The index page for the 1954 French flap section of this website is here.
Reference for this case: 19-Oct-54-Hon-Hergies.
Please cite this reference in any correspondence with me regarding this case.
The regional newspapers La Voix du Nord, in its Maubeuge issue for October 23, 1954, and Nord-Matin, in its Avesnes issue for October 24, 1954, on page 3, reported that a mysterious craft was seen in the sky of Hon-Hergies:
"In the evening of Tuesday" therefore on October 19, 1954, "around 8:30 p.m., Mr. Jules Chauderlot, 66 years old, retired, saw from the window of his bedroom, coming from the direction of Bavay a flying object, a luminous ball of yellow orange color arriving with a more or less rapid speed, to stop above a meadow near his dwelling house and then appeared to make contact with the ground while carrying out leaps, moving horizontally and disappearing definitively towards Taisnières-sur-Hon. Let us add that Mr. Chauderlot is very affirmative in his statement."
[Ref. vdn1:] NEWSPAPER "LA VOIX DU NORD":
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In the evening of Tuesday at 8:30 p.m., Mr. Jules Chauderiot, 65 years old, retired, saw from the window of his bedroom, coming from the direction of Bavay, a flying machine, a luminous ball of yellow orange color, which stopped above a meadow around his dwelling house and then appeared to make contact with the ground, while leaping and moving horizontally. It finally disappeared heading towards Taisnières-sur-Hon.
Let us add that Mr. Chauderiot is very affirmative in his statement.
[Ref. nmn1:] NEWSPAPER "NORD-MATIN":
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In the evening of Tuesday, around 8:30 p.m., Mr. Jules Chauderlot, 66 years old, retired, saw from the window of his bedroom, coming from the direction of Bavay a flying object, a luminous ball of yellow orange color arriving with a more or less rapid speed, to stop above a meadow near his dwelling house and then appeared to make contact with the ground while making jumps, moving horizontally and disappearing definitively towards Taisnières-sur-Hon. Let us add that Mr. Chauderlot is very affirmative in his statement.
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Since the place is more than 80 km from Beuvry-les-Béthunes, I do not think it was one of the handcrafted Chinese lanterns of the Beuvry-les-Béthunes pensioner Victor d'Oliveira.
However, the description strongly reminds me of such a miniature hot air balloon of this kind, in particular the quasi-landing with jumps. It was therefore, perhaps, such a device, inspired maybe by those of Mr. d'Oliveira, which were so much publicized in the Press at the beginning of October 1954.
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Above: A Chinese lantern. |
(These keywords are only to help queries and are not implying anything.)
Hon-Hergies, Nord, craft, night, Jules Chauderlot, retired, home, Bavay, ball, luminous, yellow, orange, landing, meadow, leaps, Taisnières-sur-Hon
[----] indicates sources that are not yet available to me.
| Version: | Created/Changed by: | Date: | Change Description: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | May 10, 2020 | First published. |
| 1.1 | Patrick Gross | October 13, 2021 | Addition [vdn1]. In the Summary, addition of "La Voix du Nord, in its Maubeuge issue for October 23, 1954, and" |
