The index page for the 1954 French flap section of this website is here.
Reference for this case: 15-Oct-54-Saint-Cirgues-en-Montagne.
Please cite this reference in any correspondence with me regarding this case.
In their 1979 book "La Grande Peur Martienne", the two "skeptical" ufologists Gérard Barthel and Jacques Brucker briefly wrote that in Saint-Cirgue-en-Montagne on October 15, 1954, what was observed was a weather balloon.
The case will nevertheless appear later without mention of this explanation on several UFO websites.
[Ref. bbr1:] GERARD BARTHEL AND JACQUES BRUCKER:
The two authors briefly write that in Saint-Cirgue-en-Montagne on October 15, 1954, what was observed was a weather balloon.
[Ref. lcn1:] LUC CHASTAN:
Luc Chastan indicates that in the Ardèche in St Cirgues en Montagne on October 15, 1954, at an unknown hour, "A witness observes from his window at a very early hour an object at high altitude, very shining. It had a round shape but by intermittencies a lengthened and reinflated form was distinguished on the spherical ball. It disappeared after several hours. Other witnesses reported."
The source is indicated as "Le Dauphiné Libéré".
[Ref. rbt1:] RENAUD BENOIST:
The author indicates that on October 15, 1954, the newspaper Le Dauphiné Libéré reported the observation of a man in Saint-Cirgues-en-Montagne in the Ardèche, who reportedly saw from his window "an object at very high altitude, and round shape." The object was intermittently swollen, or elongated. It was observed by other witnesses.
[Ref. ubk1:] "UFO-DATENBANK":
This database recorded this case 7 times:
| Case Nr. | New case Nr. | Investigator | Date of observation | Zip | Place of observation | Country of observation | Hour of observation | Classification | Comments | Identification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19541018 | 18.10.1954 | St. Cirgues | France | NL | ||||||
| 19541018 | 18.10.1954 | St. Cirgues | France | NL | ||||||
| 19541018 | 18.10.1954 | St. Cirgues | France | Afternoon | DD | |||||
| 19541018 | 18.10.1954 | St. Cirgues | France | 17.00 | NL | |||||
| 19541018 | 18.10.1954 | St. Cirgues | France | 18.00 | ||||||
| 19541018 | 18.10.1954 | St. Cirgues | France | Afternoon | DD | |||||
| 19541018 | 18.10.1954 | St. Cirgues | France | Afternoon | DD |
|
The information is insufficient; but it is possible that it was the University of Padua balloon was widely reported that day.
(These keywords are only to help queries and are not implying anything.)
Saint-Cirgues-en-Montagne, Ardèche, object, round, lenghtened, duration
[----] indicates sources that are not yet available to me.
| Version: | Created/Changed by: | Date: | Change Description: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | January 2, 2010 | First published. |
| 1.1 | Patrick Gross | January 26, 2017 | Additions [rbt1], [ubk1]. |
| 1.1 | Patrick Gross | August 7, 2019 | Additions of the Summary. Explanations changed, were "Not looked for yet. Balloon?" |
