ufo - UFOS at close sight: the 1954 French flap, October 2, Dax, Landes

Reference for this case: 2-oct-54-Dax.
Please cite this reference in any correspondence with me regarding this case.

Summary:

The case comes from a letter by witnesses in October 1970, sent to the ufology magazine Lumières Dans La Nuit, which published the details in their “Contact Lecteurs” supplement No. 5 in January 1972.

On October 2, 1954, on a sunny afternoon, Mr. and Mrs. Laussucq were working in the fields near Sarthou, a suburban district of Dax, together with their farmhand, Mr. Dumey.

Their attention was suddenly drawn to a bright light, which turned out to be a formation of five vertical cylinders of metallic white, moving across the sky, with the sun reflecting off them.

The five cylinders were aligned parallel to each other, and the one in the middle, which was longer than the others, swayed slightly.

No sound, no trail accompanied the straight-line movement of these objects toward the west.

The witnesses were able to follow them with their eyes for several minutes, and they gradually "disappeared" westward, in the direction of the ocean.

The magazine notes that this account comes from an investigation by Mr. Lestage and Mr. Barret, which was brief, as the witnesses' memories, 17 years after the events, were rather limited.

I was able to find in the newspaper Le Journal de Biarritz et de la Côte Basque for October 6, 1954, what may well be a contemporary publication of the case:

This newspaper said that some residents of Dax had seen "fireballs of a somewhat unusual kind":

Reports:

After the saucers and the cigars

It is a barrel, studded with golden nails, that appears in the Charente sky

Paris. -- From various places, reports continue to come in of saucers, cigars, and diverse objects invading the skies of France and abroad.

Several Parisians declared they saw, yesterday afternoon, [fly]ing saucers moving across the sky of the capital. Passersby claimed to have seen one around 4:30 p.m., near the Porte-Dorée.

A BARREL

Mr. Jean Allary, near Villebois-Lavalette (Charente), saw very clearly, "in the light of his moped's headlamp, a sort of barrel about 1.80 m tall, studded with golden nails, swaying on the edge of the road." When Mr. Allary passed the mysterious craft, he turned around, at a distance of about ten meters, but saw nothing more.

Witnesses saw, the next day, at the very spot indicated by Mr. Allary, traces about seven meters long in the grass bordering the road.

MUSHROOM BLOOM

A curious phenomenon has just been reported in the Dordogne.

During the night, on rue Louis-Belin in Bergerac, to Messrs. Defiz and Labonne appeared a mysterious craft streaking across the sky.

At 10 p.m., a glow was visible in the sky. It descended, taking the shape of a rocket. It landed in Mr. Labonne's garden. The craft came down on a strip of land 3 m by 5 m. In the morning, at the edge of this plot, about twenty mushrooms of an unknown species had sprouted. These mushrooms are said to have disappeared at the first light of the sun.

At Ambérac, in Charente, two municipal councilors of the village of Marais, Mr. Marcel Chevrier and Mr. Marius Laidet, saw a flying saucer above the locality.

IN GIRONDE

Some Bordelais saw, on the Allée de Tourny, a luminous cigar or fountain pen. At Le Bouscat, at La Teste, similar observations were made.

IN DAX

Some residents of Dax saw fireballs of a somewhat unusual kind:

These objects, which were moving, had nothing in common with parachutes, balloons, planes, or other bodies that one sometimes makes out in the sky; curiously, they left no smoke and no trail. These phenomena were confirmed by several people.

Mrs. GUEUDELOT 28 Rue Léo-Bouyssou. 40 MONT DE MARSAN.

27.Oct.70.

Report of research carried out on archive from Sept. 54, including the case below:

In Dax, 5 cylinders having the peculiarity of moving in a vertical position, flanked by 2 smaller satellites. Grey-green color.

Numerous witnesses with name and address.

Inquiry sent to Mr. BARRET.

FROM OUR READERS

AGAIN BAVIC IN 1954
BUT ON OCTOBER 2

On October 2, 1954, the Laussucq couple were working in the fields, near Sarthou, the outskirts of Dax, with their farm worker, Mr. Dumey.

It was a sunny afternoon and suddenly a bright glow caught their attention: a formation of five vertical cylinders was moving across the sky. The sun was reflecting off these metallic white objects. The five cylinders were aligned parallel, and the middle one, which was longer than the others, swayed slightly.

No noise, no wake accompanied the rectilinear movement of these objects towards the west. They could follow them with their eyes for a few minutes, and they gradually disappeared towards the west towards the ocean.

Brief investigation, the memories of witnesses, seventeen years later, being quite limited.

(Investigation by M. Lestage and Barret.)

Field investigators and ufologists Lestage and Barret learned about this case 17 years after the facts and had the possibility to interview the witnesses, whose memories were scarse but interesting.

On October 2, 1954, in the afternoon, Mr. and Mrs. Laussucq worked in the fields in the surroundings of Sarthou, in the vicinity of the city of Dax. They were in company of their farm workman, Mr. Dumey.

A brilliant gleam suddenly drew their attention. They then observed a formation of five cylinders, aligned vertically and moving in the sky. The five cylinders were in lined in parralel one to each other, the one in the middle was slightly longer than the others and oscillated slightly. The objects reflected the sun on their surface of white metallic aspect.

There had been no noise nor contrail or smoke while the formation moved in straight line towards the West. The witnesses followed this displacement during a few minutes, the objects being gradually lost from sight as they went away towards the west in the direction of the ocean.

The following drawing was composed by Mr. Barret and was approved by the witnesses:

Luc Chastan indicates in his database that in the Landes in Dax on October 2, 1954, at an unknown hour, in the afternoon, a couple worked in the fields in the surroundings of the Sarthou, a suburb of Dax. They were in company of their farm worker. A brilliant gleam suddenly caught their attention. They then observed a formation of five cylinders, aligned vertically and moving in the sky. The five cylinders were in parallel aligned the ones with the others, the one in the middle was slightly longer than the others and oscillated slightly. The objects reflected the sun on their surface of metallic aspect. There had been no noise nor wake while the formation moved in straight line towards the West. The witnesses followed this displacement during a few minutes, the objects being gradually lost sight of the fact towards the West in direction of the ocean.

The website indicates that on 2 October 1954 in Dax, France, there was a UFO sighting.

Explanations:

Keywords:

Lestage, Barret, Laussucq, Dumey, multiple, Dax, Sarthou, landes, cylinders, cylinder, five, formation, metallic, silent, silence

Version:	Created/Changed by:	Date:	Change Description:
0.1	Patrick Gross	September 22, 2003	First published.
1.0	Patrick Gross	February 27, 2009	Conversion from HTML to XHTML Strict. First formal version. Additions [lcn1], [uda1].
1.1	Patrick Gross	January 2, 2017	Addition [ubk1].
1.2	Patrick Gross	February 5, 2021	Addition [ldl1].
1.3	Patrick Gross	August 24, 2025	Additions [ald1], [jbz1], Summary.

The 1954 French flap:

October 2, 1954, Dax, Landes: