The index page for the 1954 French flap section of this website is here.
Reference for this case: 15-Jul-54-Baud.
Please cite this reference in any correspondence with me regarding this case.
In September 1988, ufologist Joël Mesnard published a catalog of unpublished French cases in the ufology magazine Lumières Dans La Nuit of which he had become the editor.
Among these is a case located between Baud and Hennebont in the Morbihan department and dated July 15, 1954.
At 3:45 a.m., with a clear night and the moon visible, Mrs. Requeda, who had left the Paris region around 11 p.m., was driving to her vacation spot with her two children, 2 and 6, who slept in the back seat of her 2 CV car.
She saw appear almost in front of her, but slightly to her left, about twenty degrees above the horizon and at a distance which could have been 2 km, a luminous object of apparent diameter comparable to that of the Moon, but of a very different aspect.
This luminous object, a very garish pink, was moving towards the right side of the road. Its front part had sharp contours, and its shape could be that of a flat-bottomed disc, slightly domed on top, especially near the edges. The rear was drowned in three equally pink wisps of smoke, moving in a circular motion, and which did not fray in the object's wake.
She stopped her car to better observe the phenomenon, with the car's engine still running, she did not hear any noise coming from the phenomenon. It seems that the light emitted by the phenomenon did not illuminate the landscape below.
The thing "disappeared" to the right, behind some trees.
The woman was very frightened by this encounter, until the next day.
It is indicated that she had the excellent idea of recording the event in her notebook, which explains why we have the precise date and time.
[Ref. ldl1:] UFOLOGY MAGAZINE "LUMIERES DANS LA NUIT":
|
Case #15: between Baud and Hennebont (Morbihan), July 15, 1954
It was 3:45 in the morning. The night was clear, and the moon was visible. Ms. Requeda, who had left the Paris region around 11 p.m., was driving to the holidays. Her two children, aged 2 and 6, slept in the back seat of the 2 CV.
It was then that this lady saw appear, almost in front of her, but slightly to her left, about twenty degrees above the horizon and at a distance which could have been 2 km, a luminous object with an apparent diameter comparable to that of the Moon, although of a very different aspect.
This luminous object, a very garish pink, was moving towards the right side of the road. Its front part had sharp contours, and its shape could be that of a flat-bottomed disc, slightly domed on top, especially near the edges. The rear was drowned in three equally pink wisps of smoke, moving in a circular motion, and which did not fray in the object's wake.
Mrs. Requeda stopped her car to better observe the phenomenon. The motor didn't stop, and she didn't hear any sound coming from the thing. It does not appear that the light emitted by the phenomenon illuminated the landscape beneath it. The sight disappeared to the right, behind trees. This lady was frightened by this encounter (which cannot be described as close encounter), and her fear persisted until the next day.
She had the excellent idea of ??recording the event in her notebook, which means that today we know the exact date and time.
[Ref. emt1:] ERIC MAILLOT:
|
19541507 345 JE u 56 BAUD,<>HENNEBONT
1 0 1 0 1 D LN1 1:, 13/,15X
H°low20 D=FAR2000 to G 1xPL=?,HALFCIRCLE? PINK emits smokeFlow?LAT àG,MVT?. W-stop.PH DISAPPEARS BEHINF TREES. moon seen. W FRIGHT-
dv #PSYCHO EFFECT: FRIGHT(1j)
-MOON SET 04HL00.H°5/AZ°233;MOON SEEN but where? aspect?, AZ°?ufo, EXACT MAP? EMT
LDLN 291 p18*;
|
The report is ambiguous about the Moon being visible. Indeed, I do not know whether it was Joël Mesnard who indicated that the Moon was visible following a check that he would have made himself, or wether it was an indication by the witness who would have meant by that having seen both the phenomenon and the moon. Such ambiguities in the documentation of a case are quite unacceptable.
The woman was going to her vacation spot, obviously on the Morbihan seaside to the south of Baud. She came from Paris. It is quite logical to deduce that she was going from Baud to Hennebont and not the other way around. The road from Baud to Hennebont generally follows the 242° direction, it includes slight bends. The Moon must therefore be around 242°, and its height would be within the 20° mentioned in the report. It must also be a full moon, the description as a flattened disk below and a bulging above suggests a top part of the Moon emerging above a cloud.
|
The report says it took place on July 15, 1954, at 3:45 a.m. The location is 47° 50' North and 3° 08' West.
The position of the moon was an azimuth of 223° and an altitude of 5° 5'. It was a full moon with 99.1% of the surface illuminated, setting.
The fact that the woman indicated a disappearance behind a curtain of trees also suggests an elevation at least at this time which could have been much lower than 20°.
Thus the Moon explanation is indeed a probable or at least a possible explanation, a full Moon indeed, globally in the correct direction, lower than indicated by the witness - but we know that the elevation angles are not necessarily well estimated.
(These keywords are only to help queries and are not implying anything.)
Baud, Morbihan, night, clear, moon, Requeda, car, children, 2 CV, object, luminous, pink, disc, bulging, swirls, smoke, rotation, fear
[----] indicates sources that are not yet available to me.
| Version: | Created/Changed by: | Date: | Change Description: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | March 15, 2022 | First published. |
