The index page for the 1954 French flap section of this website is here.
Reference for this case: 14-Oct-54-Entraigues-sur-la-Sorgue.
Please cite this reference in any correspondence with me regarding this case.
The regional newspaper Le Provençal for October 18, 1954, reported on page 8 that Mr. Louis Ollier, farmer in Entraigues, worked, "Thursday" - i.e. October 14, 1954 - in his field, in the district of Malgouverte, with a tractor, when between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. he saw a craft appearing to him in the form of an elongated spindle, "of which, he says, the colors were clearly those of the rainbow". The craft, which seemed about 8 meters long, came to a halt a hundred meters from him and less than two meters from the ground.
The newspaper said that Mr. Ollier had called a neighbor, a servant at Mr. Poutrot's, who was working not far from there, and who also saw the apparatus rise rapidly and make it for the Ventoux. They then realized that what they had taken for an elongated spindle was a substantially circular object. The object disappeared quickly.
The story would be repeated in the ufology literature without anyone seeming to suspect a link with the widely reported passage of what was actually a meteor, around 06:13 p.m..
[Ref. lpl1:] NEWSPAPER "LE PROVENCAL":
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A farm labourer also saw the object
Entraigues (C.P.).
Mr. Louis Ollier, farmer in Entraigues, worked, Thursday after midday, in his field, in the district of Malgouverte, with tractor, when, between 17 and 18 hours, he saw a craft appear which seemed to him to have the shape of a lengthened spindle, "which colors, he says, "were clearly those of the rainbow ". The machine, which seemed 8 meters long approximately, was immobilized at a hundred meters of him and at less than two meters of the ground.
Mr. Ollier called a neighbor, domestic at Mr. Poutrot's, who worked not far from there and who also saw the apparatus rising quickly and to move towards Ventoux. They realized at this time that what they had taken for a lengthened spindle was an appreciably circular object. The object besides disappeared quickly.
Paris (A.C.P.)
The flying saucers once more honoured of their presence the most various areas of France: in Metz, in Saint-Malo, Issoire, the mysterious machines have been seen.
* * *
In Metz, Mr. Hellers claimed to have seen Saturday evening around 09:25 p.m., a luminous machine of oblong form that crossed the sky from East to West at a vertiginous speed. The object, of orange color and the size of a hen egg, slipped silently into space while leaving behind itself an incandescent trail. The witness evaluated the speed of this machine with approximately ten times that of a jet.
This testimony was confirmed by a sentinel of the air police station in faction on the height of Plappeville in the suburbs of Metz.
* * *
In the Ille-et-Vilaine, in Paramé, a plaster stated to have seen Saturday evening, around 07:45 p.m., two luminous discs which went up and went down in the sky at an extraordinary speed. A third luminous disc seemed to follow a line parallel to the horizon, at a much slower pace than the two others. The discs, while moving away, left behind them a tail similar to that of a comet.
* * *
Lastly, the personnel of the airfield of Issoire-le-Broc and the chief pilot Hebaut, which was in flight, observed a shining craft of circular form which hovered during nearly two hours at very high altitude before moving very slowly towards the West.
[Ref. hjf1:] MICHEL FIGUET AND HENRI JULIEN:
The two ufologists report that on October 14, 1954, in Entraigues-sur-Sorgues, in the district of Malgouverne, Mr. Louis O. is at work on its tractor, when he saw a luminous machine, within less than 100 meters in front of him.
The machine is in the shape of an elongated spindle, with a length of 8 meters, luminous, dans the witness said it had "the colors of the rainbow."
Louis O. is disconcerted and calls a neighbor who was also looking at the machine.
The two witnesses then observe the object rising from the ground vertically and then move towards mount Ventoux. At this time its shape appears perfectly circular.
[Ref. jsr1:] JEAN SIDER:
French ufologist and author Jean Sider learned in an article from the newspaper La Provence, of Marseilles, for October 18, 1954 on page 8, that on October 14, 1954, between 05:00 p.m. and 06:00 p.m., in Entraigues-sur-Sorgue in the department of Vaucluse, Louis Ollier, farmer of Entraigues, saw in his field of the Malgouverne district, whereas he was busy on his tractor, a machine in the shape of an elongated spindle having the colors of the rainbow.
The machine was eight meters long approximately, was motionless at a hundred meters of the witness and within two meters of the ground.
Louis Ollier called his neighbor, Mr. Poutrot, who then saw the apparatus rising quickly and slipping by towards Ventoux. At this time the object appeared to be circular.
[Ref. lhh1:] LARRY HATCH - "*U* COMPUTER DATABASE":
4109: 1954/10/14 17:30 1 4:55:00 E 44:00:00 N 3333 WEU FRN VCL 7:6
ENTRAIGES-sur-SORGUE [sic],FR:1 OBS:8M SCR/ALL CLRS 2M OVR FARM:>>NE/Mtns:/r217p105
Ref#194 LUMIERES dans la NUIT.(LDLN France) Issue No. 319 : FARMLANDS
[Ref. lcn1:] LUC CHASTAN:
Luc Chastan indicates in his database that in the Vaucluse in Entraigues sur Sorgue on October 14, 1954 at an unknown hour, "In the district of Malgouverne, a farmer is at work on his tractor, when he sees within less than 100 meters in front of him a luminous craft. The object is in the form of a lengthened spindle, 8 meters long, luminous and the witness says that it has "the colors of the rainbow." The witness is disconcerted and calls a neighbor who was also looking at the craft. The two people observe the object then rise ground vertically and move towards mount Ventoux. At this time its shape appears perfectly circular."
The source is indicates as my website at "http://ufologie.net" (the old URL of my webiste).
[Ref. uda1:] "UFODNA" WEBSITE:
The website indicates that on 14 October 1954 at 17:30 in Entraiges-Sur-Sorgue, France, "8m diameter, multicolored disc, only 2m over farm. Flies rapidly to the northeast toward mountains. Explanation: Meteor." "An object was sighted that had an appearance and performance beyond the capability of known earthly aircraft. One multi-colored disc, about 40 feet across, was observed by one witness on a farm for over one minute."
The website indicates that the sources are Guieu, Jimmy, Flying Saucers Come from Another World, Citadel, New York, 1956; Michel, Aime, Flying Saucers and the Straight-Line Mystery, S. G. Phillips, New York, 1958; Vallee, Jacques, Challenge to Science: The UFO Enigma, Henry Regnery, Chicago, 1966; Schoenherr, Luis, Computerized Catalog (N = 3173); Hatch, Larry, *U* computer database, Author, Redwood City, 2002.
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Probably the 06:15 p.m. meteor of that day.
(These keywords are only to help queries and are not implying anything.)
Entraigues-sur-la-Sorgue, Vaucluse, Louis Ollier, Poutrot, craft, object, luminous, multicolor, landing, round, daylight, multiple
[----] indicates sources that are not yet available to me.
| Version: | Created/Changed by: | Date: | Change Description: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.1 | Patrick Gross | March 1, 2006 | First published. |
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | April 8, 2009 | Conversion from HTML to XHTML Strict. First formal version. Additions [lcn1], [uda1]. |
| 1.1 | Patrick Gross | July 17, 2019 | Additions [lhh1], Summary. |
