The index page for the 1954 French flap section of this website is here.
Reference for this case: 28-sep-54-Froncles.
Please cite this reference in any correspondence with me regarding this case.
Aimé Michel indicated in his 1958 book on the 1954 French flap that on September 28, 1954, around 1:15 p.m. in Froncles, village of the department of Haute-Marne, 215 kilometers east-south-east of Paris in a straight line, Mrs. Kapps, living rue de l'Usine, watched the moves of three planes when she glimpsed, behind them, a shining body, which was obviously reflecting the sunlight, since it was yellow on the west and blue on the east.
Taking her binoculars, Mrs. Kapps directed them on this spot and saw a rather flat object that, at first motionless, suddenly sped north-west, stopped for two minutes, then left sharply, and repeated this ride five times before disappearing to the northwest.
[Ref. aml1:] AIME MICHEL:
Aimé Michel indicated that on September 28, 1954 around 1:15 p.m. in Froncles, village of the department of Haute-Marne, 215 kilometers east-south-east of Paris in a straight line, Mrs. Kapps, living rue de l'Usine, watched the moves of three planes when she glimpsed, behind them, a shining body, which was obviously reflecting the sunlight, since it was yellow on the west and blue on the east.
Taking her binoculars, Mrs. Kapps directed them on this spot and saw a rather flat object that, at first motionless, suddenly sped north-west, stopped for two minutes, then left sharply, and repeated this ride five times before disappearing to the northwest.
Aimé Michel considers that this is not a "good" observation because there were only two witnesses, Mrs. Kapps, and then her husband. But he ensures that an observation is "good" when it is proven, and inexplicable, and that the one in Froncles, if it is mediocre in itself, derives its value from some others.
[Ref. gqy1:] GUY QUINCY:
|
September 27 1954
01:15 p.m.: Froncles (Hte.Marne): circ.obj. +continued stops and goes
[Ref. lgs1:] LOREN GROSS:
|
Hovering, shifting, hovering.
1:15 p.m. East of Paris.
Far to the east of Paris at 1:15 p.m. at the village of Froncles, a Mme. Kapps happened to see a "saucer." She was watching a trio of aircraft maneuver in the blue sky when she also saw a distinctly different aerial body farther off and above the northern horizon. The object reflected the sun brilliantly and showed blue and yellow colors. Examining the object with opera glasses, ^e. Kapps says the thing in the sky had a flat profile, but the oddest feature of her report was the motion of the UFO. The object hovered, shifted abruptly, hovered again, and then shifted once more, the maneuvers repeated a number of times. 149.
[...]
149. The Haut Marnais Republicain. 2 October 54.
[Ref. lhh1:] LARRY HATCH - "*U* COMPUTER DATABASE":
3846: 1954/09/27 13:20 2 5:09:20 E 48:08:00 N 3333 WEU FRN HMR 7:7
FRONCLES,Ht MARNE,FR:2 OBS/BINOCS:DISK FOLOS 3 PLANES:RETURNS 5X:>>NW:/IFS#27
Ref# 49 MICHEL,Aime: FS & STRAIGHT LINE TH: Page No. 86 : RESIDENT'L
[Ref. uda1:] "UFODNA" WEBSITE:
The website indicates that on 27 September 1954 at 13:15 in Froncles, France, "Viewed through binoculars. Disc follows three airplanes, returns 5 times, flies rapidly to the northwest. A hovering object was observed. One disc was observed by two witnesses in a residential area for ten minutes (Kapps)."
The source is indicated as "Michel, Aime, Flying Saucers and the Straight-Line Mystery, S. G. Phillips, New York, 1958."
[Ref. ubk1:] "UFO-DATENBANK":
This database recorded this case twice:
| Case Nr. | New case Nr. | Investigator | Date of observation | Zip | Place of observation | Country of observation | Hour of observation | Classification | Comments | Identification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19540927 | 27.09.1954 | Froncles | France | 13.15 | ||||||
| 19540927 | 27.09.1954 | Froncles | France | 13.15 |
|
Likely a helicopter involved in military aircraft maneuvers.
In the Press for September 24, 1954, it was said that "the biggest aerial drill in Europe", operation "Etoile Filante" ("Shooting Star"), will take place, by NATO Air Forces, above France and Germany.
Historically, these "Shooting Star" maneuvers including "Indian Summer" lasted from 20 to 27 September 1954, involving the new NATO dispersal base of Damblain, implicating hosts of the F-84G Thunderjet of the 3rd Fighter Wing from Reims and the 2/3 Fighters Wing also using F-84G's.
It so happens that the Damblain air base is just 39 km in straight line in the Southeast of Froncles.
The air bases of Lunéville, and Lahr-Hugsweier in Germany, among others undoubtedly, participated.
The maneuvers were conducted under realistic conflict conditions, the planes were parked outdoors where maintenance was also done, and the airmen lived and slept in camouflaged tents.
(These keywords are only to help queries and are not implying anything.)
Froncles, Haute-Marne, colline Momont, Alexis Lartillot, Georgette Mongot, large, object, bright, oscillation, lading, changing color
[----] indicates sources that are not yet available to me.
| Version: | Created/Changed by: | Date: | Change Description: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.1 | Patrick Gross | September 28, 2019 | First publishing. |
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | August 19, 2021 | Additions [gqy1], [uda1]. |
