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The 1954 French flap:

The index page for the 1954 French flap section of this website is here.

November 13, 1954, Berck, Pas-de-Calais:

Reference for this case: 13-nov-54-Berck.
Please cite this reference in any correspondence with me regarding this case.

Summary:

In 1966, the French ufologist Jacques Vallée published a listing of UFO sighting, in which appeared that on December 13, 1954, at 05:00, at the Berck airport in France, there was a sighting.

In 1969, Vallée published another version: it was on November 13, at 03:30, and that near the Berck airport, a craft looking like a round hut flew away at about 300 meters form the witnesses who heard no noise.

In the next version, there are no more witnesses in the plural but a witness called Mr. Davril. And as source, Vallée said it was "Personal"; which only means he has some source in his personal file.

Later, numerous ufology sources copied Vallée's third version, without any other information.

Reports:

[Ref. jve5:] JACQUES VALLEE:

417

-001.79741

50.42700

1954

*BERCK-AEROD.

0011

[Ref. jve4:] JACQUES VALLEE:

Nr 181, November 13. Near the local airport of Berck (France), a craft in the shape of a round hut flew away, about 300 meters from the witnesses, who heard no noise.

[Ref. jve1:] JACQUES VALLEE:

336

Nov. 13 1954, 03h30. Berck (France)

0330

Berck (France), Near the local airport, Mr. Davril saw a craft like a round hut 300 m away. It took off without noise. (Personal)

[Ref. jve2:] JACQUES VALLEE:

13 novembre 1954, 03:30, Berck (France):

Near the local airport, Mr. Davril saw a craft like a round hut 300 m away. It took off without noise. (Personal).

[Ref. fle1:] FERNAND LAGARDE:

This ufologist listed in a table a case in Berck in the department 62, with a source indication of Flying Saucer Review #181. [FSR did not use that type of numering].

[Ref. jve9:] JACQUES VALLEE:

336) November 13, 1954, 03:30, Berck (France):

Near the local airport, Mr. Davril saw a craft resembling a round hut, 300 m away. It took off quietly (personal).

The catalog from which this entry comes is preceded by this warning, in a previous issue, by Jacques Vallée:

We do not believe that we have to apologize for the inclusion of testimonies which may justifiably appear incredible or grotesque. We do not claim that there exists in this Catalog a single observation of a physical event of an unknown nature.

We are not publishing a table of experimental results obtained in the laboratory, but only a general guide to facilitate the study of the abundant literature which has accumulated on an astonishing topic.

It would therefore be dishonest and a serious misunderstanding of our design, to treat all the cases of this catalog as if they had the same level of validity, or to affirm that the presence of this or that particular case reinforces or destroys by itself the degree of confidence that one can place in another case. WE CANNOT ACCEPT LIABILITY FOR ERRORS FROM THOSE WHO IGNORE THIS WARNING.

[Ref. ldl3] "LUMIERES DANS LA NUIT":

In a list of cases of the 1954 French flap that were estimated to need an investigation or a counter-investigation, the magazine noted:

"336. 13-11-54 Breck [sic]"

[Ref. prn1:] PETER ROGERSON - "INTCAT":

518 13 November 1954 0330

BERCK (FRANCE) Near the local airport, Mr Davril saw a craft like a round hut 300m away. It took off almost without noise. (M336)

[Ref. gni1:] GNEOVNI:

11/13/I954 - BERCK 62 type I

Near the local airport, Mr. Davril saw a craft resembling a round hut, 300 meters away. This craft took off silently.

(Chronique of J. Vallée page 319)

[Ref. bbr1:] GERARD BARTHEL AND JACQUES BRUCKER:

The two authors refer to the Vallée catalogue and provide the same summary.

[Ref. fru1:] MICHEL FIGUET AND JEAN-LOUIS RUCHON:

The two authors refer to the Vallée catalogue and provide the same summary.

[Ref. jbu1:] JEROME BEAU:

Jérôme Beau indicates that on November 13, 1954 at 03:30 in Berck, France, close to the local airport, Mr. Davril sees a machine resembling a round hut, 300 m away. It takes off without noise.

[Ref. mft1:] MICHEL FIGUET:

This ufologist noted:

CASE Nr	CLASSIFICATION	DATE	HOUR	PLACE	ZIP CODE	CREDIBILITY SOURCE
278	CEl	13 11 1954	03.20	Berck	62600 D2	RS, CV br 336 OVNI

Note: the case cannot be a CE1 since the definition of Close Encounters (CE) says the distance was less than 50 meters, it was apparently 300 meters here.

[Ref. lhh1:] LARRY HATCH - "*U* COMPUTER DATABASE":

4390: 1954/11/13 03:30 5 1:36:00 E 50:26:00 N 3333 WEU FRN PDC 7:8

nr AIRPORT/BERCK,FR:LANDED 'ROUND HUT' CRAFT TAKES OFF SILENTLY.

Ref# 8 VALLEE,Jacques: PASSPORT TO MAGONIA. Case No. 336 : TOWN &CITY

[Ref. jdt1:] JEAN-PIERRE D'HONDT:

This ufologist indicates that on November 13, 1954, in Berck, in the Pas-de-Calais, at 03:30, close to the local airport, the witness, Mr. Davril, saw a machine resembling a round hut, 300 meters away; which took off without noise.

The source is indicated as "LDLN contact lecteurs #102 bis January 1970 page 5".

[Ref. lcn1:] LUC CHASTAN:

Luc Chastan indicates that in the Pas de Calais in Berk, on November 13, 1954 at 03:20 hours, "a witness close to the airport observes an object resembling a round hut 300 meter from there which flies away. No noise heard."

Luc Chastan indicates as source "Ovni, Premier dossier complet... by Figuet M./ Ruchon J.L. ** Alain Lefeuvre pub. 1979".

[Ref. uda1:] "UFODNA" WEBSITE:

The website indicates that on 13 November 1954 at 03:30 in Berck, France, a craft like a round hut 300 meters away was seen. Near the local airport, Mr. Davril saw a craft like a round hut 300 meters away. It took off without noise.

The website comments: "An object was sighted that had an appearance and performance beyond the capability of known earthly aircraft. One ball was observed by one male witness at an airport for over 60 minutes."

The sources are indicated as Bowen, Charles, The Humanoids: FSR Special Edition No. 1, FSR, London, 1966; Vallee, Jacques, Computerized Catalog (N = 3073); Vallee, Jacques, A Century of Landings (N = 923), (in JVallee04), Chicago, 1969; Schoenherr, Luis, Computerized Catalog (N = 3173); Hatch, Larry, *U* computer database, Author, Redwood City, 2002.

[Ref. uda1:] "UFODNA" WEBSITE:

The website indicates that on 13 December 1954 at 03:30, in Berck, France "an object was sighted that had an appearance and performance beyond the capability of known earthly aircraft. One object was observed by one witness at an airport."

The sources are indicated as 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).

[Ref. tai1:] "THINK ABOUT IT" WEBSITE:

Date: November 13 1954

Location: Berck France

Time: 0330

Near the local airport, Mr. Davril saw a craft like a round hut 300 m away. It took off without noise.

Source: Magonia 336

[Ref. ubk1:] "UFO-DATENBANK":

This database recorded the same case 6 times, twice with a wrong month:

Case Nr.	Date of observation	Place of observation	Country of observation	Hour of observation	Classification
19541213	13.12.1954	Berck	France	05.00
19541213	13.12.1954	Berck	France		CE II
19541113	13.11.1954	Berck	France		NL
19541113	13.11.1954	Berck	France		CE I
19541113	13.11.1954	Berck	France		CE I
19541113	13.11.1954	Berck	France		CE I

[Cette base de données enregistait ce cas six fois au lieu d'une.]

[Ref. prn2:] PETER ROGERSON - "INTCAT":

November 13 1954. 0330 BERCK (PAD DE CALAIS [sic]: FRANCE)

Near the local airport Mr Davril saw an object like a round hut 300m ay. It flew off without noise (Vallee Case 336)

Evaluation - Helicopter ?

Explanations:

A hut-shaped "object" near an airfield can obviously be a helicopter, or an airplane; from a distance of 300 meters - and perhaps it was more than that - it can seem silent, especially since nothing is known about the ambient noises and the direction of the wind.

There are 750 meters between the nearest edge of the runway of the local airfield, and the dwellings of that time closest to the airfield.

Keywords:

(These keywords are only to help queries and are not implying anything.)

Berck, Pas-de-Calais, airport, airfield, Davril, craft, round, hut, silent, silence, landing

Sources:

[----] indicates sources that are not yet available to me.

[jve5] "Catalogue préliminaire de 500 observations", listing in "Les Phénomènes Insolites de l'Espace", book by Jacques and Janine Vallée, Table Ronde publishers, France, 1966.
[jve4] "The Pattern Behind UFO Landings", chapter by Jacques Vallée, in "The Humanoids", book by Charles Bowen, Neville Spearman publisher, U-K., 1967.
[jve4] "Le Modèle Derrière les Atterrissages d'OVNIS", chapter by Jacques Vallée, in "En Quête des Humanoïdes", book by Charles Bowen, French translation of "The Humanoids", J'ai Lu publisher, France, page 67, 1974.
[fle1] "Corrélation M.O.C. et failles", article by Fernand Lagarde, in the ufology magazine Lumières Dams La Nuit (LDLN), France, #98, page 14, February 1969.
[jve9] "Un Siècle d'Atterrissages (suite) - Catalogue général d'observations de M. O. C. au sol de 1868 à 1968", catalog by Jacques Vallée, in the supplement "Contact Lecteurs" of the ufology magazine Lumières Dans La Nuit (LDLN), France, #102, page 5, January 1970.
[jve1] "Passport to Magonia - On Ufos, Folklore, and Parallel Worlds", book by Jacques Vallée, Contemporary Books publisher, USA, page 243, 1969.
[jve2] "Chronique des Apparitions Extra-terrestres", French translation of "Passport to Magonia", book by Jacques Vallée, Denoël publisher, France, page 319, 1972.
[jve2] "Chronique des Apparitions Extra-terrestres", French translation of "Passport to Magonia", book by Jacques Vallée, Denoël - J'Ai Lu publishers, France, page 292, 1974.
[ldl3] "Réenquêtes 1954", in the ufology magazine Lumières Dans La Nuit (LDLN), France, #118, page 4, November 1972.
[prn1] "INTCAT Part 10", catalogue compiled by Peter Rogerson, in the ufology bulletin MUFOB, U-K., New Series #5, page 9, Winter 1976 / 1977.
[jve5] "Catalogue préliminaire de 500 observations", listing in "Les Phénomènes Insolites de l'Espace", book by Jacques and Janine Vallée, Robert Laffont publisher, France, page 253, 1978.
[gni1] Ufology bulletin Recherches Ufologiques, of the GNEOVNI ufology group, France, #5, 2^nd quarter 1978.
[bbr1] "La Grande Peur Martienne", book by Gerard Barthel and Jacques Brucker, Les Nouvelles Editions Rationalistes publisher, France, page 164, 1979.
[fru1] "OVNI, Premier Dossier Complet des Rencontres Rapprochées en France", book by Michel Figuet and Jean Louis Ruchon, Alain Lefeuvre publisher, France, pp 212-213, 1979.
[----] "Computerized Catalog", compiled by Luis Schoenherr.
[mft1] "Catalogue Francat des rencontres rapprochées en France (Listing 800 1982) (2 � Suite)", list compiled by Michel Figuet, in the ufology magazine Lumières Dans La Nuit (LDLN), France, #257-258, page 21, November / December 1985.
[lhh1] "*U* Computer Database", database by Larry Hatch, USA, circa 2002.
[jdt1] "Catalogue Région - Rapports d'Observations", catalogue by Jean-Pierre D'Hondt, Groupement Nordiste d'Etudes des Observations Visuelles Non Identifiées, circa 2006, at geru59.free.fr/documents/jp_dhont/catalog_vague1954.html
[jbu1] "Novembre 1954", web page by Jérôme Beau, France, circa 2005, at rr0.org/data/1/9/5/4/11/index.html
[lcn1] Base OVNI France website, by Luc Chastan, France, circa 2005, at baseovnifrance.free.fr/detobs.php?numobs=1980
[uda1] "13 Nov 1954 - Berck, France", web page by the website UFOdna, circa 2008, at www.ufodna.com/uf18/uf9/189209.htm
[uda2] "12-13 Nov 1954 - Berck, France", web page by the website UFOdna, circa 2008, at www.ufodna.com/uf02/uf4/024246.htm
[tai1] "1954: November Sightings", catalog on the UFO website Think About It, USA, not dated, found in 2014, at http://www.thinkaboutitdocs.com/6-1954-november-sightings
[ubk1] Online database UFO-Datenbank, Germany, found in 2016, at ufodatenbank.de
[prn2] "INTCAT 1954", catalogue compiled by Peter Rogerson, U-K., circa 2016, at https://intcat.blogspot.com/search?q=1954

Document history:

Version:	Created/Changed by:	Date:	Change Description:
0.1	Patrick Gross	April 18, 2003	First published.
1.0	Patrick Gross	December 21, 2008	Conversion from HTML to XHTML Strict. First formal version. Additions [jdt1], [lcn1], [uda1], [uda2].
1.1	Patrick Gross	July 1, 2010	Addition [jve5].
1.2	Patrick Gross	November 2, 2016	Addition [ubk1].
1.4	Patrick Gross	January 11, 2017	Addition [tai1].
1.5	Patrick Gross	November 27, 2018	Additions [fle1], [mft1], [lhh1], [prn2]. Addition of the Summary.
1.6	Patrick Gross	January 21, 2020	Additions [jve9], [gni1]. Summary rewritten, was "In 1967, the French ufologist Jacques Vallée cited a case in Berck, France, without giving any indication of source. He said that near the airport of Berck, at 03:30, Mr. Davril saw a craft looking like a round hut, 300 meters away, which took off noiselessly. In another version, he spoke of 'witnesses' in the plural." Explanation changed, was "Not looked for yet. Helicopter?"
1.7	Patrick Gross	November 10, 2021	Addition [prn1].

This page was last updated on November 10, 2021.