The index page for the 1954 French flap section of this website is here.
Reference for this case: 3-oct-54-Ronsenac.
Please cite this reference in any correspondence with me regarding this case.
The regional newspaper La Charente Libre of October 5, 1954 reported that on Sunday evening, thus on October 3, 1954, at 11:15 p.m., Mr. Jean Allary, a 22-year-old farmer, was returning to his parents' home at moped at Chez Rabaud, after spending the evening at the movie theater in Montmoreau-Saint-Cybard, when, on the right side of the road from Montmoreau to Villebois-Lavalette, at the place called Le Maine la Fontaine, he saw a mysterious craft.
Afraid, he went home and told his parents the following facts that he told the newspaper again, and the newspaper said they report it verbatim:
"I drove quietly at less than thirty kilometers an hour, I had to exceed by 100 meters the monument erected in memory of the FFI [French Forces of the Interior, resistance during the occupation of 1939-1945] when all of a sudden, I saw in the light of my headlight like a kind of barrel about a meter in diameter, perhaps a meter and a half, and some kind of yellow nails shone in the light. The whole thing was a brown mass, I must admit that I was very scared, I passed without stopping at 1 meter 50 from the machine, which swung as if it had been mounted on a pivot. It did not look stable.
"At ten meters from it, I looked back, and I did not see anything anymore."
The newspaper noted that Jean Allary is a serious and calm boy, whose sincerity cannot be doubted, and who seemed to them this still under the influence of a big and quite understandable emotion. The newspaper said it would not have been enough to them, if it were for this follow-up:
Accompanied by Mr. Hubert, tobacconist at Juillaguet, his son and Mr. Jean Allary, their journalists went to the place where the young farmer claimed to have seen the "mysterious barrel" and there, they saw in the grass on the low side of the road, three very sharp impact points. Starting from one of these points of impact, a trail of about seven meters was widening, ranging from about 10 centimeters in its beginning to 25 centimeters at its end.
The grass was heavily crushed, even seeming to be bent, and the fact that the stride started only one meter away from the road made them reject the hypothesis of a drag caused by a car tire.
Other newspapers mentioned the sighting with less details.
Subsequently, Aimé Michel invented that there would have been a takeoff of "the craft" that became luminous; which Mr. Allary did not report, and Jacques Vallée invented that the grass had been scorched; which nobody seems to have reported. Then, the "crop circles" enthusiasts added this case to their catalogs claiming here was a "circle", whereas the trace described was not a circle and had nothing to do with a "crop circle."
[Ref. lcl1:] NEWSPAPER "LA CHARENTE LIBRE":
|
tells us a witness worthy of faith
For a certain time already, the sky, and by repercussion the columns of the newspapers, are filled with flying saucers, cigars and mysterious machines. We will acknowledge here that in spite of the accounts that we echo, we remain rather skeptical. This enables us to more freely report the following fact which occurred this time in the Charente and which was brought back to us by a healthy and well balanced person whose good faith can by no means be doubted.
Sunday evening, with at 11:15 p.m., Mr. Jean Allary, a young farmer, 22 year old, regained by motorbike the residence of his parents, at the village of Rabaud, community of Ronsenac, after having spent the evening at the movie theater of Montmoreau, when, on the right side of the road of Montmoreau at Villebois, at the place called Maine la Fontaine, he saw a mysterious machine. Frightened, a fear that he had not shame to acknowledge, he returned at his place and told his parents the facts that he agreed to tell us again yesterday and that report verbatim:
"I was driving quietly at less than thirty kilometers per hour, I had just exceeded by 100 meters approximately the monument raised to the memory of the F.F.I [French Forces of the Interior, resistance during the occupation of 1939-1945] when all of a sudden, I saw in the light of my headlight like a kind of barrel of one meter in diameter approximately, high perhaps of one meter eighty. Kinds of yellow nails shone in the light. The unit constituted a brown mass. I acknowledge that I was very afraid. I passed without stopping at to 1 m 50 of the machine which was swinging as if it had been assembled on pivot. In a word, it did not look stable.
"A ten meters of it, I turned myself, and I did not see anything anymore."
Such is, in its sobriety, the account that Mr. Jean Allary gave us, a serious and posed boy, whose sincerity cannot be questioned. He still appeared to us under the blow of great and rather comprehensible emotion. However we will not hesitate to say that if we had only been limited to his account we would not manage to share with him this emotion. But the facts are really disconcerting. Judge for yourself:
Accompanied by Mr. Hubert, tobacconist in Juillaguet, his son and Mr. Jean Allary, we went to the very location where the young farmer claims to have seen what we will call "the mysterious barrel" and there, we saw in grass on the low side of the road, three very clear points of impact. On the basis of one of these points of impact, a long trail of approximately seven meters was widening. Of ten centimeters approximately in its beginning the trail had twenty-five centimeters at its end. The grass was strongly crushed, curved even apparently and the fact that the pressed part began only at one meter from the road, makes us discard the assumption of a trail caused by the tire of a car.
We will of course take care not to draw any conclusion at all, but we cannot prevent us from only saying that the observations which we made corroborate in a strange way an account of which we do not have any valid reason to question the perfect authenticity.
[Ref. lml1:] NEWSPAPER "LE MERIDIONAL":
|
LYON. -- Several people stated to have seen in the area of Epinac-les-Mines (the Saone-and-Loire), a kind of large luminous ball evolving slowly in an odd way in the sky. Puzzled motorists stopped on the road and could observe this ball during several minutes before seeing it disappearing suddenly for Le Creusot.
A similar phenomenon was observed in Ain and the north of the department of the Rhone, towards the collar of Echarmeaux, as well as in the Isère, close to Morestel.
Near Le Havre
LE HAVRE. -- Mr. André Lefebvre, taxi driver, who stationed around 8 p.m., on the harbour, saw an incandescent disc which, at the West of Deauville, went up in the sky, leaving behind itself a phosphorescent trail and a light smoke. This phenomenon, which was visible during ten minutes, had also as witnesses several sailors regaining their boat.
In the Haute-Loire
LE PUY. -- Mr. and Mrs. Teyssier, of St-Etienne, who camped in Aurec-sur-Loire (the Haute-Loire) saw in the sky a luminous object giving the impression of a large headlight which moved at a fast pace at approximately 2.000 meters of altitude. The machine emitted a ray of light of orange red color, and followed a North-South trajectory. When it had disappeared, a second machine similar to the first and appearing to follow it appeared, followed the same direction and disappeared too.
Approximately at the same moment several people saw, above the bell-tower of Aurec, similar craft, which after having become motionless one moment crossed the sky at a fast pace in direction of the South-west.
A crescent splits in two
LENS. -- Sunday evening, around 09:30 p.m., in Ablain-St-Nazaire, a craft which had the shape of a pot and which rotated was seen in the sky by two people. It released a reddish gleam and quickly moved.
At the same hour, a craft which, this time, had the shape of a crescent was seen in the sky in Liévain. After having hovered during a few minutes, the crescent split in two. The higher part then remained motionless, while the other landed in a field, between two haystacks, from where it flew away little afterwards to go to reattach to the part that had remained in the air.
In the Charente
ANGOULEME. -- Sunday evening, at approximately 11:15 p.m. on the Montecreau-Ville-Bois-Lavalette road (Charente), Mr. Jean Allary, aged 22, saw very clearly, in the gleam of the headlight of his motorcycle, a kind of barrel high of approximately 1 m. 80, spread of gilded nails, which was oscillating on the edge of the road. When Mr. Allary had passed the mysterious machine, he turned back at a distance of approximately ten meters, but he did not see anything anymore.
Witnesses saw, at the very spot indicated by Mr. Allary, traces of approximately seven meters length in the grass which borders the road.
In addition, the same night, Mrs. Bellanger, resident of Cognac, saw at an altitude of approximately 300 meters, a machine in the shape of cigar, of orange color, moving slowly above the city.
On Clermont-Ferrand
CLERMONT-FERRAND. -- Residents of Clermont saw, around 7 p.m., in the sky, a luminous point of the dimension of a large star, which frequently changed color, passing from the white to the green while tainting itself of orange. The luminous point appeared animated of a rotary movement. While disappearing it left behind itself an orange plume.
[Ref. cpd1:] NEWSPAPER "LE COURRIER PICARD":
|
LILLE, October 5. -- The discovery, in Beuvry-les-Béthune, of a manufacturer of hot air balloons that were regularly dropped in the skies of the Nord and Pas-de-Calais, triggered a certain hilarity in the region. The author of this good prank, Victor d'Oliveira, is 60 years old. Of Portuguese origin, he settled in the Pas-de-Calais, in Beuvry, in 1922, and created his home there.
It was in a small grocery store run by his daughter that the balloon lover received us in the presence of his wife. In retirement after having worked for many years at the Beuvry power station, the Portuguese is having a happy time.
"I learned to build balloons when I was very young in Portugal, and since then I always continued to do so. I like to see them rise in the sky in the evening. I built them in all sizes, from very small to very large over 6 meters high and 2 meters in diameter."
And the inventor shows us one of them; which he inflates to make us happy, but without letting it go, because the winds, he says, are unfavorable today. It is a large oval, comparable to a gigantic rugby ball, inside which to heat the air and allow the ball to rise, Mr. d'Oliveira places, held by two light wires, a tow made of old rags and sometimes asbestos soaked in petroleum, which he sets on fire.
Continued on the second page under the title:
MANUFACTURER OF FLYING SAUCERS
|
(Continuation of the 1st page)
"Before the war," he continues, "I found silk papers of all colors and I made very beautiful ones. For local festivals, I was asked to build them and I hung firecrackers on them that burst into the air. I don't understand why people are surprised today by my activity, because here, everyone is aware of it and it doesn't hurt anyone."
The material used for construction is very simple. Wrapping paper from the grocery store, advertising papers, and even labels for oil bottles stuck together with methodical care.
It takes more than two hours to build medium-sized balloons, to which should be added the long wait necessary for the glue to dry. When the weather is not nice or the winds are unfavorable (because Mr. d'Oliveira is a perfect aeronaut, as he practiced this curious sport for long), the balloons pile up in the hangar where he builds them. When everything is going well, he sometimes drops two or three of these apparatuses in the same day, preferably in the evening, "because that's when we can best see their brightness", he adds, with the utmost seriousness.
"I sometimes tried to know how far the objects of my making were going. For that I put papers with my address, and I thus learned, before the war, that one of my balloons had traveled 17 kilometers. In the sky, they reach varying heights depending on the air currents, but it is common for them to climb 1,000 meters and go much further."
As he is asked what he thinks of flying saucers, a broad smile blossoms on his face happy with his creations and he just answers: "Some are perhaps simple confusions with my balloons... But anyway, I certainly don't make them all..."
As for the number of devices manufactured, Mr. d'Oliveira says that more than 5,000 would have been dropped by him, to which his wife adds: "It is exactly the 5.850th that he just manufactured. Details, we care about order."
This unexpected advertisement does not do little to the curious manufacturer, who receives with good grace many journalists and photographers who shoot him on all angles: "If I had known that I would have so many visits, he is satisfied to say, I would have gone to spend the day somewhere else."
But we do know, however, that man is happy to see many people interested in his little craze. And as we leave him, he smiles again, thinking of the "flying saucer" which, in the sky very close to Sailly, amazed three inhabitants before crashing on the ground, where only paper was found; which is now waiting another fate on the premises of the Beuvry police station.
***
However, in Le Havre, Mr. André Lefeuvre, taxi driver, who parked yesterday evening around 8 p.m. on the port, saw an incandescent disc which, west of Deauville, rose in the sky, leaving behind it a phosphorescent trail and a slight smoke. This phenomenon, which was visible for ten minutes, was also witnessed by several sailors returning to their boat.
Mr. and Mme Teyssier, from Saint-Etienne, who were camping in Aurec-sur-Loire (Haute-Loire), saw, in the sky, a luminous object giving the impression of a large headlight moving at high speed, at about 2,000 meters above sea level.
The craft emitted a red-orange light beam and followed a North-South trajectory.
When it had disappeared, a second craft, similar to the first one and seeming to follow it, appeared, followed the same direction and also disappeared.
Around the same time, several people saw, above the Aurec steeple, similar craft which, after having stopped for a moment, crossed the sky, at high speed, towards the south West.
Sunday evening, around 11:15 p.m., on the road to Montmoreau-Villebois-Lavalette (Charente), Mr. Jean Allary, 22, saw very clearly in the light of the headlight of his moped, a kind of barrel, about 1 m. 80 high, studded with golden nails, swaying on the side of the road. When Mr. Allary had passed the mysterious craft, he looked back at about ten meters away, but saw nothing anymore.
Witnesses saw, yesterday afternoon, at the very place indicated by Mr. Allary, traces of about seven meters in length, in the grass which borders the road.
Several people said they saw in the region of Epinac-les-Mines (Saône-et-Loire), a kind of big luminous ball moving slowly, in a strange manner, in the sky.
A similar phenomenon was observed in the Ain and in the north of the Rhône department, towards the Echarmaux pass, as well as in the Isère, near Morestel.
[Ref. prs1:] UNKNOWN NEWSPAPER FOR OCTOBER 6, 1954:
|
Lille, 5 October. - A retired mine worker of Beuvry-les-Bethune, known in his commune as a prankster, did not miss the opportunity offered to him by the mystery of the flying saucers to amuse himself at the expense of the inhabitants of the neighboring localities.
Inspired by the hot air balloon system, the happy retired man built machines that were three meters in diameter. The envelope consisted of sheets of gray paper, strongly glued together. At the base of the "saucer" was a small receptacle in which lay a tuft of tow impregnated with a flammable liquid. It was then enough to ignite the tow to see the machine rise and disappear at the winds, surrounded by yellowish and orange reflections.
It was after the discovery of one of these devices near a stack of straw, to which it had almost set fire, that the gendarmes were led to suspect the retired man. In fact, there were many models of "flying saucers" at his place, prototypes that their inventor was preparing to launch in the sky of the Nord.
The mystifier claimed that he had already built and launched more than a thousand of these devices. The ex-mine worker will no doubt be sentenced to fines for dangerous amusement.
Le Havre. -- Mr. André Lefèvre, a taxi driver, who was parked yesterday evening at 8 p.m. on the harbor, saw an incandescent disk which rose to the west of Deauville, leaving behind a phosphorescent trail and a slight smoke. This phenomenon, which was visible for ten minutes, was also witnessed by several sailors returning to their boat.
The Puy. -- Mr. and Mrs. Teyssier, of Saint-Etienne, who camped at Aurec-sur-Loire (Haute-Loire), saw in the sky a luminous object giving the impression of a large headlight moving at a rapid pace at about 2000 meters altitude. The craft emitted an orange-reddish light beam and followed a north-south trajectory. When it had disappeared, a second apparatus, similar to the first, appeared to follow it, in the same direction, and disappeared in its turn.
At about the same time, several persons saw above the bell-tower of Aurec similar machines which, after being immobilized for a moment, crossed the sky at a rapid pace towards the south-west.
Lens. -- Sunday evening, around 9:30 p.m., in Ablain-Saint-Nazaire, a machine that had the shape of a pot and which rotated on itself was seen in the sky by two people. It emitted a reddish glow and moved quickly.
At the same time, a craft which, this time, had the shape of a crescent, was seen in the sky of Liévin. After hovering for a few minutes, the crescent split in two. The upper part then remained motionless, while the other landed in a field between two haystacks, from which it took off shortly afterwards to join the part that was in the air.
Angoulême. -- Sunday evening, around 9:15 p.m., on the road from Montmoreau to Villebois-Lavallette (the Charente), Mr. Jean Allary, 22, saw very clearly, in the light of his moped's headlight, a sort of barrel high of about 1.50 meters, studded with gilded nails, which swayed on the side of the road. When Mr. Allary had passed the mysterious machine, he looked back, at a distance of about ten yards, but he saw nothing.
Witnesses saw, yesterday afternoon, at the very place indicated by Mr. Allary, traces about seven meters long in the grass that borders the road.
Autun. -- Several people said they saw in the region of Epinac-les-Mines (the Saône-et-Loire), a kind of large luminous ball moving slowly in a bizarre manner in the sky.
A similar phenomenon has been observed in the Ain and in the north of the Rhone department, towards the Col des Echarmaux, as well as in the Isère, near Morestel.
Nevers. -- In Chateau-Chinon, five persons whose sincerity could not be doubted, saw a phenomenon which occurred several times before their more astonished than frightened eyes.
At 9 o'clock a luminous spot of oval shape, seemingly motionless at a very high altitude, appeared in the sky. At one point the spot began to rotate at full speed, changing color several times. Then all went out, but after a few minutes the luminous spot reappeared, split again, and began to rotate.
[Ref. ler1:] NEWSPAPER "L'EST REPUBLICAIN":
After the flight of saucers over the White House the investigation revealed that radar sets were mistaken.
Thousands of people have actually seen the "bright objects" wander in the sky in a puzzling manner. Certainly, on September 28, the "saucer" seen above Mt. Revard by Dr Martinet and fifteen other people was a flock of starlings. The good doctor admitted his mistake the next day when an aviator, Michel Guyard, came to reveal that he also was intrigued by this glittering whirl, but that as he approached it with his plane he merely frightened peaceful birds - as a result, the perfect disc they formed was disrupted.
It is impossible, however, to explain other reports of observed phenomena as collective hallucination... although it is fair to note at first that these "saucers" appeared with extremely diverse aspects.
In the few hundred and fifty cases we have been cataloged in France, they looked round or oblong balls of fire, matt or bright, big or small, blue, green, red, yellow or white, naked or surrounded of a ring, noisy or silent, producing sparks (or smoke) or leaving no wake, when they did not have the form of discs, cigars or half cigars.
They were seen day and night, although their occupants preferred the troubled hours of dusk. They were especially seen evolving in every manners: slowly or quickly, horizontally or vertically, in a straight line or in a broken line.
How to sort all this?
Could there be so many different saucers with so many different origins? If they come to us from outer space, are there so many other inhabited worlds... and who are interested in us?
In truth, nothing precise could be learned of the reported sightings and often witness of the same phenomenon does not agree among themselves as to the size, shape and color of the object. So we are at the same step as the Americans in 1952, when the new radar set installed just a few days ago in Washington detected flying "saucers", finally placing the matter in the field of science. This device could not be wrong and played the role of arbitrator in an unexpected but worrying manner.
Specialists on duty assured the survey in their new premises, when one fine morning the watchman was startled: a luminous echo appeared on the screen although no aircraft was reported. They first thought - it had happened - that a commercial aircraft had violated regulations of air navigation and was flying over the forbidden zone of the White House. They alerted "Shooting Star" squadrons, which took off immediately. But the "object" fainted before the arrival of the jet fighters. Thus the thing had fled at such an unimaginable speed, showing by that the existence of these objects zigzagging at thousands of kilometers an hour before dissolving in the sky. The emotion climbed and it was officially decided to strengthen monitoring devices. The order was not useless, because a few days later, a new alert was given.
Jet fighters take off and rush at the full power of their reactors to the spot of the sky indicated by their radio, but arrived there, they announced again: - The sky is empty.
This time radar men jump on their feet. The bright spot is on their screen, indisputable and provocative. The small spots of the "Shooting Star[s]" come close to covering it. Saucers, cigars and fireballs.
- Attention, you are in contact, scream the radar experts. But the fighters rush at 800 km/h in a still desert sky, with perhaps at this place a slightly milky transparency.
Are the famous "objects" merely ectoplasm?
Once again public opinion is moved. Letters reach the U.S. Air Force to ask "not to irritate the visitors." "For God's sake, do not shoot at the saucers" implores a correspondent. Technicians, of course, do not believe in ghosts. A new commission is appointed. For six months, aerodynamic engineers, astronomers, meteorologists and scientists of all disciplines having some possible connection with the "saucers" study dozens of cases. And their conclusion sudden bursts, amazing but indisputable, freeing America of a part of its fear, by revealing the radar, too, was wrong. Each time a ghost image scored the fighters, meteorologists found in altitude, the presence of a layer of cold air between two layers of warm air. The density (and index of refraction) of air varying with the temperature, this "sandwich" had acted like a mirror to the radioelectrical airwaves and airplanes were guided, after a descent as fast as the rise, towards sheds or metal structures on the ground. The phenomenon can also reflect the sun in the day and the moon and the lights of a city at night. Often, the picture is double or triple, each separation surface playing a distinct role; "Saucers in pairs."
Certainly temperature inversions do not explain everything. But US experts feel that they were responsible for nearly 80% of the reported luminous apparitions beyond the Atlantic, and many mysterious machines seen in France can probably be allotted to them.
It may be noted, in chronological order, two parallel gleams in Antibes, in August 1949, two silver balls in Poitiers, May 10, 1952, two white discs at Roche-sur-Yon, twelve days later, "numerous red saucers" flying in zigzag, two by two, on October 17, 1952 in Oloron-Sainte-Marie (the radar of Mont-de-Marsan perceives its echo like its American brothers). Many other cases could be cited to the most recent: last September 24 three oval objects were reported in Bayonne, three in Charente-Maritime and six "cigar" evolving two by two in Lantefontaine, Lorraine.
Cases of isolated phenomena are even more numerous. - What! cry the disappointed "pro-saucerists", so, it was only this? Honestly see that we find in this category of events most characteristics reported by the "witnesses": blurry lights, sometimes surrounded by a halo, appearance and disappearance (with the complicity of clouds or because of the fading of lighting conditions) and above developments as capricious as fast. The surface of separation of two air layers are not still, of course; it empties and oscillates under the influence of currents in the atmosphere and the image is rejected from one corner of the sky to another.
It is regrettable that comments are usually too vague to allow the technician to decide with authority; but only immaterial manifestations may be gifted the dizzying, instantaneous speeds, lent to "saucers" in which most cases. Whatever their origin, terrestrial or extraterrestrial visitors, they would be subject to the laws of the universal gravitation (and consequently the acceleration), that all the planets in all galaxies undergo. Whatever the power of their machinery and engineering, "Saucers" could not overcome their own weight. And all the magnetic currents or other cosmic rays they are deemed to use may make immaterial beings. But the meteorologists still have in their arsenal the noctilucent clouds that Vestine and Störmer think to be composed of very fine cosmic dust from outer space. These meteors are at 75 or 80 kilometers high, becoming brighter as the night goes on and present their maximum brightness at about midnight. The very serious "International Atlas of clouds "indicates that they may be driven by the powerful air currents prevailing in these altitudes, at speeds of 50 to 250 meters per second, or 180 to 900 kms. Let's recall in our turn that it only takes a small cumulus, although classic, but hidden in the night, so that the "saucer" vanishes and reappears.
- But, protesting the "pro-saucerists" you still have demolished only simplistic and disappointing sightings with this argument. They can rest assured there are other answers, more varied and also safe, to the most amazing events.
Barrels, discs, pots, headlights and flying balls are on the verge of dethroning the saucers and other cigars.
The time is gone, by far, when an ordinary "saucer" crossed the blue sky at high pace and disappeared over the horizon leaving a bluish trail. Since then, there were "cigars" which, together with their shape, generally took shimmering colors allowing witnesses not be wrong.
All this is outdated, if we judge by the recent observations made in France by people whose good faith may not be in doubt. The mysterious craft that arouse so much controversies and are poised to discord in many families between those who believe and those who disbelieve it, now take extremely varied and pleasing forms. As to colors, they turn from red to yellow through orange to any possible colors and halftones. Thus we have seen over the last twenty-four hours in the sky of France, several discs, a large headlight, a big ball, a pot, a crescent, and a barrel, a big star, not to mention the "saucers" and other "cigars" whose enumeration would be too long.
The disks attracted the attention both of a Le Havre taxi driver, over Deauville, and a Lyon journalist south of the Basilica of Fourvière. In both cases, they were red-orange colored and shiny. They disappeared after ten minutes. The big headlight was moving over Aurec-sur-Loire (Haute-Loire) at high speed by issuing a orange-red light beam also. "When it disappeared", witnesses, Mr. and Mrs. Teyssier, of Saint-Etienne, said, "a second craft, similar to the first and appearing to follow it disappeared in the same direction."
In Epinac-les-Mines (Saône-et-Loire), drivers, puzzled, stopped at the roadside to follow the slow and graceful maneuvers of a big ball of light whose color, unfortunately, is not specified.
The pot and the crescent troubled the tranquility of many northerners. The first, in Ablain-Saint-Nazaire, turned on itself and freed a reddish glow. The second, in the sky of Lievin, hovered for a few minutes before splitting in two. That is when the upper part was standing still as the other landed in a field between two haystacks, then suddenly flew to join again the part remained in the air!...
It was night in Montecreau-Villebois-Lavalette (Charente) when Mr. Jean Allary, 22, saw by the light of the headlight of his motorcycle, a kind of 1.80-meters-high barrel and nails of golden nails! It swung on the roadside and fled when the witness approached. The next day, at the place indicated by Mr. Allary, witnesses spotted traces of about seven meters in length in the grass by the roadside.
It is the Clermont-Ferrand residents who, today, had the last word with the big star changing from the white to green and yellow to red, which, driven by a rotary movement, left behind an orange plume Monday night at 7 p.m. in the sky of Clermont-Ferrand.
These celestial phenomena result, we have said it, in heated controversy. Thus a Professor of the University of Bonn, Joseph Meurès, said during a conference: "The book by American author Key Hoc [sic, Keyhoe] on flying saucers is not even worth the paper on which it is printed." Mr. Duneau Fletcher, vice president of the Astronomical Association of Kenya has another opinion: "The existence of saucers" is not to question, he believes, very experienced observers have seen them across the globe. And Mr. Fletcher gives his little idea on the question: "Visitors from another world observe the Earth and probably map it."
These scholarly remarks do not prevent pranksters have fun with it at the expense of their fellow citizens. The police came and ended the hobby of a pensioner of Beuvry-les-Bethune who made gears three meters in diameter with sheets of paper very carefully glued and fitted at their base of a small receptacle containing a clump of tow soaked with a flammable liquid. Once he set fire to the tow, the "saucer" was in the sky and disappeared with the wind with yellow, orange and red lights. Alas! the truth was discovered when a gear began to set fire to a haystack...
[Ref. lcx1:] NEWSPAPER "LA CROIX":
|
Sunday evening, around 9:30 p.m., in Ablain-Saint-Nazaire, a craft with the shape of a pot and spinning was seen in the sky by two people. It gave off a reddish glow and moved quickly.
At the same time, a craft which, this time, had the shape of a crescent, was noticed in the sky, in Liévin. After hovering for a few minutes, the crescent split in two. The upper part remained motionless, while the other landed in a field, between two haystacks. Soon after, it flew away to go reattach the stay-in-air part.
Also on Sunday evening, around 11:15 p.m., on the road to Monmoreau-Villebois-Lavalette (Charente), Mr. Jean Allary, 22, saw very clearly, in the light from the headlight of his moped, a sort of barrel about 1.80 m. high, studded with golden nails, which dangled on the side of the road. When Mr. Allary had passed the mysterious craft, he looked back, at a distance of about 10 meters, but saw nothing.
Between Annoeuillin and Provins, near Lille, around one hundred people saw "flying crescents" in the sky.
A miner from Annoeuillin, Mr. Gaston Lecoeuvre, had alerted the customers of a cafe, telling them that he had just seen a crescent-shaped luminous machine, about 3 meters high, land in his garden. When consumers left the cafe, the "flying croissant" was flying through the sky with two other similar craft.
Soon a hundred people, both in Annoeuillin and in Provins and in the neighboring villages, were gazing at the three objects which only disappeared after twenty-five minutes. The gendarmerie brigades of the region have already collected numerous testimonies.
Saucers, cigars, discs, balls and other "flying" objects were seen in Chancelade (Haute-Vienne), Willer (Haut-Rhin), Gouesnach, near Quimper-Beautignecourt, Ambazac (Haute-Vienne), Dijon, Marcoing, near Cambrai, Pommier (Indre), Rouen, Ajaccio, La Rochelle, Quimper, Cholet, Valves.
A retired miner from Beuvry-lès-Béthune (Pas-de-Calais), known in his town as a joker, did not miss the opportunity offered by the mystery of the flying saucers to have fun at the expense of neighboring localities.
Inspired by the hot-air balloon system, the happy retiree made devices that reached 3 meters in diameter. The envelope was made up of sheets of strong gray paper, carefully glued. At the base of the "saucer" was a small receptacle in which rested a tuft of tow soaked in a flammable liquid. It was then enough to ignite the tow to see the machine rise and disappear with the winds, surrounded by yellowish and orange reflections.
It was following the discovery, near a stack of straw, of one of these devices, which had almost set fire to it, that the gendarmes were led to suspect the pensioner.
One was actually to discover at the latter's many models of "flying saucers" prototypes that their inventor was preparing to launch in the northern sky.
The hoaxer claimed he had already built and launched over a thousand of these devices. The ex-miner will undoubtedly be condemned to tickets for dangerous amusement.
[Ref. ads1:] NEWSPAPER "L'ARDENNAIS":
Saucers, cigars, barrels, discs, pots, crescents and other objects continue their dance in the sky.
It even seems that for a few hours, this luminous carrousel intensified, unless the French, worried about the extent taken for some time in their newspaper by "the saucers chronicle" began to scrutinize feverishly the sky in order to finally see one of the mysterious machines one talks about so much.
Here is a new list of the latest public events of the "Uranids" and their extraordinary nacelles.
LE HAVRE. -- Mr. André Lefèbre, cab driver, who was stationed Monday evening, around 8 p.m., on the harbor, saw an incandescent disk which, west of Deauville, rose in the sky, leaving behind a phosphorescent trail and a slight smoke. This phenomenon, which was visible for ten minutes, was also witnessed by several sailors returning to their boat.
LYON. -- A Lyon journalist claimed to have observed with a binocular, above the St Foy hill, south of the Fourvière basilica, an orange red light disc.
This was followed by other shiny, smaller discs. The phenomenon lasted about 20 minutes.
NANCY. -- Thirty people claimed to have seen a luminous disc of green color descending on the village of Benestroff between Vergaville and Kerprich (Moselle) on Sunday evening.
(Read more on page 5)
(Continued from page 1)
Several witnesses drove by motorcycle to the alleged landing site of the craft, but when they arrived, the craft had resumed altitude and disappeared.
A few hours later, a disc of the same color was observed over the same region. A circular craft had been seen the day before at the same hour.
Saucers, cigars, discs, balls and other "flying" objects were seen at Chancelade (Haute-Vienne), Willer (Haut-Rhin), Gouesnach, near Quimper, Beutignecourt, Ambazac (Haute-Vienne), Dijon, Marcoing near Cambrais, Pommier (Indre), Rouen, Ajaccio, la Rochelle, Quimper, Cholet and Vannes.
LE PUY. -- Mr. and Mrs. Teyssier, of Saint-Etienne, who camped at Aurec-sur-Loire (Haute-Loire), saw in the sky a luminous object giving the impression of a large headlight which moved at a rapid pace at about 2000 meters of altitude.
The craft emitted an orange-red light beam and followed a north-south trajectory. When it had disappeared, a second craft similar to the first and seeming to follow it appeared, followed the same direction and also disappeared.
At about the same time, several people saw similar apparatuses flying over the Aurec steeple which, after stopping for a moment, crossed the sky at a brisk pace towards the southwest.
ANGOULEME. -- Sunday evening, around 11:15 p.m., on the road to Montmoreau - Villebois - Lavalette (Charente), Mr. Jean Allary, 22, saw very clearly, in the light of his moped headlight, a kind of barrel about 1 m 80 high, studded with golden nails, which swayed on the edge of the road.
When Mr. Allary had passed the mysterious craft, he looked back, at a distance of about 10 meters, but saw nothing.
Witnesses saw Monday afternoon at the exact spot indicated by Mr. Allary, traces of about seven meters in length in the grass that borders the road.
LYON. -- Several people reported seeing a kind of large luminous ball in the Epinac-les-Mines (Saône-et-Loire) region moving in a weird way in the sky.
A similar phenomenon has been observed in the Ain and in the north of the Rhône department, at the Col des Echarmaux, as well as in the Isère, near Morestel.
Should the witnesses who reported all these things be held to be sincere? It is hard to say. But in general, let us welcome their statements with a lot of reservations. Many mystifications have already been discovered, mystifications that will also cause some trouble to their authors. One does not joke with the saucers with impunity.
LILLE. -- A retired miner from Beuvry-les-Bethune, known in his community as a joker, did not miss the opportunity offered to him by flying saucers, for to have fun at the expense of people in nearby communities.
Inspired by the hot-air balloon system, the happy retiree made craft that was three meters in diameter. The envelope was made up of sheets of gray paper that had been carefully glued. At the base of the "saucer" was a small receptacle in which rested a tuft if rags soaked in a flammable liquid. It was enough then to ignite the tow to see the craft rise and disappear with the winds, surrounded by yellowish and orange reflections.
It was the discovery near a straw stack to which one of these machines had almost set fire, that the gendarmes were brought to suspect the retiree. One also found many models of "flying saucers" prototypes that their inventor was preparing to launch in the northern sky.
The hoaxer claimed that he had already built and launched more than a thousand of these machines. The ex-miner will probably be sentenced to a fine for dangerous amusement.
Melun. -- Roadmenders who worked along the Coulommiers-Meaux road, said they had noticed, several days ago, around 5 p.m., in a field not far from the aerodrome of Voisins, Maisoncelles commune, a flying saucer resting on three crutches.
One of them, Mr. Goujon, even said that 150 meters from the machine, he had been paralyzed by an electric beam while the saucer rose slowly in the sky to disappear. The roadmender, who had provided the journalists with all the details, had also shown to various witnesses the traces left by the crutches of the saucer.
The Coulommiers gendarmerie decided to question the witnesses. Many retreated immediately stating that they had bad eyesight, that they were not very sure of what they had seen, or even that they had not seen anything at all. But the principal concerned, Mr. Goujon, remained very firm in his statements.
So the gendarmes took him there, in the presence of several Parisian scientific personalities. The holes left by the saucer were photographed; they had been dug out by the hand of the roadmender, whose fingerprints the earth had kept.
The roadmender admitted to having made up this strange story from scratch. He was brought before the judge of Coulommiers.
[Ref. ppe1:] NEWSPAPER "PARIS-PRESSE":
|
AFTER the saucers, cigars, spheres, pots, here is the flying barrel. It was in the Charente that it was "seen" by a motorcyclist, Mr. Jean Allary. It was "studded with golden nails" and was swinging by the side of the road.
In Annoeullin, near Lille, a worker who was smoking a cigar (a real one) in his garden, saw a luminous object in the shape of a crescent landing twenty meters from him. At his shouts, ten billiards players came running from a nearby cafe; the saucer had taken off, but a dozen "luminous dots" were moving above them.
Saucers, cigars, discs, balls and other "flying" objects were spotted in Chancelade (Haute-Vienne), Willer (Haut-Rhin), Gouesnach, near Quimper, Bautignecourt, Ambazac (Haute-Vienne), Dijon, Marcoing, near Cambrai, Pommier (Indre), Rouen, Ajaccio, La Rochelle, Quimper, Cholet, Vannes, Lyon et Le Havre. A la Combe-au-Chèvres, in the Haut Jura, also, but it was just a rain gauge.
[Ref. nnm1:] NEWSPAPER "LE NOUVEAU NORD MARITIME":
|
The craft that we used to call flying saucers have not stopped flying in the skies, during the last twenty-four hours. We saw them everywhere and in all shapes: saucers, cigars, discs and balls, spinning tops, pots, etc ... There were red ones, green and orange ones, luminous and matt, static and others who streaked like stars.
There are many testimonies. If you put together a list of all those who have been reported for three or four years, a twelve-page journal would be insufficient to contain it.
Of course, many "visionaries" have retracted - the pranksters. Others may have been deceived by weather balloons, helicopters, planes, meteors or atmospheric phenomena. But the others?
Well for others and for those who have seen nothing, the mystery remains. Whether they come from Mars or Venus - which is doubtful - whether they are a secret weapon, developed by a foreign power, flying saucers exist.
And we would like to know why they come to taunt us like this...
Lille. 5 - Sunday evening, many inhabitants of the Lille region saw one or more flying saucers flying in the sky.
In Annoeuillin, Mr. Gaston Lecoeuvre, a miner, saw one land in a garden. It had the shape of a dome, three meters high, surmounted by a small dome. The object is said to have disappeared while Mr. Lecoeuvre was looking for neighbors.
In Marcoing, all the gendarmes of the brigade saw two balls of fire, at 500 or 600 meters of altitude, sometimes motionless and sometimes moving vertically. Suddenly they took the form of cigars, then tops, before disappearing.
At La Chapelle d'Armentières, several people saw a golden half-moon marked in its center by a greenish bar.
Near Abbeville, two young men, trustworthy, one adds, saw a kind of hive placed on the road. A creature dressed in a diving suit, small in size, hid at their approach, behind the craft which disappeared.
Angoulême, 5. - Sunday evening, around 11:15 p.m., on the road to Montmerceau Villebois-Lavalette (Charente), Mr. Jean Allary, 22, saw clearly, in the light of the headlight of his moped, a kind of barrel about 1 m 80 high, studded with golden nails swaying on the side of the road. When Mr. Allary had passed the mysterious object, he looked back at about 10 meters away, but saw nothing anymore.
Witnesses saw, yesterday afternoon, at the very place indicated by Mr. Allary, traces of about 7 meters in length in the grass which borders the road.
Read on the other hand: a Dunkirk resident claims to have seen a saucer above Bray-Dunes.
[Ref. cdn1:] NEWSPAPER "LA CROIX DU NORD":
|
The partial explanation we gave yesterday of "flying cigars" did not stop the round of "saucers". Almost everywhere, mysterious craft still caught the eyes of witnesses who all say they did not dream.
The most extraordinary adventure of the day occurred Tuesday, at 4 a.m., to Mr. Pierre Lucas, a baker from Loctudy, in the Finistère.
Mr. Lucas was busy fetching water from the bakery courtyard when he suddenly saw a craft in the shape of a 2 m 50 to 3 m diameter saucer during the night. He saw an individual about 1 m 20 tall come out of it, who approached and tapped him on the shoulder (no doubt, by hoisting himself on tiptoe), articulating unintelligible words. The worker baker managed to keep his cool and returned 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 the latter could come down, the stranger had disappeared, as well as his saucer, of which no trace was found.
The "Martians" also seem to want to visit Italy. A fisherman from Roverbella, in the province of Mantua, said he was approached, still on the night of Tuesday to Wednesday, by a "mysterious individual", dressed in red, who allegedly told "unintelligible words" to him, and quickly went away, before the fisherman had time to call his wife.
In Mantua, moreover, traffic was interrupted for more than an hour 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 rapid moves, the craft, of spherical shape - and which, according to certain witnesses, was part of "a formation of flying saucers" - remained motionless in the sky for a while, before disappearing on the horizon.
"Saucers" also in the sky of the Massif Central. Tuesday afternoon, a "mysterious craft" was seen 10 km from Beaumont, moving east. 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 nailed to the spot. At that time there was a smell of nitro-benzine. Soon the craft moved away. The discomfort ceased and the "saucer" disappeared.
Another saucer was seen above the Chanturgue hill, near Clermont. It moved vertically and was bright white.
"According to all the available information, the occupants of the saucers draw the map of the entire surface of the earth" said for his part, most seriously in the world, Mr. Fletcher, vice-president of the astronomers of Kenya.
"Visitors from another world are observing the earth. They have recently turned their attention to East Africa. The most encouraging feature of the case is that unidentified flying objects do not appear to be piloted by beings with hostile intentions towards the inhabitants of our planet", Mr. Fletcherestimates, formulating his hypothesis following the deluge of information provided by many Europeans, Asians and Africans established in Kenya, and refusing to believe that all these "witnesses" are victims of hallucination.
Among these "witnesses", a Frenchman, Mr. Jean Allary, farmer in the Charente.
Sunday evening, getting home, around 11:15 p.m., while riding a moped on the Departmental Road 16, he suddenly saw in the beam of his headlight a strange craft on the roadside. He was afraid and did not stop. When he looked back ten meters away, he saw nothing. It was a barrel about 1.50 m. in diameter and 1.50 m. in height, which, he said, swayed as if it had been mounted on a [??]. The barrel was brown in color, studded with yellow "nails" that shone in the light.
After the "saucer" and the "cigar", here is the "flying barrel". In the "other world", one seems to appreciate this drink that we call "wine" on earth. Perhaps an astute "Martian" took advantage of the harvest to come to our planet to "fill up" with an adequate machine...
Maybe... But there are better things in "Martian" squadrons than barrels...
A Concarneau beer merchant, claims to have seen on his side, in the sky, two luminous discs "in the form of round tables prolonged 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.
In Saint-Brieuc, several residents saw 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.
Near La Rochelle, also, ten "luminous objects" moving at a very high speed, were spotted. Mr. and Mrs. Guillemoteau even saw, about a meter from the ground, just in front of their farm, a "spherical saucer" which could measure from 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 climbed 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.
[Ref. rdr1:] "RADAR" MAGAZINE:
|
I was riding a moped between Montmoreau and Juillaguet. Moderate pace, my bike is brand new, it's at most if I was going at 30 an hour. Me, you know, until then, the saucers made me rather shrug my shoulders. And now on he roadside, to the right, in the glow of my headlight, at the place (x) where you see me, what do I see? Ah! You can believe me, I didn't have a dry hair. I see a kind of big tube quivering on the spot. It seemed to be resting on one foot, one paw, what do I know? Diameter: 1m. at most; height: 1 m. 80. Color: impossible to define. Outside the radius of my headlight, it could not be seen. But suddenly, I felt all funny. It looked like wet ants were crawling over my skin. I started shaking like a leaf. I definitely felt that if I continued to stay there, I might never be able to leave again. So, I forgot that my bike was in break-in. I put full throttle. I fled without looking back. Well! Since then, incredible as it seems, I constantly feel electrified.
[Photo caption:] Allary shouts: "I'm shaking! I have palpitations. I wake up sweating at night. Ah! I don't wish anyone to encounter the Martians' tube."
[Ref. aml1:] AIME MICHEL:
Aimé Michel reports that on October 3, 1954, towards 22:45, Jean Allary, 23 years, had left Montmoreau on his auto-cycle and rolled on the secondary road 16 of Charente towards Villebois-Lavalette.
Before arriving at Ronsenac, it saw in the light of its headlight a circular object who moved gently on the edge of the road, by not spreading any light, but with small brilliant points "similar to gilded nails" who were however visible.
The object had a height of 1 m 20 and seemed to slip on grass. The witness was impressed too much to stop and could not see, when he passed by, if it touched the ground or not. The witness looked back at it after passing by and saw it taking off quickly while becoming luminous.
The witness told his story and on the next day, several people came with him on the premises. They noted there that the grass of the roadside was flattened and somewhat torn off over a seven meters length.
[Ref. gqy1:] GUY QUINCY:
October 3 [, 1954]
[... other cases...]
11:15 p.m.: Ronsenac (4 km W.Villebois-Lavalette): circular craft takeoff
[... other cases...]
[Ref. gqy2:] GUY QUINCY:
October 3, 1954: Ronsenac (on Déptale.16, at 4 km ISL in the W.of Villebois-Lavalette--Charente) Jean Allary (take off dark circul.craft, with "small brilliant dots")
[Ref. rhl1:] RICHARD HALL - NICAP:
| Date | Location | Physiological | Physical | Traces | Description | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10/3/1954 | Ronsenac, France | X | Grass flattened | [79] |
[Ref. jve5:] JACQUES VALLEE:
| 226 | -000.77661 | 46.50840 | 03 | 10 | 1954 | 22 | 45 | 101 | RONSENAC -CHARENTE | F | 001122 | C | 220 |
[Ref. jve1:] JACQUES VALLEE:
|
October 3, 1954, 10:45 p.p., Ronsenac (France):
A circular craft was seen by Jean Allary between Montmoreau and Villebois-Lavalette. It seemed to be gliding on the ground. It showed luminous spots and became completely illuminated when it took off. It was about 1.20 m high. Grass was found flattened and scorched over an area 7 m across. (Combat, la Croix, France-Soir, le Figaro, Paris-Presse, Oct. 6, 1954).
Note: in the 1972 version, the sources are only noted as "P. 36, M. 130".
[Ref. jve2:] JACQUES VALLEE:
|
186) October 3, 1954, 10:45 p.m., Ronsenac (France):
A circular craft was seen by Jean Allary between Montmoreau and Villebois-Lavalette. It seemed to be gliding on the ground. It showed luminous spots and became completely illuminated when it took off. It was about 1.20 m high. Grass was found flattened and scorched over an area 7 m across. (P 36, M 130).
[Ref. ldl1:] UFOLOGY MAGAZINE "LUMIERES DANS LA NUIT":
In a list of cases that the magazine called for investigation or re-investigation, there was:
186 10/3/54 Ronsenac
[Ref. tps1:] TED PHILLIPS:
|
Oct 03, 1954
073 2300
FRANCE, Ronsenac. Jean Allary reported seeing a disc-shaped object moving along the ground. It glowed brightly as it ascended. Grass was dpressed and burned in an area 25 ft. wide. (Vallee III)
[Ref. jve3:] JACQUES VALLEE:
The author indicates that on October 3, 1954, between Montmoreau and Villebois-Lavalette, close to the village of Ronsenac, a circular apparatus was seen, which seemed to slide on the ground. It showed some sources of light but was not completely illuminated. When it flew away, however, it became entirely luminous.
[Ref. jve7:] JACQUES VALLEE - "HISTORIA" MAGAZINE:
|
A circular craft was seen by Mr. Jean Allary, age 22, while riding a motorcycle between Montmoreau and Villebois Lavalette, France. It seemed to be gliding over the ground. It showed luminous spots and became completely illuminated when it took off. It was about 1.2 meters high. Grass was found flattened and scorched over an area seven meters across.
[Ref. prn1:] PETER ROGERSON - "INTCAT":
|
361 3 October 1954. 2245 hrs
RONSENAC {FRANCE) A circular craft was seen by Jean Allary (23) between Montmoreau & Villebois-Lavalette. It seemed to be gliding on the ground. It showed luminous spots and became completely luminous when it took off. It was about 1.2m high. Grass was found flattened and scorched over a area 7m across. (M186; Combat, France-Soir, Paris Presse, 6 Oct 1954; Michel II, 130)
[Ref. gab1:] UFOLOGY GROUP "G.A.B.R.I.E.L.":
|
The "Structured Cigars"
[... other cases...]
No 5. 10/03/1954 Rosenac [sic] (Charente) 10:45 p.m.; length 1,80m.
[Ref. fru1:] MICHEL FIGUET AND JEAN-LOUIS RUCHON:
The two authors indicate that on October 3, 1954 at 10:45 p.m., Jean Allary was driving on his motorcycle on the secondary road D16 between Montmoreau and Villebois-Lavalette, close to Ronsenac, in the Charente. He saw very clearly in the gleam of his headlight a barrel of one meter in diameter, high of approximately 1 meter 40, covered of gilded nails, which oscillated as if it were mounted on a pivot. It was posed on the edge of the road. When the witness had passed by the mysterious machine, he looked back from a short distance but there was nothing to see anymore.
Seven meters traces could be noted little afterwards at the place indicated by the witness.
The authors indicate that the sources are the Vallée catalogue and a press article.
[Ref. tps2:] TED PHILIPPS:
October 3, 1954, Montmoreau, France 10:50 p.m.: multiple witnesses, oval object, traces.
[Ref. gep1:] UFOLOGY GROUP "GEPO":
| 10/03/54 | (22.45) | Ronsenac | C | 100A1 7m |
[Ref. via1:] UFOLOGY BULLETIN "VIMANA 21":
|
WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 6: MYSTERIOUS CRAFT IN ANGOULEME -
Sunday evening, around 11:15 p.m., Montmoreau road, Mr. Jean Allary, 22 years old, saw very clearly a kind of barrel high of about 1m80, studded with golden nails, which swayed on the edge of the road. When Mr. Allary had passed the mysterious craft, he looked back from a distance of about 10 meters, but saw nothing. Witnesses saw, at the place indicated by Mr. Allary, traces of about 7m in length in the grass bordering the road.
The source is said to be the newspaper Le Bien Public.
[Ref. cck1:] GILBERT CORNU AND HENRI CHALOUPEK:
The authors indicate that on October 3, 1954, at 10:45 p.m., close to Ronsenac in the Charente, a 22 years old single witness who circulated on a motorcycle had distinguished with the gleam from his headlight a "barrel with gilded nails" of approximately 1.40 meters in height which seemed posed at the edge of the road. Surprised, he looked back as soon as he had exceeded it to observe it again, but all had disappeared.
The authors indicate that the sources are the Vallée Catalogue, case 186, and numerous newspapers of the times.
[Ref. mft1:] MICHEL FIGUET:
This ufologist noted:
| CASE Nr | CLASSIFICATION | DATE | HOUR | PLACE | ZIP CODE | CREDIBILITY SOURCE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 124 | CE2 | 03 10 1954 | 22.45 | Ronsenac | 16320 04 | NI [=Not indentified]-RS[=Sparse information] OVNI: p. 114 |
[Ref. lgs1:] LOREN GROSS:
Ronsenac, France. (10:45 p.m.)
Flatten and scorched grass.
Ground traces highlight the next case that took place at Ronsenac where the witness was 23-year-old Jean Allary. He spotted a big circular object some 3-4 feet thick gliding on the ground. As the object glided along, a number of luminous spots were visible on its surface, but when the thing rose and flew away the entire object became luminous. An area of grass about 6 yards wide was found flattened and scorched. 34.
[Ref. mdt1:] MICHEL DORIER AND JEAN-PIERRE TROADEC:
The authors indicate that this object was seen on October 3, 1954 in "Rosenac" [sic] in Charente, that it was of the "structured cigar" type and was 1.80 meters long:
|
They indicate that the sketch is by Jean Giraud.
[Ref. cir1:] "THE CIRCULAR":
|
3. 1954, St. Soupplets
Similar to the Premanon account, but some days later, a woman and her son heard strange noises outside their house on the night of October 2nd. They witnessed a red light in the garden, hovering above their vegetable patch, in which spinach were growing. They reported that the light soared away into the sky.
On the morning of October 3rd, they discovered that in the spinach patch was a circle, consisting of 3m of flattened plants. A window in the building had also been broken in the process.
This case was reported extensively by Terence Meaden (eg in Circles Effects and its Mysteries, page 52), who interpreted it as evidence for his plasma vortex hypothesis.
[Ref. jsr1:] JEAN SIDER:
The author indicates that in the evening of October 3, 1954 in Ronsenac in the Charente, Jean Allary, aged 22 at the time, drives a motorcycle on the D16 road between Montmoreau and Villebois-Lavalette. In the light of its headlight, it sees a "barrel covered of gilded nails" posed at the edge of the road. After he passed by, he looked back and there was nothing any more. Traces of 7 meters were found on the spot.
Jean Sider indicates that the source is Figuet page 114, and adds that according to "Radar" #298, page 3, who sent a reporter on the spot to question the witnesses, Mr. Allary would have recorded swarming, tremors, palpitations and sweats in his sleep following the observation. Jean Sider suggests that as the craft had disappeared, the witness was perhaps abducted.
[Ref. lhh1:] LARRY HATCH - "*U* COMPUTER DATABASE":
3955: 1954/10/03 22:50 2 0:14:00 E 45:29:00 N 3333 WEU FRN CHN 7:8
RONSENAC,FR:1.8M BARREL TILTS/ROAD:LEFT/SECONDS:7M TRACE/FLATTENED GRASS:/r8N°186
RefN°194 LUMIERES dans la NUIT.(LDLN France) IssueNo. 319 : LANDFARM
[Ref. goe1:] GODELIEVE VAN OVERMEIRE:
Godelieve van Overmeire indicates that in 1954, on October 3 in Ronsenac in France, a circular craft was seen at 22:45 by Jean Allary between Montmoreau and Villebois-Lavalette. It seemed to slip on the ground. Brilliant dots were seen there and it was completely illuminated when it took off. It was approximately 1,20 m high. At this place crushed and burned grass was found on a 7 m length.
Godelieve van Overmeire gives as sources Combat, La Croix, France-Soir, le Figaro, Paris-Presse, Oct. 6, 1954; and Jacques Vallée: "Chronique des apparitions ET" - Denoël 1972 - J'Ai Lu Coll. - p. 266.
[Ref. tps3:] TED PHILLIPS:
Ted Phillips listed the case as a "top" case in his "preliminary list of top cases":
Report 10/3/54 Montmoreau, France 2250: multiple witness, oval object, traces.
[Ref. twn1:] TERRY WILSON:
4. 1954, Ronsenac
On the same day as the St. Soupplets case, a 7m swirled circle was found in grass. The plants were scorched besides being flattened.
[Ref. djn1:] DONALD JOHNSON:
Donald Johnson indicates that on October 3, 1954, at 10:45 p.m. a circular craft was seen by Mr. Jean Allary, age 22, while riding a motorcycle between Montmoreau and Villebois Lavalette, France. It seemed to be gliding over the ground. It showed luminous spots and became completely illuminated when it took off. It was about 1.2 meters high. Grass was found flattened and scorched over an area seven meters across.
Donald Johnson indicates that the sources are "Aime Michel, Flying Saucers and the Straight Line Mystery, p. 130; Jacques Vallee, Passport to Magonia: A Century of Landings, p. 216; Michel Figeut [sic] and Jean-Louis Ruchon, OVNI: Le premier dossier complet des rencontres rapprochees en France, p. 114."
[Ref. amr1:] ANDREAS MULLER:
Andreas Müller indicates that in Ronsenac, France, there was "A single circle approx 25' dia. with evidence of burning."
The "Date created" and "Date reported" are noted 3rd Oct 1954, the "Crop type" is noted as "grass". No source is given.
[Ref. amo1:] ANNE MORO:
Anne Moro indicates in English that in "Rosenac" [sic] in France, on October 3, 1954, "a single circle of flattened and partially burned grass was fund [sic]", "Data II" and "Circle: 7 m diameter".
Anne Moro indicates that the source is the database by Andréas Müller "ICCA-The international Crop Circle Archive".
Elsewhere she indicates:
| 1954 | October 3 | 16 POITOU-CHARENTES DEP: CHARENTE |
Ronsenac | A circle of 7 m in diameter. Single circle of flattened grass partially burned |
A scan of an English text says:
4. 1954, Ronsenac
On the same day as the St. Soupplets case, a 7m swirled circle was found in grass. The plants were scorched besides being flattened.
This is said to be a translation of "the data of Andréas Müller compared to the magazine 'The Circular' #41 - Spring 2001."
[Ref. jbu1:] JEROME BEAU:
Jerome Beau indicates that on Sunday October 3, 1954, at 22:45 in Ronsenac (France), "1 circular machine is seen by Jean Allary, between Montmoreau and Villebois-Lavalette. It seems to slip on the ground, brilliant dots are seen there and it illuminates completely when he takes off. It is approximately 1,20 m high. At this place crushed and burnt grass is found on a 7 m length."
Jérôme Beau indicates that the sources are Combat, La Croix, France-Soir, le Figaro, Paris-Presse, October 6, 1954.
[Ref. lcn1:] LUC CHASTAN:
Luc Chastan indicates that in the Charente in Ronsenac on October 3, 1954 at 22:45, the witness drives by motor-cycle on the D16 between Montmoreau and Villebois-Lavalette, close to Ronsenac; he very clearly sees in the gleam of his motor-cycle headlight a barrel, one meter in diameter, approximately 1 m 40 high, covered of gilded nails, which oscillated as if it were mounted on a pivot which is posed on the edge of the road. When the witness had passed by the mysterious craft, he looked back at a short distance but does not see anything anymore. Traces of seven meters were noted little afterwards at the place indicated by the witness.
Luc Chastan indicates that the source is "Ovni, Premier dossier complet... by Figuet M./ Ruchon J.L. ** Alain Lefeuvre pub. 1979".
[Ref. rin1] "RIGOROUS INTUITION" BLOG:
[... Other cases ...]
October 3: [...] Shortly after noon, a man saw a circular craft between the towns of Montmoreau and Villebois-Lavalette. It seemed to be gliding on or near the ground, had luminous spots, and became illuminated when it took off. The man found flattened and scorched grass over an area 25-feet across.
[... Other cases ...]
[Ref. uda1:] "UFODNA" WEBSITE:
The website indicates that on 3 October 1954 at 12:45 in Ronsenac, France, a circular craft, "1.20 meters high, glided across the ground. Explanation: Planet."
The website adds: "A circular craft was seen by Jean Allary between Montmoreau and Villebois-Lavalette. It seemed to be gliding on the ground. It showed luminous spots and became completely illuminated when it took off. It was about 1.20 meters high. Grass was found flattened and scorched over an area seven meters across."
And: "An object was sighted that had an appearance and performance beyond the capability of known earthly aircraft. One luminous ball, about 5 feet across, was observed by two male witnesses, typical age 23, on a farm for over one minute."
The sources are indicated as "Michel, Aime, Flying Saucers and the Straight-Line Mystery, S. G. Phillips, New York, 1958; Bowen, Charles, The Humanoids: FSR Special Edition No. 1, FSR, London, 1966; Lore, Jr., Gordon I. R., Strange Effects from UFOs, NICAP, Washington, 1969; Vallee, Jacques, Computerized Catalog (N = 3073); Vallee, Jacques, Challenge to Science: The UFO Enigma, Henry Regnery, Chicago, 1966; Vallee, Jacques, Preliminary Catalog (N = 500), (in JVallee01); Vallee, Jacques, A Century of Landings (N = 923), (in JVallee04), Chicago, 1969; Schoenherr, Luis, Computerized Catalog (N = 3173); Hall, Richard H. The UFO Evidence, NICAP, Washington, 1964; Phillips, Ted R., Ted Phillips investigation files; Phillips, Ted R., Physical Traces Associated with UFO Sightings, CUFOS, Chicago, 1975; Newspaper Clippings; Hatch, Larry, *U* computer database, Author, Redwood City, 2002."
[Ref. djn2:] DONALD JONHSON:
Donald Johnson says that on October 3, 1954, at 10:45 p.m. a small circular craft was seen rising from the roadside by Mr. Jean Allary, age 22, while riding a motorcycle between Montmoreau and Villebois Lavalette, Charente, France. It seemed to be gliding over the ground. It showed luminous spots and became completely illuminated when it took off. It stood about 1.2 meters high. Grass was found flattened and scorched over an area seven meters across.
The sources are listed as "Michel, Aime, Flying Saucers and the Straight Line Mystery, p. 130; Jacques Vallee, Passport to Magonia: A Century of Landings, p. 216; Michel Figuet & Jean-Louis Ruchon, OVNI: Le Premier Dossier Complet des Rencontres Rapprochees en France, p. 114)."
[Ref. fae1:] "FEDERATION A.I.R.P.L.A.N.E":
October 03, 1954, at 10:45 p.m., in Ronsenac, in the Charente, a circular machine was seen by Jean Allary, between Montmoreau and Villebois-Lavalette. It seemed to slip on the ground, and was illuminated completely when it took off. It measured approximately 1,20m top. At this place, one found crushed grass that turned light-brown over a 7 meters length.
[Ref. ooi1:] "OVNI 61" BLOG:
October 03, 1954, at 10:45 p.m., in Ronsenac, in the Charente, a circular machine was seen by Jean Allary, between Montmoreau and Villebois-Lavalette. It seemed to slip on the ground, and was illuminated completely when it took off. It measured approximately 1,20m top. At this place, one found crushed grass that turned light-brown over a 7 meters length.
[Ref. nip1:] "THE NICAP WEBSITE":
*Oct. 3, 1954 - At 10:45 p.m. a circular craft was seen by Mr. Jean Allary, age 22, while riding a motorcycle between Montmoreau and Villebois Lavalette, France. It seemed to be gliding over the ground. It showed luminous spots and became completely illuminated when it took off. It was about 1.2 meters high. Grass was found flattened and scorched over an area seven meters across. (Sources: Aime Michel, Flying Saucers and the Straight Line Mystery, p. 130; Jacques Vallee, Passport to Magonia: A Century of Landings, p. 216, case # 186; Michel Figuet & Jean-Louis Ruchon, OVNI: Le premier dossier complet des rencontres rapprochees en France, p. 114).
[Ref. fam1:] "FRANCOIS AKA JESSE MARCEL":
October 03, 1954, at 10:45 p.m., in Ronsenac, in the Charente, a circular machine was seen by Jean Allary, between Montmoreau and Villebois-Lavalette. It seemed to slip on the ground, and was illuminated completely when it took off. It measured approximately 1,20m top. At this place, one found crushed grass that turned light-brown over a 7 meters length.
[Ref. dcn1] DOMINIQUE CAUDRON:
Dominique Caudron indicates that the catalogue of 800 cases published in 1970 by Maurice Santos, is a good example of what one should not do; he indicates to extract from it the list of the cases of October 3, 1954; which he knows well as he had investigated into these cases of his area of Nord. For each case, below the text of the Santos catalogue, he states what should have been written, and the explanation after analysis, when there is one.
Santos wrote that for this case #551 of landing, there had been on October 3, 1954, in Montmoreau, an Unknown Flying Object on the ground.
Dominique Caudron says that at 11:15 p.m., at the location called Le Maine La Fontaine, 16190 Aignes-and-Puypéroux, a motorcycle rider saw in the gleam of his headlight a kind of brown barrel covered of brilliant nails which oscillated within 1.5 meters of the road. Looking back 10 meters further, he did not see anything anymore.
He notes that it is the only really odd observation of the Santos catalogue for October 3, 1954 in France, but that unfortunately the witness saw the object only a few seconds.
He notes that the numbering of the cases by Santos seemed a good idea, but that it prevents the evolution of the catalogue, whose numbering becomes incoherent at the first update: "For example, this catalogue contains only 10 cases for the area of the Nord, whereas we know 48 of them. How to place the 38 others?"
[Ref. ubk1:] "UFO-DATENBANK":
This database recorded this case 11 times instead of 1 time:
| Case Nr. | New case Nr. | Investigator | Date of observation | Zip | Place of observation | Country of observation | Hour of observation | Classification | Comments | Identification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19541003 | 03.10.1954 | Ronsenac | France | 23.00 | CE II | |||||
| 19541003 | 03.10.1954 | Ronsenac | France | 22.45 | CE II | |||||
| 19541003 | 03.10.1954 | Ronsenac | France | 22.45 | CE II | |||||
| 19541003 | 03.10.1954 | Ronsenac | France | 22.45 | CE II | |||||
| 19541003 | 03.10.1954 | Ronsenac | France | 22.45 | CE II | |||||
| 19541003 | 03.10.1954 | Ronsenac | France | 23.00 | CE II | |||||
| 19541003 | 03.10.1954 | Ronsenac | France | 22.45 | CE II | |||||
| 19541003 | 03.10.1954 | Ronsenac | France | 22.45 | CE II | |||||
| 19541003 | 03.10.1954 | Villebois Lavalette | France | 22.45 | CE II | |||||
| 19541003 | 03.10.1954 | Villebois Lavalette | France | 22.45 | CE II | |||||
| 19541003 | 03.10.1954 | Villebois Lavalette | France | 22.45 | CE II |
[Ref. prn2:] PETER ROGERSON - "INTCAT":
October 3 1954. 2245hrs.
RONSENAC (CHARENTE : FRANCE)
Jean Allary (22) was driving his moped between Montmoreau and Villebois-Lalvalette, when just before Ronsenac his headlight illuminated an object resembling a barrel with nails that glistened in his headlights; which appeared to be swaying just above the ground. According some accounts after he passed it, it took off, becoming completely luminous. It was about 1m high, 1.8m diameter. The next day grass at the site was found flattened and for about 6m, some of it had been pulled out a little.
Michel 1958b p130
Vallee Case 186 citing Combat + France Soir + Paris Presse all of 6 October 1954.
Gross 1954. citing La Charente Libre 5 October 1954.)
Picture published in "France-Dimanche" in 1954. |
|
|
Mr. Allary was returning from the movies in Montmoreau to go to "Chez Rabaud", 37 km away in a straight line. The observation is between Montmoreau and Villebois-Lavalette at a place called "Maine la Fontaine" 100 meters further north than the monument erected in memory of F.F.I. (the French Resistance during WWII).
The place of observation is thus at 45 ° 25 '48.33 North, 0 ° 09' 48.24 East:
|
We are here at 4 km north-east of Montmoreau, and almost 9 km southeast of Ronsenac. The case should therefore be renamed "Montmoreau"; but I keep "Ronsenac" not to mislead readers looking for this case.
There seems to be nothing special in 2019 on the right side of the road there, where the thing stood:
|
The only "ordinary" possibility I can consider would be that Mr. Allary saw fireflies, or reflective berries, on a bush:
|
Fireflies, which have become very rare since in France, sometimes gather on a bush as in the above photo, they would be the "golden nails", the bush would have been the "brown mass". To no longer see them after passing this, it must be considered that the fireflies would have been on one side of the bush only; which is not impossible.
This does not explain the trace, but nothing solid connects it to the visual observation except the location. It has nothing to do with crop circles, invented in 1978 in England by Doug Bower and Dave Chorley to make believe of saucers landings.
(These keywords are only to help queries and are not implying anything.)
Ronsenac, Charente, object, craft, circular, saucer, Jean Allary, Montmoreau, Villebois-Lavalette, landing, traces, luminous, low, fast, motorcycle, road, field
[----] indicates sources that are not yet available to me.
| Version: | Created/Changed by: | Date: | Change Description: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.1 | Patrick Gross | January 31, 2007 | First published. |
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | January 9, 2009 | Conversion from HTML to XHTML Strict. First formal version. Additions [jsr1], [goe1], [lcn1], [jbu1], [uda1]. |
| 1.1 | Patrick Gross | June 9, 2009 | Addition [tps2]. |
| 1.2 | Patrick Gross | January 11, 2010 | Additions [amr1], [amo1]. |
| 1.3 | Patrick Gross | February 28, 2010 | Addition [djn2]. |
| 1.4 | Patrick Gross | June 22, 2010 | Addition [jve5]. |
| 1.5 | Patrick Gross | July 7, 2010 | Addition [rin1]. |
| 1.6 | Patrick Gross | October 19, 2011 | Additions [cir1], [oo3]. |
| 1.6 | Patrick Gross | September 26, 2014 | Additions [jve7], [mdt1], [fae1], [nip1]. |
| 1.7 | Patrick Gross | October 14, 2016 | Addition [dcn1]. |
| 1.8 | Patrick Gross | December 16, 2016 | Additions [lgs1], [ubk1]. |
| 1.9 | Patrick Gross | December 30, 2016 | Addition [prs1]. |
| 2.0 | Patrick Gross | February 10, 2017 | Addition [ler1]. |
| 2.1 | Patrick Gross | June 7, 2019 | Additions [prn1], [mft1], [via1], [lhh1], [prn2], Summary. Explanations changed, were "Not looked for yet. A possibility is that he had seen fireflies, or reflecting berries, on some bush." |
| 2.2 | Patrick Gross | October 2, 2019 | Addition [ads1]. |
| 2.3 | Patrick Gross | January 16, 2020 | Addition [ppe1]. |
| 2.4 | Patrick Gross | February 10, 2020 | Addition [nmm1]. |
| 2.5 | Patrick Gross | February 25, 2020 | Addition [cpd1]. |
| 2.6 | Patrick Gross | April 4, 2020 | Addition [cdn1]. |
| 2.7 | Patrick Gross | January 17, 2021 | Addition [lcx1]. |
| 2.8 | Patrick Gross | April 18, 2022 | Additions [gqy1], [gqy2], [ldl1], [gep1]. |
| 2.9 | Patrick Gross | May 3, 2022 | Addition [tps1]. |
| 3.0 | Patrick Gross | June 2, 2022 | Additions [rdr1], [rhl1]. |
| 3.1 | Patrick Gross | July 15, 2022 | Addition [gab1]. |
