The index page for the 1954 French flap section of this website is here.
Reference for this case: 5-Oct-54-Isles-sur-Suippe.
Please cite this reference in any correspondence with me regarding this case.
On October 10, 1954, the newspaper Le Lorrain reported via his correspondent that a mechanic of the Panhard car factory in Reims, Joseph Roy, 30, claimed to have seen a craft a few meters from the road from Reims to Rethel, on a side path.
In the night from Tuesday to Wednesday, as he was riding a motorcycle, he suddenly saw in front of him a bright, reddish glow that suddenly disappeared. Arrived at the point where he had seen this gleam, he noticed in the fields an odd object, 3 meters long, having the shape of a big shell, pierced with portholes in the front. He also distinguished a vague silhouette. But, frightened, he fled. Three other workers had seen the same glow in the same place.
In the 1970s, ufologists Charles Garreau and Raymond Lavier reported these words of the witness:
"Suddenly, I saw a blinding light appear in front of me, at a very low altitude, which I first took for the headlight of a vehicle, so close to the ground. The light went out and I continued to ride. When I reached the spot where the light had disappeared, I saw in a field near the road a sort of giant shell, about 3 meters in length, its silhouette was dimly lit by kind of luminous portholes, in front of this craft a little dark shape was busy, I did not seek to see it, I literally rushed to the gendarmerie."
They indicated that the gendarmes had immediately arrived on the spot with Joseph Roy, and that they had found inexplicable marks on the soft ground of the field. It was the investigation of the gendarmes that revealed that three other workers who were driving at a few kilometers from there to get to work, had seen a fireball go down to the place where Mr. Roy had located his "craft."
In 1979, "skeptical" ufologists Barthel and Brucker told their version, which, it will be seen, was not quite credible: they date the case of October 7, 1954, around 2 o'clock in the morning; they assured to have met the witness and that he gave them an account that was "incoherent, no longer related to the eport of the time."
But in fact, the case was apparently explained by the newspaper L'Union of Reims after just a few days: English military personal had parked there. This will be stated again by a reader of Science et Vie magazine in 1958, which source Michel Figuet would quote in 1985.
Apparently, the "being" was of normal size and dressed in khaki, and the "craft" was his helicopter.
[Ref. lln2:] "LE LORRAIN" NEWSPAPER:
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PARIS. - The "flying saucers" continue.
They are reported everywhere. And now, they are mingling to stop the engines.
In Le Mans a milk collector, Mr. Alexandre Tremblais, who was riding his truck on the small road near Saint-Jean-d'Assé (the Sarthe), suddenly noticed that the engine of his vehicle stopped and that the headlights extinguished.
M. Tremblais got out of his truck to see a red and blue luminous cigar, one meter long, disappearing on the horizon. A few minutes later, the engine started again and the headlights functioned again.
In Nancy, a true skeptic, Mr. Georges Bou, a 30-year-old driver at Sarrebruk [sic, Sarrebourg], was traveling on National Road 3 between Morsbach and Forbach when he saw a thick wide shadow blocking the road. He stopped, got out of his cabin, thinking of an accident. But he realized that he was stopped by a saucer. It was nine meters in diameter and about four meters high. It was illuminated by several light beams directed towards the ground.
The driver approached the strange device. Suddenly, the latter took off vertically, marked a pause at ten meters, then moved away very quickly.
The gendarmerie Captain Bohler went to the scene today with Mr. Bou. But he could not find any traces.
In the Island of Ré, Mr. Simonnetti said he saw a luminous sphere about 12 meters in diameter, which oscillated about fifty meters from the ground.
The sphere, he said, became red, turned blue and rose very quickly vertically.
Two other residents and two Parisians on vacation have confirmed.
At Duclair (Seine-Inf.), Mr. Landrin, a water attendant who was walking with his wife, was blinded by a light beam. When he opened his eyes, he said, he saw a ball disappear a few minutes later.
- Near Reims, a mechanic of the Panhard factories, Mr. Joseph Roy, 30, saw near the Isles-sur-Suippe a cigar posed on the ground, resembling according to his description to that of Marignane. Witnesses around have confirmed.
At la Montagne-de-Béruges (the Vienne), a farmer, M. Edouard Thébault, observed in his field an enormous luminous machine.
A few minutes later the craft was extinguished and a huge headlight swept the road, and when the witness returned with his father he had fetched, everything had disappeared.
- Several fishermen and the whole family of a fish dealer saw in the sky, in Plozevet (Finistère), a bright glow surrounded by dense smoke. This gleam, at first motionless, came towards them at an altitude of about ten meters. It had the appearance of an orange sphere.
- A whistling machine, gray in color, stood for a moment about 100 meters from Chassevreuil (Indre). The craft went off at a brisk pace, leaving behind it like a fog.
In the same commune, a young man saw a luminous red-orange machine that moved in a north-south direction.
- An aluminum half-spherical dome, illuminated inside, which was about three meters from the road and one meter from the ground, was seen in Jettingen (Haut-Rhin) by Mr. René Ott, an employee of the S.N.C.F. [national railway company]. Frightened, Mr. Ott fled. He had, however, had the time to notice that a door was opening in the apparatus. The latter moved above him for a distance of 800 meters before disappearing. The gendarmes found no trace.
- A silent machine, moving like a spinning top, was seen in Calais, above the municipal theater, by a peacekeeper, a hairdresser, a taxi driver and a butcher. It moved away towards the sea.
- A flying saucer rising noiselessly vertically was seen at Vigneux (Seine-et-Oise) by Mr. Marais yesterday at 9 p.m.. It was luminous and had portholes.
ABBEVILLE. "Another false saucer!" The mysterious craft which broke out in the Picardy sky, and whose debris was scattered in a pasture at Boismont, near Saint-Valery-sur-Somme, was but a balloon.
The inhabitants of the region, fearing the famous "paralyzing" green ray, dared not approach the debris. Only Mr. Raymond Boucher, a sugar worker, had the courage to come and contemplate the saucer. It was more simply a balloon used by the meteorological services of the Royal Air Force which, by touching the ground, had burst noisily.
VIENNA. - Thousands of people saw yesterday a formation of flying saucers above Ried, flying from east to west.
Asked about cars that stop, said:
- saucers or not saucers, it is necessary to consider as true the information that arrives at this moment. With regard to the sudden stop of engines at the passage of these craft, we must admit the presence and action of unknown rays. This does not mean that these rays have an extraterrestrial origin. Do you remember that famous Z ray, which was talked about so much before the last war? During the hostilities, the belligerents further perfected the process. I saw personally, some fifteen years ago, experiments in laboratories where electric rays ignited at distances of a few meters paper or other combustible materials.
[Ref. ppe1:] NEWSPAPER "PARIS-PRESSE":
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"We will have to clear up this matter..." said the gendarmerie commander
(From our special envoy Charles DAUZATS.)
DIJON, October 9.
"SEND the minutes relating to the mysterious traces of the Poncey-sur-l'Ignon phenomenon to Dijon, as a matter of urgency": such is the order sent yesterday by Major Viala to the investigators responsible for clarifying the enigma of the Côte-d'Or "flying bell".
- We need to clear this up, says the commander. Brigade reports will be forwarded to various authorities, the solution may depend on them. If one considers the facts reasonably, if one refers to the testimony of good people who, unfortunately, sin by their imprecision, or who, on the contrary, have formed an opinion after the fact, and mistook bladders from lanterns, we must, indeed, consider three possibilities:
"The first is this: one actually saw objects in the sky, but they could be helicopters. In our region, movements of such craft are not uncommon.
"Second possibility: the flying bell of Poncey, and its traces, are the work of pranksters. This hypothesis, I admit, hardly satisfies me.
"Finally, we must consider the hypothesis of an appearance of an extraterrestrial object."
At the Dijon Weathe stationr, the technicians saw nothing but very normal in the sky during the nights of Saturday and Monday.
At the Faculty of Science in Dijon, one submitted to Jaeger [sic, Geiger] a clod of grass taken from the meadow of Poncey-sur-l'Ignon where the bell-saucer was posed. No trace of radioactivity. No trace of metals either in another clod entrusted to the Institute of Geophysics.
The last word could remain with the airmen. General de Chassey, who commands the base in Dijon, received us.
"I have never seen a flying saucer, he tells us. But I know, from having tried the experiment, that it is possible to make very trained men believe in the presence of mysterious celestial things. One day, returning from Paris by plane, I saw under my aircraft a very curious optical phenomenon, due to the refraction of a pond on a cloud of mist. This mirage looked so much like a saucer turning in the atmosphere at 400 meters high that I alerted my mechanic who had not seen anything yet: "Look, slightly below us..." He remained dumbfounded for a moment, but, the plane passing vertically of it, he realized that he had been the toy of an illusion...
"Let's go back to the facts. Are these extraterrestrial craft? If they are piloted by beings from another world, these individuals are very little interested in knowing what is happening with us: each time we arrive, they leave. Their journey, then, is no longer understandable!
"New craft?... I affirm that if engineers had succeeded in developing them, that would be known in certain spheres at least.
"Regarding the strange objects reported these days, I don't want to make any final judgment.
"I believe that in Côte-d'Or today there is a saucer psychosis, as in 39-40 there was, in France, a rocket psychosis.
"Certainly, there are some rather disturbing facts, in particular the case of three aviators from the 5th brigade, in Orange, who all saw a saucer, chased it until it disappeared behind the mountain.
*
Near Mulhouse, an SNCF employee, Mr. René Ott, who went to work early in the morning, said he had seen in a field a hemispherical dome lit inside. It was three meters from the road and one meter from the ground, Mr. Ott, going away - he was only half reassured - had time to see a door open in the "bell" that followed him for eight hundred meters.
The gendarmes did not find any traces in the field. They discovered, on the other hand, near Reims where a mechanic, Mr. Joseph Roi, saw a "cigar" or a flying gun shell. He was going home on the night of Wednesday to Thursday when he saw a bright gleam before him; he thought they were car headlights. Suddenly, the light went out and at the spot where he had seen it Mr. Roi distinguished at the edge of the road an odd object more than 3 meters long having the shape of a large gun shell pierced by portholes; at the front stood a vague silhouette which he could not define. The traces noted by the gendarmes will be examined.
Luminous globes were seen yesterday in Bournel (Lot-et-Garonne), in Montpezat-d'Agenais, in Cherbourg, in Orthez. A baker from Marcillac-de-Blaye saw a reversed funnel that flew at 70 meters.
[Ref. lln2:] NEWSPAPER "LE LORRAIN":
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REIMS (from our correspondent). -- It was a mechanic from the Panhard factory in Reims, Mr. Joseph Roy, 30, who would have had the advantage of seeing a machine a few meters from the road from Reims to Rethel, on a side road.
In the night from Tuesday to Wednesday, as he rode on a motorcycle, he suddenly saw a bright, reddish gleam before him, which suddenly disappeared.
Arrived at the spot where he had seen this gleam, he noticed in the fields a strange object, 3 meters long, in the shape of a large shell pierced with portholes at the front.
He distinguished, on the other hand, a vague silhouette. But frightened, he fled. Three other workers had seen the same light in the same place.
FORBACH (From our correspondant). -- Thursday evening, AT ABOUT 07:20 P.M., while returning from his round of distribution, the driver of the Coca-Cola company, Mr. Bou Charles, aged 30, resident of Stiring-Wendel, 21 rue Nationale, was after the crossing of Rosbruck on the National Road N.3, at the entry of Morsbach when suddenly, his attention was caught by a machine being on this road. Mr. Bou, astonished, believed in a road accident and stopped his truck within a few meters of the machine. At this point in time he realized, while getting out of his vehicle, that it was a circular machine of a diameter of 9 m and a 4 m height approximately (more than 2 times size of a normal man), which was lit by several beams of lights directed towards the ground. Having approached and being within a few meters of this odd apparatus, Mr. Bou saw the machine suddenly taking off vertically and rising at 10 meters approximately in the air, to then move in the direction of Morsbach.
All this scene occurred in the timeframe of a few seconds in front of the amazed driver. Mr. Bou, still under the blow of the emotion, took again his road and went to his owner, to whom he described the scene, and went to refer about it to the gendarmerie. Captain Bohler, informed, went with Mr. Bou on the location, but could not detect any trace on the roadway. He lengthily questioned the driver, who declared to him that the saucer had the shape of a giant plate, of blue color. He did not see an opening and no occupant. The machine, while taking off, did not make any noise, no air volume was displaced and there was no change of color. At the time of the appearance it rained, and Mr. Bou declares that when the apparatus rose and disappeared it had an excessive speed, which cannot even be compared to that of a jet airplane.
The most astonishing of the case is that Mr. Bou, visiting a customer a few moments before, in Merlebach, declared to this one that he does not believe in these flying saucers stories. He was thus all the more frightened when seeing this machine.
The driver that we saw during his interrogation by Captain Bohler, appears to be of good faith and was still under the blow of a visible emotion yesterday morning.
[Ref. jgu1:] JIMMY GUIEU:
The author indicates that on October 5, 1954, late in the night, close to Reims, mechanic Joseph R. returned home when he noticed a sharp gleam in front of him.
He initially believed that it was the headlights of car. The gleam suddenly went off and at the spot where he had seen it, Joseph R. distinguished at the edge of the road an weird machine of more than 3 meters in length in the shape of large shell bored of port-holes.
At the front stood a vague silhouette which he could not define. The silhouette moved, blurred, and little after the machine flew away.
The next day the Gendarmerie went to the site to examine the traces left by the apparatus.
[Ref. aml3:] AIME MICHEL:
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3. ISLES-SUR-SUIPPES: ..at the edge of the road, an object of more than 3 m long like a big shell pierced with portholes. (Paris-Presse for 10-10-54)
[Ref. aml1:] AIME MICHEL:
Aimé Michel indicates that in Isles-sur-Suippes, in the Champagne, at 25 kilometers in the North-East of Rheims, towards the second part of the night, Joseph Roy, a mechanic at the Panhard factories, rode his bicycle on main road 51.
Suddenly, facing him and at very low altitude, an intense light emerged, that he initially interpreted as a vehicle's headlight. After a gentle displacement in the darkness, this headlight died out. Mr. Roy continued to ride and arrived soon at the place where the light had disappeared.
In the field, near the road, a sort of long object of approximately three meters was lying, its silhouette was vaguely lit by kinds of luminous plates that Mr. Roy called portholes. The object made him thought "of some giant shell."
In front of the silhouette of the object, a small dark shape was agitated, but the frightened cyclist did not take any time observe it and was later unable to describe it, because he pedaled much fled to the nearest gendarmerie station.
The gendarmes came with him on the spot of the display and noted that there were odd traces in the soft ground of the field. Moreover, the investigation revealed that three workmen who also rode on bicycles a few kilometers from there to go to their nightshift, saw a ball of fire go down towards the point where Mr. Roy located his strange encounter.
[Ref. aml2:] AIME MICHEL:
[...]
As of 2 October, the number of daily observations is increasing dramatically. On October 3, there are hundreds, and probably thousands of "witnesses". And the places of observation continue to line up, forming very characteristic networks whose layout evokes a spider's web, with a sort of star-shaped center from which most of the straight lines radiate. A large proportion of cases are also located on several different alignments (at their intersection).
An example of this complex and rigorous provision is offered by the observations of October 7 (see map).
That day, on the territory of France, hundreds of "testimonies" make it possible to plot 23 observation places, of which only one is erratic, in the area of ??Toulouse. The other 22 are organized in 17 alignments:
- One seven spots line: Cherbourg; La Ferte-Macé; Saint-Jean-d'Assé; National 23, east of Le Mans; Lavenay; Montlevic; and finally Cassis.
- Three lines of four spots:
a) Marcillac; Puymoyen; Montlevic; Corbigny.
b) Isles-sur-Suippe; Montlevic; Bournel; Montpezat.
c) Saint-Savinien; Saint-Plantaire; Montlevic; Jettingen.
Finally, thirteen alignments of three spots. One can, at first glance, wonder whether three-spot alignments require an explanation other than chance. But on reflection, chance turns out to be insufficient. Indeed:
In-depth analysis of all these alignments is beyond the scope of an article. A glance at the corresponding map is more eloquent than a long speech. We discover this feature, which I have tentatively called "orthoteny" (2), until further studies allow, if necessary, to relate it to some phenomenon already known and provided with a name existing in the dictionary.
Provisionally, therefore, the "orthoteny" is the rectilinear disposition, generating networks, of the vast majority of flying saucer observations of the Fall of 1954. This arrangement is so surprising that one must, a priori to adopt a systematic distrust about it. Before recognizing it for a real event, one must consider every possible means to reject it.
On October 7, 1954, France is furrowed with observations in a straight line.
1. CHERBOURG ...One saw luminous globes! (Paris-Presse - 10-10-1954)
2. DUCLAIR ...Mr. X, blinded by a luminous beam, reopened the eyes, saw a ball that disappeared in a few minutes. (Parisien Libéré - 9-10-54)
3. ISLES-SUR-SUIPPES ...on the edge of the road, an object of more than 3 m in length like a big shell pierced with portholes... (Paris-Presse - 10-10-54)
4. PLOZEVET ...sharp gleam, dense smoke... (France-Soir - 10-10-54)
5. SAINT-BIHY ...luminous globes... (France-Soir - 9-10-54)
6. LA FERTÉ-MACÉ ...a mysterious craft, which was rising vertically, leaving behind itself a white trail... (Black out sur les soucoupes volantes, Jimmy Guieu, Fleuve Noir publishers)
7. HENNEZIES ...A "spaceship" and its occupants seen by two children... Egg-shaped object, red, the top pointed at the yky... (Black out sur les soucoupes volantes, Jimmy Guieu, Fleuve Noir publishers)
8. SAINT-ÉTIENNE ...three craft produced a violent white light; - one of the craft was round like a saucer, the two other elongated like cigars. (France-Soir - 9-10-54)
9. SAINT-JEAN-D'ASSÉ ...a gleam of an intense blue color.. (Aurore - 9-10-54)
10. BALLON ...stars as big as the Moon (sic!). (France-Soir - 9-10-54)
11. LAVENAY ...a flying egg... (France-Soir - 9-10-54)
12. DORDIVES ...a weird object... (France-Soir - 9-10-54)
13. CHALETTE ...an oval-shaped luminous craft. (France-Soir - 9-10-54)
14. LES AUBIERS ...a red disc... (France-Soir - 9-10-54)
15. CORBIGNY Craft of cylindrical shapes, emitting red-orange gleams when they were horizontal and of a dazzling white when they rose vertically. (Aurore -8-10-54)
16. BERUGES ...a lighted mushroom... (France-Soir - 10-10-54)
17. SAINT-SAVINIEN ...a luminous disc. (Sud-Ouest - 14-10-54)
18. SAINT-PLANTAIRE
19. MONTLEVIC ...saucers, cigars, luminous globes and flying discs... (Paris-Presse - 9-10-54)
20. JETTINGEN ...a half-spherical cupola. (France-Soir - 10-10-54)
21. PUYMOYEN ...A the place where a saucer had landed, twelve samll heaps of ash in the middle of a 1,50 m circle and, among the ashes, small sticks... (Paris-Presse - 9-10-54)
22. MARCILLAC ...shape of inverted funnel. (Combat - 12-10-54)
23. BOURNEL ...circular shape... (Combat - 12-10-54)
24. MONTPEZAT ...a luminous circle, orange-colored... (Combat - 12-10-54)
25. BEAUVOIR ...a mysterious craft flying at a rather slow pace. (Parisien Libéré - 9-10-54)
26. MONTEUX ...a phosphorescent craft and of 2,50 m height... (local Press - oct. 54)
27. BOMPAS ...a formation of saucers... (Black out sur les soucoupes volantes, Jimmy Guieu, Fleuve Noir publishers)
28. CASSIS ...the object, which seemed to be in aluminum, was very shiny. (Provençal)
Alignments exist. What do they mean? This is a mystery...
The case file is not faked
First question to ask: Is it true that the observation spots are aligned as this article claims?
To check this, just look for the spots in question on a chosen map in such a way that the lines of the map correspond as exactly as possible to the great terrestrial circles in the considered place. For France, it is the millionth map, Bonne projection, in the trade by Michelin (Michelin map nr 989). Ones locates the spots by looking for them in a dictionary of the communes, for example that of Berger-Levrault.
Second question: did the author invent all or part of these observations in order to find alignments? To enable researchers to answer this question, I have used in my research only observations that were already made public.
Third question: Did the author choose the observations that are aligned, creating a phenomenon that would not exist if other unreported observations restored the disorder of chance?
Of course, I cannot hope to know all the sightings because many of the witnesses did not say anything. But I used in my work all observations made public, as one can check by studying my book. To prepare the maps, I therefore only used published cases, and I used them all. There was no invention, no selection. Anyone can completely redo the work I did: one only needs to consult the collection of newspapers of the time, taking care though, however, of dates, not of the newspapers publication of course, but of the reported phenomena.
We come to the most delicate aspect of the problem posed by these strange alignments. What do they mean?
I have shown in detail the results of my research to several prominent scientists, including two Masters of Research at the C.N.R.S. It is very unfortunate that orthotenia is linked to the "saucer phenomenon", so discredited, because all these scientists, whom I cannot name, are now convinced that the alignments show a real and original phenomenon.
Real, that is, objectively taking place in space, not in the imagination of the witnesses.
Original, that is, not related to anything known so far. Neither airplanes, sounding balloons, sundogs, meteors, lightning bolts, nor hallucinations, lies, and facetious inventions are observed along lines forming networks. It is something else. What is it?
In my opinion, we are not close to knowing it. But perhaps the demonstration of the geometric superstructure revealed by the wave of 1954 will finally incite a greater number of scientists to worry about it. Allow me to express the wish here. Personally, the discredit that is attached to this research begins to put me down. It is overwhelming in the long run to have my curiosity viewed like a sin.
Aimé Michel
Note:
[Ref. gqy1:] GUY QUINCY:
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October 7, [1954]
02:30 a.m.?: Isles-sur-Suippe (15 km NE.Reims--Marne): cigar or "artillery shell" 3 m long,+luminous plates + dwarf + trace on the ground
[Ref. gqy2:] GUY QUINCY:
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October 7, 1954: Isles-sur-Suippe (15 km ISL in the NE of Reims--Marne): Joseph Roy, mecanic at the Panhard factories (cigar or "shell" 3 m long + dwarf + traces on the ground
[Ref. jve8:] JACQUES VALLEE:
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| 7 Oct., 1954 | Isles/Suippe | France | M. Roy, etc. | small dark form, moving about |
[Ref. rhl1:] RICHARD HALL - NICAP:
October 7, 1954--Isles-sur-Suippes, France. UFO shaped like "giant artillery shell" with "portholes"; landing or near-landing case.
[Ref. jve5:] JACQUES VALLEE:
| 257 | -004. | 19.35600 | 07 | 10 | 1954 | 02 | 00 | I | ISLES SUR SUIPPE | F | 0111222 | C | 238 |
[Ref. pis1:] UFOLOGY BULLETIN "PHENOMENES INCONNUS":
This ufology bulletin published a map supposed to show alignements of cases of October 7, 1954, and it included a cas in Isles-sur-Suippes:
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[Ref. tps1:] TED PHILLIPS:
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Oct 07, 1954
809
FRANCE, Reims. Joseph Roy, a mechanic, was riding his bicyle when he saw a burst of intense light on the road ahead. In a field near the road he saw an object about 9 ft. long shaped like a giant artillery shell with portholes. Others saw the object ascend. Marks in the field were found. (Michel)
[Ref. gal1:] CHARLES GARREAU AND RAYMOND LAVIER:
The two authors, journalists and ufologists, describe the observation of Isle-on-Suippes in the Marne of October 6, 1954, indicating that their references are newspaper clippings and personal file.
They report that Joseph Roy, aged 30, working at the Panhard factories, was going to his work on his bicycle on this still very very dark night. He is alone on the National Road RN 51. The authors provide his testimony as such:
"Suddenly I saw, emerging opposite me, at very low altitude, a dazzling light, which I first of all took for the headlight of a vehicle, as it was so close to the ground. After having moved slightly to the side, the light went off. I continued to ride. While arriving at the height of the place where the light had disappeared, I saw, in a field, close to the road, a kind of giant shell, approximately 3 meters of length. Its silhouette was vaguely lit by sort of luminous portholes. In front of this machine, a small dark shape was agitated. I became frightened. I did not seek to see more of it. I literally rushed to the gendarmerie."
The authors indicate that the gendarmes came at once on the location with Joseph Roy, and that they discovered unexplainable traces on the soft ground of the field. The investigation of the gendarmes allowed to discover that three other workmen who were a few kilometers away and also going to their work, had seen a ball fire go down towards the point where Mr. Roy had located his strange encounter.
[Ref. agd1:] ALAIN GAMARD:
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| Case # | Date | Time | Locality | Department | Witness(es) name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 039 | 06/10/1954 | Night | L'Isle-sur-Suippes. | 51 | Joseph Roy. |
[Ref. bbr1:] GERARD BARTHEL AND JACQUES BRUCKER:
The two authors note this case that they date of October 7, 1954:
"Isles-sur-Suippe - 51 - at about 2 o'clock: investigation. Story by the witness is inconsistent, with no relation at all with that of the time."
[Ref. tbw1:] TED BLOECHER AND DAVID WEBB:
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54-51 October 7, 1954 0200 Isles-sur-Suippes, France Type C
Joseph Roy, a mechanic, was riding his bicycle very early in the morning when he saw a bright light ahead that went out. At the spot he saw an object about 10 ft long, shaped like an artillery shell, with dimly lit portholes. In front of the object moved a small dark form which he could not describe. Traces were found.
Investigator: local police.
Source: Michel, Straight-Line Mystery, p. 142.
See Humcat # 280 - OCT.6
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1954 Corrigenda
HumCat # 280
October 6, 1954 0030 Isles-sur-Suippe (Marne), France Type C
Note the corrected date and time of occurrence.
Mr. Roy was returning on National Highway 51 from Reims to his home at Rethez, a distance of 25 km. The object was first noticed as a light on the road, which turned into an orange ball, and made three "jumps" into the field at the right of the road. The shape of the object was "ovoid." The man, of apparent human appearance, was normal-sized and dressed in khaki (another example of the "G.I. Ufonaut"--tb). He was leaning against the hull of the object as Roy rode by him, not four meters distant.
Investigators: (Mesnard and/or Bigorne? It's obviously first-hand followup--tb)
Source: Mesnard and Bigorne, "Les Humanoides en France" (unpublished in ms), pp. 22-24.
[Ref. fru1:] MICHEL FIGUET ET JEAN-LOUIS RUCHON:
The two authors indicate that on October 6, 1954, at 06:00 o'clock in the morning, in Isles-sur-Suippe in the department of the Marne, the night was still dark when the witness went to his work on bicycle, alone on RN51 [National Road 51].
Suddenly, he saw a blinding light emerging at low altitude; which he took for the headlights of a vehicle. The authors give the following account by the witness:
"The light went off. I continued to ride. While arriving at the level of the spot where the light had disappeared, I saw a kind of giant shell of approximately three meters length in a field close to the road; its silhouette was vaguely lit by some sort of luminous port-holes. In front of this machine, a small dark shape agitated."
The witness is afraid, and literally dashes to the gendarmerie.
A few kilometres from there, three other workmen going to their work had seen a luminous ball going down towards the place where the main witness had seen the machine on the ground.
The authors indicate that the sources are Quincy, and Garreau and Lavier, "Face aux ET", pp 203-204, and that there was an investigation by the gendarmerie.
[Ref. gep1:] UFOLOGY GROUP "GEPO":
| 10/05/54 | (night) | Reims (road) | i | 300X 4m |
[Ref. gep2:] "GEPO" UFOLOGY GROUP:
| 10/7/54 | (2 a.m.) | Isles/Suippes (N 51) | 5(1) 300VX | 3m |
[Ref. mft3:] MICHEL FIGUET:
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EXTRACT FROM "SCIENCE ET VIE" FOR JUNE 1958. COLUMNS "OUR READER WRITE"..
2° CRITICS
Mr. Fournier, pharmacist, Cormicy (Marne)
"I thought a newspaper titled "Science et Vie" had a different idea of ??the scientific truth than a general information newspaper, but unfortunately, in articles as in the title on a red background, Science gives way to Vie [Life] by getting smaller and smaller...
... If Mr. Aimé Michel had checked on the location, he would have noticed that the spot No. 3 (Isle-sur-Suippe) of the map that you publish had no reason to appear on his lines of "orthoteny". Indeed, a few days after the "observation" of the "phenomenon", the regional newspaper "L'Union" of Reims published a much more "earthly" explanation: it was quite simply British soldiers on the move who had stationed at the place of the "observation"... It is quite likely that other "observations" were also subject to natural explanations at the regional level..."
(Assuredly: more or less probable explanations have been found for almost all the observations, but the mystery is elsewhere: do the explanations in question also solve the rectilinear disposition? And when they do not fit this disposition, what is their value?)
ISLES-SUR-SUIPPE 10/06/1954 CASE 041 51110 A4 (Francat nr 137).
[Ref. mft4:] MICHEL FIGUET:
| Nr of the J. C. Fumoux list | N° of the Francat list | Localization | Date | Class | Credibility | Sources | Number of W |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 040 | 137 | Isles-sur-Suippe | 06/10 | CE2 | E [=Expliqué] confusion avec des militaires en manoeuvre | 2-p.126 [=[fru1]] | 1 T |
[Ref. mft2:] MICHEL FIGUET:
This ufologist noted:
| CASE Nr | CLASSIFICATION | DATE | HOUR | PLACE | ZIP CODE | CREDIBILITY SOURCE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 137 | CE3 | 06 10 1954 | 00.30 | Isles-sur-Suippe | 51110 A4 | E [= Explained] confusion (FM) |
[Ref. mft1:] MICHEL FIGUET:
06.10.1954
Isles-sur-Suippe
Confusion with English military personal on a drill.
LDLN N. 249-250 p. 25
[Ref. rlt1:] RENAULT LECLET:
06110154 Isles-sur-Suippe (S 1 ) at 06:00 a.m. an object in the shape of a giant shell with portholes and a being
[Ref. lhh1:] LARRY HATCH - "*U* COMPUTER DATABASE":
3989: 1954/10/06 06:00 10 4:12:00 E 49:21:20 N 3333 WEU FRN MRN 9:8
ISLES/SUIPPES,FR:FLASH!:3M CGR/FLD:LIT PORTs:DRK FIG OUTSIDE:TRACES:/r138#9p19
Ref# 30 FIGEUT[sic]&RUCHON: OVNI: Le 1er Dossier Page No. 126 : TOWN &CITY
[Ref. goe1:] GODELIEVE VAN OVERMEIRE:
The Belgian ufologist indicates in her catalogue that in 1954, on October 6, in France, in L'Isle sur Suippes in the Marne, around 6 hours Joseph Roy goes to his work by bicycle: the night is still very black. He sees at low altitude a dazzling light emerging opposite him, which dies out. Arrived at the place where the light had disappeared, he sees in a field close to the road, a kind of 3 m length giant gunshell, vaguely lit by kinds of port-holes. In front of this craft a small dark form was agitated. The witness became frightened. He literally run to the gendarmerie.
The source is indicated as Garreau and Lavier: "Face aux extra-terrestres" - Delarge 1975 - J'ai Lu, p. 210, 211.
[Ref. ars1:] ALBERT ROSALES:
112.
Location. Isles-sur-Suippe Marne France
Date: October 6 1954
Time: 0030A
Mr. Roy was returning on National Highway 51 from Reims to his home at Rethez, a distance of 25 km, on his bicycle, when he noticed a light on the road, which turned into an orange ball, and made three "jumps" into the field at the right side of the road. The shape of the object was "ovoid." A man, of apparent human appearance & normal size & wearing a khaki colored outfit was seen leaning against the hull of the object as Roy rode by, not four meters distant.
Humcat 1954-23
Source: Joel Mesnard & Jean Marie Bigorne
Type: C
[Ref. lgs1:] LOREN GROSS:
7 October. Isles-sur-Suippes, France. (very early in the morning)
Small dark form.
Michel wrote:
"M. Joseph Roy, mechanic in the Panhard factory, was riding his bicycle along Route N-51 when directly in front of him and very low there was a burst of intense light which he at first mistook for car headlights. The light moved little in the darkness, then went out. M. Roy continued to pedal and soon came to the place where the light had disappeared. In the field near the road an object about three yards long, shaped like 'a giant artillery shell,' could be seen by the dim light emanating from its 'portholes.' In front of this object moved a small dark form which the frightened bicyclist did not stop to examine, and which he could not describe. He pedaled for dear life to the nearest police station. The police went back with him to the road where he had passed the apparition, and found strange marks in the soft earth of the field. Subsequent investigations revealed that three other workmen a few miles away, bicycling to their night jobs, had seen a ball of fire descending toward the place where M. Roy saw the 'shell' and the dark form." (xx.)
(xx.) Michel, Aime. Flying Saucers and the Straight-Line Mystery. p.142.
[Ref. djn1:] DONALD JOHNSON:
Encounters with Aliens on this Day...
October 6
1954 - Joseph Roy, age 30, was driving on highway N51 near d'Isles-sur-Suippe, France at 6 o'clock in the morning when he saw a three-meter long UFO with the silhouette of a humanoid visible on board. Some unexplained traces were found near the site of the sighting. (Source: Michel Figeut [sic] & Jean-Louis Ruchon, OVNI: Le premier dossier complet des rencontres rapprochees en France, pp. 126).
[Ref. nip1:] NICAP WEBSITE:
October 7, 1954 -- Isles-sur-Suippes, France.
UFO shaped like "giant artillery shell" with "portholes"; landing or near-landing case. [XII]
[Ref. mye1:] UFOLOGY MAGAZINE "LES MYSTERES DE L'EST":
In a "Press overview", the magazine reproduced an article from the newspaper L'Ardennais for October 3, 2004, titled "50 years ago, the "saucers" invaded the region."
We find there, unfortunately cropped by poorly framing, a story of the sighting:
It was 50 years ago, in the fall of 1954. During the months of September and October, the French were suddenly thousands to declare to see mysterious apparatuses in the sky, sometimes on the ground.
The region was not spared. On October 6, 1954, the news spread like wildfire in Reims: a worker at the Panhard factory saw "some [missing part] cile" the witness told the union. "On leaving Isles-sur-Suippe, 1 km from the town on the road to Rethel, I saw an orange glow to the right of the road. Approaching, I clearly distinguished a ball of fire which seemed to jump, about a meter from the ground, then darkened again."
Riding very slowly, the motorcyclist arrives at the spot [Missing part]. On the side, I could see seven to eight portholes."
[Ref. lcn1:] LUC CHASTAN:
Luc Chastan indicates that in the Marne in Isles on Suippe on October 6, 1954 at 06:00 hours, the night is still dark, the witness goes to his workplace by bicycle. He is alone on the RN51. Suddenly, he sees a dazzling light emerging at low altitude, that he mistakes for the headlights of a vehicle. "The light turned off, the witness said. I continued to ride. While arriving at height of the place where the light had disappeared, I saw in a field close to the road, a kind of giant gunshell of approximately three meters length; its silhouette was vaguely lit by sort of luminous port-holes. In front of this machine, a small dark form was agitated." The witness became frightened, and rushes literally to the gendarmerie." A few kilometers from there, three other workmen going to their workplace, had seen a luminous ball going down towards the place where the main witness had seen the craft on the ground.
The source is indicated as "Ovni, Premier dossier complet... by Figuet M./ Ruchon J.L. ** Alain Lefeuvre pub. 1979".
[Ref. jbu1:] JEROME BEAU:
Jérôme Beau indicates that on October 5, 1954, Joseph Roy, aged 30, mechanic with the Panhard factories, drives by motorcycle at a few meters of the road from Rheims to Rethel on a sideway, when he sees in front of him a sharp and reddish gleam which disappears suddenly. Arrived at the place where he saw the gleam, he notices a 3 m long object in the fields, having the shape of a large shell, bored port-holes at its front. He also distinguishes a vague silhouette. Seized with fright, he flees. 3 other workmen are said to have seen the same gleam at the same place.
Jérôme Beau indicates that the source is Le Lorrain, of Nancy, for Saturday 9 - Sunday 10, October 1954, page 7, according to Sider, 1997.
[Ref. tai1:] "THINK ABOUT IT" WEBSITE:
Location: Rethel, Ardennes France
Date: October 6 1954
Time: 0030A
30-year old mechanic Joseph Roy was returning on National Highway 51 from Reims to his home at Rethel, a distance of 25 km, on his motorcycle. When he noticed ahead of him a sharp and reddish gleam which suddenly disappeared, arriving at the point where he had seen the gleam he noticed an odd object in the field, about 3 meters in length, having the form of a large shell, with several portholes on the front. He is then able to distinguish a vague silhouette, but seized with fright, he fled the area. Three other workmen reported seeing the same gleam in the area.
Source: Joel Mesnard & Jean Marie Bigorne
[Ref. lur2:] "L'UNION" NEWSPAPER:
The testimonies about UFOs are numerous in the region. Sometimes wacky, sometimes bizarre but always intriguing. As early as 1954, witnesses claim to have seen lights in the form of rays or even balls in Berru and Isles-sur-Suippe.
[Ref. jgz1:] JULIEN GONZALEZ:
The author indicates that there was a false close encounter of the third type in Isles-sur-Suippes, the Marne, on October 6, 1954, at 6:00 a.m.:
Joseph Roy, a worker at the Panhard factories, went to work on his bike in the dark night. Suddenly, at a low altitude, he saw a blinding light that he took for the headlights of a vehicle. "The light went out," he said. "I continued riding. On arriving at the spot where the light had disappeared, I saw in a field near the road a kind of giant shell about three meters long, the silhouette of which was dimly lit by kinds of luminous portholes. In front of this craft was a little dark form. I was frightened. I did not try to see more. I literally sprinted to the gendarmerie."
The gendarmes returned immediately with Joseph Roy and discovered inexplicable traces on the loose soil of the field. A few miles away, three other workers on their way to work saw a luminous ball descending to the spot where Mr. Roy had seen the craft on the ground.
The sources are indicated as Aimé Michel, "Mystérieux Objets Célestes", page [sic]; C. Garreau and R. Lavier, "Face aux Extraterrestres", pages 203-204.
Julien Gonzalez said that in reality, the newspaper L'Union de Reims revealed a few days later that it was simply British soldiers on the move who had parked at the place of observation.
He indicates that the source of the explanation is "Lumières Dans La Nuit", #249-250, page 24.
[Ref. ubk1:] "UFO-DATENBANK":
This database recorded this case 13 times:
| Case Nr. | New case Nr. | Investigator | Date of observation | Zip | Place of observation | Country of observation | Hour of observation | Classification | Comments | Identification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19541006 | 06.10.1954 | Isles | France | 00.30 | CE III | |||||
| 19541006 | 06.10.1954 | Isles Suippes | France | 00.30 | CE III | |||||
| 19541007 | 07.10.1954 | Isles Suippes | France | 02.00 | CE III | |||||
| 19541007 | 07.10.1954 | Isles Suippes | France | Morning | CE III | |||||
| 19541007 | 07.10.1954 | Isles Suippes | France | 02.00 | CE III | |||||
| 19541007 | 07.10.1954 | Isles Suippes | France | 02.00 | CE III | |||||
| 19541007 | 07.10.1954 | Isles Suippes | France | 02.00 | CE III | |||||
| 19541007 | 07.10.1954 | Isles Suippes | France | Morning | CE III | |||||
| 19541007 | 07.10.1954 | Isles-sur-Susppes [sic] | France | |||||||
| 19541005 | 05.10.1954 | Reims | France | Night | CE III | |||||
| 19541005 | 05.10.1954 | Reims | France | 22.00 | CE II | |||||
| 19541005 | 05.10.1954 | Reims | France | 22.00 | CE II | |||||
| 19541007 | 07.10.1954 | Reims | France | Après-midi | CE III |
[Ref. prn2:] PETER ROGERSON - "INTCAT":
October 6 1954. 0600hrs.
ISLES SUR SUIPPES (MARNE : FRANCE)
Joseph Roy, a mechanic in the Panhard car factory, was bicycling along Route N-52, when he was struck by beam of intense light low down ahead of him. He thought it was vehicle headlights. The light moved a little and then went out. Some distance along, he saw, in a field by the road, something like an artillery shell, 3m long. From portholes came a dim light, and in front of it a small dark form could be seen moving about. Roy, frightened cycled to the police, who returned with him and saw strange marks on the ground. Three other workmen had seen a luminous sphere descending to the ground.
Michel 1958 b p142
Garreau and Lavier 1975 p210
Le Lorraine 9-10 October 1954. p7
Evaluation - According to ufologists Joel Mesnard Jean-Marie Bigorne (as reported by Alberto Rosales) the being was of normal size and dressed in khaki. If this were the case it would suggest yet another helicopter. Figuet 1982 lists this as a "British helicopter". Patrick Gross in URECAT lists the case twice as 5th and 6th and to different locations.
Note: The mention "Patrick Gross in URECAT" is my file as it appears in my CE3 catalogue URECAT; the file content was the same as this page of my France 1954 catalogue.
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On January 23, 2019, I noticed that the source [prn2] (Peter Rogerson) that I was just including in this file indicated my error: that of having two different case files for the same case, one named "Réthel, October 5", the other "Isles-sur-Suippe, October 6". There is no doubt that this was the same case and I did not realize it. I thus merged the two files. In the "two cases", I gave the correct explanation, but it is only on January 23, 2019 that I had the source in "Science et Vie" of 1958 quoted by Figuet who first told the correct explanation.
So it was indeed a British helicopter and a soldier.
(These keywords are only to help queries and are not implying anything.)
Isle-sur-Suippe, Marne, Rethel, Ardennes, Joseph Roy, road, motorcycle, gleam, red, object, cigar, landing, elongated, portholes, occupant, frightened
[----] indicates sources that are not yet available to me.
| Version: | Created/Changed by: | Date: | Change Description: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.1 | Patrick Gross | January 16, 2006 | First published. |
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | January 20, 2009 | Conversion from HTML to XHTML Strict. First formal version. Additions [goe1], [lcn1]. |
| 1.1 | Patrick Gross | March 13, 2010 | Addition [jgu1]. |
| 1.2 | Patrick Gross | June 24, 2010 | Addition [jve5]. |
| 1.3 | Patrick Gross | October 6, 2014 | Addition [lgs1]. |
| 1.4 | Patrick Gross | October 8, 2014 | Addition [prn1]. |
| 1.5 | Patrick Gross | January 9, 2017 | Addition [prn1]. |
| 1.6 | Patrick Gross | January 23, 2017 | Additions [lln2], [ubk1]. |
| 1.7 | Patrick Gross | February 20, 2017 | Addition [jgz1]. |
| 1.8 | Patrick Gross | January 23, 2019 | Merge of the "Rethel 5 oct" and "Isles-sur-Suippe 6 oct." files. Additions [aml3], [mft3], [lhh1], [rlt1], [prn2], [mft2], [lur2]. Summary. Réthel file explanations removed, were "Unfortunately all that seems to be known on the occurrence is what appeared in the newspaper, and apparently no investigation of data gathering followed. It is not possible to discard the possibility that Mr. Roy might have actually seen some earthly vehicle. The fact that he saw the occupant only as a silhouette, in the night, and that he fled with no further look, suggest that the observation conditions were sufficiently poor to allow for some confusion to occur." |
| 1.8 | Patrick Gross | January 23, 2019 | Explanations consequently changed. Were: "Confusion, helicopter and military personal. The sources all are secondary and fragmentary; only one of the ufological source, for example, reveals the important point that the "UFO occupant" had the aspect of a man and was dressed in a khaki uniform. It is very likely that Mr. Roy actually witnessed the unexpected landing of a military helicopter. His description, although this was at night, has actually nothing quite inaccurate about it. Apart from these essential points, let it be also noted: - The witness does describes a headlight at the beginning of the sighting, in perfect agreement with the headlight of a helicopter in night flight, which could indeed be mistaken for a vehicle's headlight, the witness rightfully excluding this explanation since it was at some height compared to the ground at the beginning of the observation. - The witness quoted by Garreau and Lavier clearly talks of "kinds of luminous portholes;" it was not relevant to introduce the question of this description as being a mere interpretation, as a helicopter indeed has portholes that are indeed somewhat illuminated from the inside in night flight. - It would be quite useful that I can get a grip on the newspaper clippings evoked but not referenced by the first ufologists having written on the case. If the mention of the khaki uniform were already there, it would raise certain questions about the quality of their versions. - No source considered it useful to specify if the craft was silent or not, which is rather curious. Here again, it would be interesting to find whether the articles of the press of the time gave some indication on this matter. - Michel Figuet indicates that the helicopter was British; this is a bit frustrating since it suggests that the explanation by the helicopter is a certainty, with real identification of the craft. It is regrettable not to have more information on this, as it would be interesting to know who found this explanation, when, and how. - The Barthel and Brucker duet ensures to have talked to the witness who they claim to have delivered an "incoherent" account, but no precision is given, and, in addition, they do not give a commonplace explanation either, whereas it is rather obvious. The famous duet who introduced themselves as "rational" was discredited many times for have claimed that they talked to witnesses during their "counter-investigation" whereas the witnesses had actually already died, or to have claimed that witnesses are "untraceable after investigation" whereas others found them without difficulty in the phonebook. Here, they speak about "inconsistency" of the witness' story whereas there is no logic in such "inconsistency" if the witness simply saw a helicopter, and it is not helping to talk about an "account of the time" when obviously this account is either not available or not in the hands of the duet. I thus have only little confidence in their version." |
| 1.6 | Patrick Gross | October 10, 2019 | Additions [aml2], [pis1]. |
| 1.7 | Patrick Gross | March 3, 2020 | Addition [ppe1]. |
| 1.8 | Patrick Gross | August 31, 2021 | Additions [gqy1], [rhl1], [tbw1], [mye1]. |
| 1.9 | Patrick Gross | April 28, 2022 | Additions [gqy2], [gep1], [gep2], [mft4], [tps1]. |
| 2.0 | Patrick Gross | June 2, 2022 | Addition [agd1]. |
| 2.1 | Patrick Gross | June 22, 2022 | Addition [jve8]. |
