The index page for the 1954 French flap section of this website is here.
Reference for this case: 17-sep-54-Clermont-Ferrand.
Please cite this reference in any correspondence with me regarding this case.
I found in newspapers of September 26, 1954, that a resident of Clermont-Ferrand who was picking mushrooms saw in the sky at high altitude a luminoust trail "slightly pink colored". I had thought of a possible cloud lit by the setting sun.
Several ufological sources mention the observation with the dating of September 24, 1954. But in 1997, ufologist Michel Jeantheau did find the case in the newspaper La Liberté of Clermont-Ferrand for September 25, 1954, where the date was given as September 17, 1954, the hour as 05:00 p.m., and the name of the witness as Mr. Morel.
[Ref. lme1:] NEWSPAPER "LE MERIDIONAL:"
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CLERMONT-FERRAND. -- Six inhabitants of Langeac (Haute-Loire) saw a white gleam moving in the sky in direction of the South.
A resident of Gelles (Puy-de-Dome), Mrs. Vve Melles, claimed to have seen in the sky a luminous machine of elongated form "in the kind of a cigar". The machine moved without noise.
A resident of Clermont-Ferrand was picking mushrooms: he saw in the sky, at high altitude, a luminous trail "slightly coloured in pink".
Rugby players training at the Vichy stadium saw a "flying cigar".
... and near La Rochelle
LA ROCHELLE. -- In A Charron (Charente-Maritime) three fishermen and a customs officer state to have seen, during one of these last nights, a formation of flying saucers evolving very low and flying over the shore before disappearing.
[Ref. nnm1:] NEWSPAPER "LE NOUVEAU NORD MARITIME":
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Bayonne, 25. -- Bayonne residents claim to have seen Friday afternoon, very high in the sky, in a northeast direction, three mysterious light-colored objects sharp against the pure sky at that hour.
A peacekeeper, Mr. Carrions, who was in the hall area, observed these three motionless craft, arranged in a triangle, of slightly oval shape. They were, he said, the size of a rugby ball and appeared to be at a considerable height.
Passers-by said they saw the same bright objects in other places.
Nancy, 25. -- Several dozen "Sidelor" workers living in the Lantéfontaine-les-Baroches region (M. et M.), claim to have seen six flying cigars in the sky between 4:30 a.m. and 5:30 a.m..
"We first saw, they said, two" cigars ", then later four other craft came to join the first two. All remained motionless for a moment and finally disappeared instantly. These statements are confirmed by several other people... and an isolated one.
Le Puy, 25. -- Mrs. Chaumard, living in the Girette district in Le Puy, saw in the sky a craft having a shape like a cigar glowing at one end, silent and appearing motionless, she could observe the craft for almost a quarter of an hour, then the "cigar" suddenly disappeared while gaining altitude.
Clermont-Ferrand, 25. -- Six residents of Langeac (Haute-Loire) saw a white glow move in the sky in direction South.
A resident of Gelles (Puy-de-Dôme), Mrs. widow Melle, claimed to have seen in the sky a luminous craft of a shape "like a cigar". The craft moved silently.
A resident of Clermont-Ferrand was picking mushrooms: he saw in the sky, at high altitude, a luminous trail "slightly colored in pink".
La Rochelle, 23. - In Charron (Charente-Maritime), three fishermen and a customs officer declare having seen during a of these last nights, a formation of flying saucers moving very low and flying over the shore, before disappearing.
[Ref. ner1:] NEWSPAPER "NORD-ECLAIR":
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Saucers and cigars now crisscross the sky in formation! At least that's what fishermen from La Rochelle and residents of Bayonne say.
The first declared to have seen, during one of these last nights, a "formation" of flying saucers evolving very low and flying over the village before disappearing.
The second claimed to have seen, Friday afternoon, very high in the sky, in a northeast direction, three mysterious objects, clear in color, sharp on the pure sky at that hour.
A peacekeeper, Mr. Corrions, who was in the Halles district, observed these three immobile craft, arranged in a triangle, of slightly oval shape. They were, he said, the size of a rugby ball and appeared to be at a considerable height.
Passers-by said they saw the same bright objects in other places.
In Auvergne, testimonies are pouring in from all sides.
Six residents of Langeac (Haute-Loire) saw a white glow moving in the sky towards the south.
A resident of Gelles (Puy-de-Dôme), Mrs. widow Melle, claimed to have seen in the sky a luminous craft of an elongated shape "like a cigar". The machine moved silently. A resident of Clermont-Ferrand was picking mushrooms: he saw in the sky, at high altitude, a luminous trail "slightly colored in pink".
In addition, several dozen of "Sidelor" workers living in the Lantéfontaine-les-Baroches region (M.-et-M.) claim to have seen six flying cigars in the sky between 4:30 a.m. and 5:30 a.m., Friday.
"We first saw, they said, two "cigars", then after that four other craft came to join the first two. All of them stayed for a moment perfectly still and finally disappeared instantly. These statements are confirmed by several other people.
[Ref. nll1:] NEWSPAPER "NORD LITTORAL":
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Clermont-Ferrand, September 25. -- Six residents of Langeac (Haute-Loire) saw a white glow moving in the sky towards the South.
A resident of Gelles (Puy-de-Dôme), Mrs. widow Melles, claimed to have seen in the sky a luminous craft of shape lying "like a cigar." The craft moved silently.
A resident of Clermont-Ferrand was picking mushrooms; he saw in the sky, at high altitude, a luminous trail "slightly colored in pink."
Rugby players in training at the Vichy Stadium spotted a "flying cigar."
[Ref. vmr1:] NEWSPAPER "VAR-MATIN - REPUBLIQUE":
Bayonne, September 25. -- Residents of Bayonne claim to have seen, this afternoon, very high in the sky, in the north-eastern direction, three mysterious objects of light colour, constrasting on the pure sky at this hour there.
A policeman, Mr. Carrions, who was in the district of the Halles, observed these three motionless machines, laid out in triangle, of slightly oval shape. They had, he said, the dimension of a rugby ball and appeared to be at a considerable height.
Passers by stated to have seen the same luminous objects in other places.
In the Meurthe et Moselle
Several tens of workmen of "Sidelor" living the area of Lantefontaine-les-Baroches (Meurthe et Moselle) claim to have seen in the sky, six flying cigars, between 04:30 and 05:30. "We initially saw, they stated, two "cigars" then four other apparatuses came to join the two first. All remained perfectly motionless one moment to finally disappear instantaneously." These statements are confirmed by several other people.
In Le Puy
Mrs Chaumard, living in the La Girette district in Le Puy, saw in the sky, a machine having the shape of a cigar, reddish at an end. Silent and appearing motionless, she managed to observe the machine during nearly a quarter of an hour, then the "cigar" suddenly disappeared by taking altitude.
In the sky of the Auvergne
Clermont Ferrand. -- Six residents of Langeac (the Haute Loire) saw a white gleam moving in the sky in direction of the ground.
A resident of Gelles (the Puy de Dôme), Mrs widow Melles claimes to have seen in the sky, a luminous machine of lengthened form "of the cigar kind". The craft moved silently. A resident of Clermont Ferrand gathered mushrooms: he saw in the sky at high altitude, a luminous trail "slightly pink coloured".
Rugby players, training in the Vichy stadium, saw a flying cigar.
Near La Rochelle
La Rochelle. -- At La Charron - (the Charente Maritime), three fishermen and a customs observer state to have seen, during one of these last nights, a formation of flying saucers moving very low and flying over the shore, before disappearing.
[Ref. cdn1:] NEWSPAPER "LA CROIX DU NORD":
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Six residents of Langeac (Haute-Loire) saw a white gleam move in the sky towards the south.
A resident of Gelles (Puy-de-Dôme) said she saw in the sky a luminous craft of elongated shape "like that of a cigar." The craft moved silently.
A resident of Clermont-Ferrand picked mushrooms: he saw in the sky, at high altitude, a luminous trail "slightly colored in pink."
Rugby players in training at the Vichy Stadium, saw a "flying cigar".
[Ref. ldl1:] UFOLOGY MAGAZINE "LUMIERES DANS LA NUIT":
The magazine indicates that on September 24, 1954, in Clermont-Ferrand, Puy-de-Dôme, a person who was collecting mushrooms saw a luminous trail.
[Ref. b1:] GERARD BARTHEL AND JACQUES BRUCKER:
The two authors indicate, in order to illustrate their opinion on the poor content of the saucer reports in the press, the following extract of which they indicate that the source is the newspaper Ouest-France on September 27, 1954.
"A resident of Clermont-Ferrand was picking up mushrooms when he saw in the sky at a high altitude, "a luminous trail, of slightly coloured pink.""
Further on in their book thy add that they say nothing of this and "leave the entire responsibility of his statement to the anonymous witness."
[Ref. mju1:] MICHEL JEANTHEAU:
While browsing his documentation to check the cases allotted to the September 24 of 1954 that presumedly formed an line with Bayonne and Vichy as reference points, Michel Jeantheau checks on a case that Jacques Vallée indicated as of September 24, 1954 in Clermont-Ferrand.
He notes that it is impossible to know which observation in Clermont-Ferrand Jacques Vallée intends to refer to since he does not give any source or description.
He finds that an observation communicated by a Press agency was included in various newspapers of September 26 and 27, 1954 as:
"An resident of Clermont-Ferrand was picking mushrooms, when he saw in the sky, at high altitude, a luminous trail "slightly coloured of pink.""
The date and the time are not specified, except in the newspaper "La Liberté" of Clermont-Ferrand for September 25, 1954 where the date is given as September 17, 1954, the time as 05:00 p.m. and the name of the witness as Mr. Morel.
The place is the plate of the hills of Clermont at approximately 4 kilometers from the town center of Clermont-Ferrand.
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Before learning of the sighting hour indicated by Michel Jeantheau, 5:00 p.m., I noted the possibility of a cloud lit by the setting sun.
I see something curious in this report: there were, in the region, several other cases the same day, comparable to the "pink cloud" of this case, but around 07:15 p.m., not 5:00 p.m. Is there an error about this 5 p.m. hour? Was a "7:00" turned "17:00?"
If this is the case, the explanation could be, as for these other cases, not a cloud, but a jet plane contrail trail, lit by the setting sun.
Aimé Michel said there were multiple observations; which would exclude a plane as an explanation of some of the September 17, 1954, sightings. I need to summarize the actual situation.
This is a map of the places indicated in the various versions of the sightings to consider, those of September 17, 1954, between 7 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. in the Puy-de-Dôme and not too far:
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The width or the territory shown on this map is about 200 km.
The cases are, in reality:
(These keywords are only to help queries and are not implying anything.)
Clermont-Ferrand, Puy-de-Dôme, anonymous, luminous, trail, pink, high, Morel, afternoon
[----] indicates sources that are not yet available to me.
| Version: | Created/Changed by: | Date: | Change Description: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.1 | Patrick Gross | May 8, 2004 | First published. |
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | June 11, 2009 | Conversion from HTML to XHTML Strict. First formal version. Additions [lc1], [ud1]. |
| 1.1 | Patrick Gross | January 28, 2010 | Addition [vmr1]. |
| 1.2 | Patrick Gross | June 30, 2019 | Addition of the Summary. Explanations changed, was "Not looked for yet. Possible cloud, possible high altitude noctilucent cloud." |
| 1.3 | Patrick Gross | February 27, 2020 | Addition [nnm1]. |
| 1.4 | Patrick Gross | March 22, 2020 | Addition [ner1]. |
| 1.5 | Patrick Gross | March 25, 2020 | Addition [abe1]. |
| 1.6 | Patrick Gross | May 22, 2020 | Addition [nll1]. |
