The index page for the 1954 French flap section of this website is here.
Reference for this case: 3-Oct-54-Le-Versoud.
Please cite this reference in any correspondence with me regarding this case.
In their 1979 book "La Grande Peur Martienne" ("The Great Martian Scare"), the "skeptical" ufologists Gérard Barthel and Jacques Brucker succinctly indicated that on October 3, 1954, at Le Versoud, what was observed what was a weather balloon.
Just after that, the ufologists Michel Figuet and Jean-Louis Ruchon indicated in their own 1979 book that on October 3, 1954 at 03:30 p.m., in Le Versoud in the Isere department, facing the peak of Belledonne, at high altitude, several witnesses observed for several minutes a very shiny silver metallic craft in the shape of a rugby ball, motionless in the sky. Figuet and Ruchon indicated as source the newspaper La Montagne for October 8, 1954.
[Ref. bbr1:] GERARD BARTHEL AND JACQUES BRUCKER:
The two authors briefly indicate that on October 3, 1954, what was observed in Le Versoud was a weather balloon.
[Ref. fru1:] MICHEL FIGUET AND JEAN-LOUIS RUCHON:
The two authors indicate that on October 3, 1954 a 03:30 P.M., in Le Versoud in the department of Isère, vis-a-vis the peak of Belledonne, at hight altitude, several witnesses observed during several minutes a metallic silver shining machine of the shape of a football, which was motionless in the sky. They indicate no source.
[Ref. lhh1:] LARRY HATCH - "*U* COMPUTER DATABASE":
3931: 1954/10/03 15:00 60 5:52:00 E 45:13:00 N 3333 WEU FRN ISR 6:9
VERSOUD,FR:SVRL OBS:SLVR FOOTBALL HVRS STILL by BELLEDONNE PEAK/SVRL min.
Ref# 30 FIGEUT[sic]&RUCHON: OVNI: Le 1er Dossier Page No. 115 : MOUNTAINS
[Ref. goe1:] GODELIEVE VAN OVERMEIRE:
Godelieve van Overmeire indicates that in 1954, on October 3 in France in Versoud (Isère) between 15 and 16 hours, vis-a-vis the peak of Belledonne, at high altitude, several witnesses observe during several minutes, a metal shining machine, of the shape of a rugby ball. It was motionless in the sky.
The source is indicated as "M. FIGUET/ J.L. RUCHON: "Ovni, Premier dossier complet..." Alain Lefeuvre pub. 1979, p. 115."
[Ref. lcn1:] LUC CHASTAN:
Luc Chastan indicates that in the Isère in Le Versoud, on October 3, 1954 at 15:30 hours, vis-a-vis the peak of Belledonne, at great altitude, a man and three children observe, during several minutes, a silver strongly shining metal craft that had the shape of a rugby ball. It was motionless in the sky.
The source is indicated as "Le Dauphiné Libéré".
[Ref. uda1:] "UFODNA" WEBSITE:
The website indicates: "3 October 1954 15:00 Versoud, France".
The source is indicated as Hatch, Larry, *U* computer database, Author, Redwood City, 2002.
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It is not clear weather Barthel and Brucker knew it was a balloon or whether they estimated it was a balloon. It is odd that Figuet and Ruchon do not mention this explanation or potential explanation since they often refer to Barthel and Brucker's book in their own book.
In any case, the sighting report does suggest that this could have indeed been a balloon.
(These keywords are only to help queries and are not implying anything.)
Le Versoud, Isère, mountain, day, duration, machine, object, metal, motionless, football, oval, high
[----] indicates sources that are not yet available to me.
| Version: | Created/Changed by: | Date: | Change Description: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.1 | Patrick Gross | December 7, 2005 | First published. |
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | January 9, 2009 | Conversion from HTML to XHTML Strict. First formal version. Additions [goe1], [lcn1], [uda1]. |
| 1.1 | Patrick Gross | July 31, 2019 | Additions [lhh1], Summary. Explanations changed, were "Not looked for yet. Possible blimp or balloon." |
