The 1954 French flap:

SAUCERS, DISCS, CIGARS...

A mustached Martian was walking
in the Vienne

If the round of "flying saucers" continues throughout France, we should not believe that our country is the only one to receive the visit of these craft. Now Cameroon, Lebanon, Germany, Egypt are entering their competition.

Mr. Roger Barrault, laborer in Lavoux (Vienne), riding a bicycle, was suddenly stopped by a double beam of light emanating from a sort of "diver" just 1.50 m high with boots without heels, very bright eyes and a strong mustache.

The diver strolled about a minute on the road, says Barrault, then suddenly disappeared into the nearby forest

Several people have, on the bridge of Saint-Laurent-les-Mâcon, seen, above the Saône a disc which disappeared after a short while. New think, this disc was not bright but dark.

In Tourrières [sic], 17 km from Angoulême, around thirty people saw a kind of cigar which remained motionless at about forty meters above national road number 10 for about twenty minutes. The craft, which had two fins, then decided to leave at a speed of around 150 to 300 km / hour.

Mrs. Lebert, guardian of the Pont Chapelle castle at La Ferté-Macé (Orne), observed a mysterious craft in the middle of the afternoon in the sky. This craft, which looked like a rocket, rose silently vertically, leaving behind a luminous white trail. It could be observed for several seconds and then disappeared quickly. A woman and children living in the local suburbs have also witnessed the phenomenon.

Mr. Christian Couette, son of a plumber from Tesse-la-Madeleine, was riding a bicycle in the direction of Ranes, when he was overtaken near the pond of Lande-Forêt in the commune of Beauvain by a luminous craft which, at high speed, grazed the treetops. The object, about four meters in diameter, had the shape of a ball of fire domed on the top. It could be observed for ten seconds.

While driving his car, Mr. Jean Bertrand, mechanic in Carcassonne, saw, flying at low altitude, a spherical craft of shiny metal, the upper part of which seemed to be made of plastic. He was able, he says, to easily distinguish two hum-

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The saucers

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an forms in this craft; which disappeared at a high speed in the East direction.

IN CAMEROON

Yaoundé, 11. -- Several trustworthy people claim to have witnessed one of these phenomena known as "flying saucers".

These are Colonel Cauvin, director of hygiene and prophylaxis services in Cameroon, Doctor Menu, chief doctor of the Yaoundé hospital, and Mssrs. Dumont, director of security services in Cameroon, Pouilleux, adviser to the territorial assembly of Cameroon, Moreau, administrator, deputy mayor of Yaoundé, and their wives.

All these people, gathered at the hospital's chief doctor, were preparing to go to the cinema when they were intrigued by the attitude of the house dog who suddenly began to growl and bristle his hair. Thinking that strangers were prowling around his house, Doctor Menu went out and saw a bright object in the sky. He immediately called his guests who all then declared that they had seen, almost vertically above the plateau where the hospital is located, a huge disc, violently illuminated, motionless at an altitude of about 800 meters.

This "appearance" lasted 15 seconds. The craft was very exactly in the shape of a mushroom, whose diameter could not be precisely estimated by those present - under which a cylinder very slightly swayed whose length was equal to the diameter of the hat and also very bright.

Suddenly, the "saucer" took the direction of the East and its volume seemed to decrease visibly. Then it stopped for a few seconds before quickly gaining altitude and disappearing.

IN LEBANON

Beirut, 11. -- Mr. Max Favell, representative in Beirut of a German firm, claims to have seen at the seaside a motionless craft in the sky which emitted a whitish light.

Mr. Favell clarified that the craft which was a few meters from the ground landed for a few seconds, then took off vertically, spinning on itself, and soon disappeared into the sky. The witness did not notice any trace on the ground at the place of landing of the craft.

Following this statement, a journalist, Mr. Abdelkarim revealed that he had also seen the same day, but around 7 p.m., a kind of red ball moving in the sky and coming from the North. Mr. Abdelkarim, fearing that little credit would be given to his "vision", had not revealed it to anyone.

IN EGYPT

Alexandria, 11. -- Several hundred residents of Alexandria reported the presence in the sky of a luminous object which seemed to move from red to orange, then to green and blue gray. Officials from the meteorological service at the Alexandria airfield alerted the Helouan observatory, near Cairo, by telephone, asking that the phenomenon be photographed. However, it disappeared before the special telescope of the observatory could be readied.

The deputy director of the observatory, Mr. Azouz Ismaïl, told the press that it could be an aurora borealis. A magnetic storm had been observed for 48 hours; which would make the explanation likely.

IN GERMANY

Bonn, 11. -- A "flying saucer" was observed for about two minutes by 13 members of a gliding school above the airfield of Ockstadt, near Frankfurt.

The thirteen pilots and student pilots were watching the evolution of an instructor when they saw appearing above the glider in flight, at about 3.000 meters of atlitude, a "slightly swollen silver disc" which was moving without the slightest noise. The witnesses, including several former Luftwaffe aviators, are formal to declare that they cannot have been the victim of an optical illusion.

Flying saucers... (continued)

Several people, on the bridge of Saint-Laurent-les-Mâcon, saw a disc above the Saône which disappeared after a short moment. A new detail: this disc was not bright, but dark.

A worker, Mr. Magnier, and some truck drivers, saw in Montluçon a luminous ball crossing the sky at high speed.

In Tourriers, 17 kilometers from Angoulême, about thirty people saw during the night of the 8th to the 9th a "sort of cigar" that remained stationary about forty meters above national road number 10 for around twenty minutes. The craft, which had two small fins, then took off at a speed of approximately 250 to 300 km/h.

Mrs. Lebert, caretaker of the Château de Pont-Chapelle in La Ferté-Macé (Orne), observed in the middle of the afternoon a mysterious object in the sky. This object, which resembled a rocket, was silently rising vertically while leaving a faint white trail behind it. It could be observed for several seconds before quickly disappearing. A woman and children living on the outskirts of the town were also witnesses to the phenomenon.

Meanwhile, Mr. Christian Couette, son of a plumber from Tesse-la-Madeleine, was cycling toward Rânes when, near the Londe-Forêt pond in the commune of Beauvain, he was overtaken by a strange luminous object that, at high speed, skimmed the treetops. The object, about 4 meters in diameter, had the shape of a fireball bulging on top. It could be seen for about ten seconds.

In Münster, Westphalia, Mr. Hoge, a cinema operator by profession, told the DPA agency that he saw four men emerge from a flying saucer Saturday night near Münster.

These men, about 1.20 meters tall, had broad chests and large heads. However, their lower limbs were short and thin.

Mr. Hoge was on his way home when he saw a blue light in a field about sixty meters from the road. He thought it was a crashed plane. Then he realized the light came from an object shaped like a cigar. Four men in rubber suits were working under the craft. None of them spoke a word.

Mr. Hoge watched them work for ten minutes without approaching because he was afraid. Finally, the four men climbed back into the cigar-shaped object via a sort of ladder. A few meters after takeoff, it turned into a saucer projecting a blinding light.

Also in Germany, a "flying saucer" was observed for about two minutes by thirteen members of a gliding school above the Ockstadt airfield near Frankfurt.

The thirteen pilots and student pilots were watching the flight of an instructor when they saw, above the glider in flight at about 3,000 meters altitude, a "slightly bulging silver disc" moving without the slightest sound. The witnesses, including several former Luftwaffe pilots, firmly stated that they could not have been the victims of an optical illusion.

In Egypt, several hundred residents of Alexandria reported seeing a luminous object in the sky that appeared to move while changing color from red to orange, then to green and bluish-gray. Officials from the meteorological service at Alexandria's airport called the Helwan Observatory near Cairo, requesting that the phenomenon be photographed. However, it disappeared before the special telescope could be set up.

In New Zealand

BELSON [sic] (New Zealand), October 11. -- Mr. K.M. Gibbons of Nelson was able to take a series of telephoto pictures of three flying saucers.

After he had taken two snapshots of the three mysterious craft, they disappeared vertically at high speed. Nevertheless, he continued to take photographs in the direction where the saucers had been. The developed film shows cylindrical objects with a kind of dark core.

Finally, in Cameroon

Several trustworthy individuals claim to have witnessed one of those phenomena known as a "flying saucer" last night.

They include Colonel Cauvin, director of hygiene and prophylaxis services in Cameroon; Dr. Menu, chief physician at the Yaoundé hospital; Mr. Dumont, director of security services in Cameroon; Mr. Poilleux, councilor of the Territorial Assembly of Cameroon; Mr. Moreau, deputy mayor of Yaoundé; and their wives.

All these people, gathered at the chief physician's house, were preparing to go to the cinema when they were startled by the behavior of the household dog, which suddenly began growling and bristling. Thinking that strangers might be prowling nearby, Dr. Menu went outside and saw a bright object in the sky. He immediately called out to his guests, who all later stated that they had seen, almost directly above the plateau where the hospital is located, a huge, brightly lit disc, motionless at an altitude of about 600 meters.

This sighting lasted fifteen seconds. The object had the exact shape of a mushroom - that is, a very luminous disc (whose diameter the witnesses could not determine precisely), beneath which slightly swayed a cylinder as long as the disc's diameter and equally illuminated.

Suddenly, the "saucer" moved eastward, and its size appeared to shrink visibly. Then it stopped again for a few seconds before quickly gaining altitude and disappearing.

ECHOES

- The Martians are getting bolder. So far they were content to stroke the girls' chins and friendly pat the men they met.

Now they are taking the cows off the pastures!... This is the latest saucer story, the most beautiful to date. It happened in the Saône-et-Loire, from where a subscriber of L'Abeille writes to us: A few weeks ago, the residents of Mâcon saw a saucer following the course of the Saône river, apparently to count its bridges. As a result of some fever which made it admit as probable, a few days later, the story of another saucer which would have landed in the early morning, in the communal swamp of Saint-Laurent-les-Macon and stole two cows there... The gendarmerie investigation was formal. The two cows were in the meadow before the installation of the saucer, and they were undoubtedly not there after.

What the gendarmes reflected on. "A cow and two more would be very cumbersome for a journey of 79 million kilometers (distance from Earth to Mars) In addition, two cows are quite heavy ...

With such an overload, the saucer would have risked being unable to return, its fuel exhausted too soon.

The Martians therefore had to try to sell their loot before leaving."

The gendarmes therefore advised the farmers victims of theft, accordingly, the next fairs to see if they would recognize their cows on the market. And they themselves questionned the local butchers.

"Didn't Martians come to offer you two Charollais cows?"

A testimony that in the Beaujolais region, the gendarmes have as much humor as the cattle thieves.

About October 10 [, 1954]

? [=unknown hour]: St.Laurent-les-Mâcon (Saône-et-Loire):

[... other cases...]