Courrier Picard and Aimé Michel only talk about kinds of cables hanging underneath

Furthermore, the sketch made by the witness corresponds only poorly

As for the disappearance, the object seemed to move towards the west, but did not rise in the sky.

And for good reason: The readings I made on the ground as to the direction of the object, corresponded to the direction of the Moon. However, neither Mrs. Mansart nor her passengers saw the Moon, with the possible exception of little Nadège, three years old, who repeated to anyone who wanted to listen: "I saw the big moon."

Final score

-three-year-old child: 1
-comic artist: 0
:(MRDgreen):