The index page for the 1954 French flap section of this website is here.
Reference for this case: 3-Oct-54-Pommiers.
Please cite this reference in any correspondence with me regarding this case.
The regional newspaper L'Alsace for October 6, 1954, mentioned without any other information an observation in Pommiers.
In 1958, ufologist Aimé Michel said that on October 3, 1954, around 9:30 p.m., in Pommiers in the Indre department, Mr. Jules Prunget, town hall secretary, standing in front of his house, saw a very bright object, yellow-orange colored, crossing the sky at an altitude that seemed to be low, while a neighbor, Mrs. Nicaud, had also seen it from hers doorstep.
The two reportedly said that the object went from north to south, had the shape of a cigar, moved without noise and without leaving a trail, and disappeared to the south in a few seconds.
In 1997, ufologist Jean Sider noted that Mr. Desbois, investigator of the Lumières Dans La Nuit ufology group, had reinvestigated a case of October 3, 1954, at 09:30 p.m., in Pommiers in the Indre, and that this case remained without trivial explanations.
[Ref. lae1:] NEWSPAPER "L'ALSACE":
The newspaper reports on October 6, 1954, with no other information, that there was a sighting in Pommiers. The date is not given but the sighting is mentioned among others that took place on October 2 and 3, 1954.
See the article here.
[Ref. ads1:] NEWSPAPER "L'ARDENNAIS":
(Continued from the first page)
[...]
Saucers, cigars, discs, balls and other "flying" objects were seen at Chancelade (Haute-Vienne), Willer (Haut-Rhin) [Sep. 30.], Gouesnach, near Quimper [Oct. 2], Beutignecourt, Ambazac (Haute-Vienne) [Oct. 1], Dijon [Oct. 2], Marcoing near Cambrai [Oct. 3], Pommier (Indre), Rouen [Oct. 3], Ajaccio, la Rochelle [Oct. 2], Quimper [Oct. 2], Cholet [Oct. 2] and Vannes [Oct. 2].
[...]
[Ref. ppe1:] NEWSPAPER "PARIS-PRESSE":
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AFTER the saucers, cigars, spheres, pots, here is the flying barrel. It was in the Charente that it was "seen" by a motorcyclist, Mr. Jean Allary. It was "studded with golden nails" and was swinging by the side of the road.
In Annoeullin, near Lille, a worker who was smoking a cigar (a real one) in his garden, saw a luminous object in the shape of a crescent landing twenty meters from him. At his shouts, ten billiards players came running from a nearby cafe; the saucer had taken off, but a dozen "luminous dots" were moving above them.
Saucers, cigars, discs, balls and other "flying" objects were spotted in Chancelade (Haute-Vienne), Willer (Haut-Rhin), Gouesnach, near Quimper, Bautignecourt, Ambazac (Haute-Vienne), Dijon, Marcoing, near Cambrai, Pommier (Indre), Rouen, Ajaccio, La Rochelle, Quimper, Cholet, Vannes, Lyon and Le Havre. A la Combe-au-Chèvres, in the Haut Jura, also, but it was just a rain gauge.
[Ref. aml1:] AIME MICHEL:
Aimé Michel reports that on October 3, 1954, at approximately 09:30 P.M. in Pommiers in the Indre, Mr. Jules Prunget, secretary of the town hall, is in front of his house and sees a very shiny object of yellow-orange color, crossing the sky at an altitude which seems to be low.
Mrs. Nicaud, a neighbor, also sees it from her doorstep.
The two witnesses indicate that the object went from the north to the south and had the shape of a cigar which moved without noise and without leaving a trail and that it disappeared towards the south in a few seconds.
[Ref. gqy1:] GUY QUINCY:
October 3 [, 1954]
[... other cases...]
09:35 p.m.: Pommiers(Indre): luminous cigar
[... other cases...]
[Ref. jve5:] JACQUES VALLEE:
| 221 | -001.65861 | 46.52370 | 03 | 10 | 1954 | 21 | 30 | 101 | POMMIERS | F | 1512 | C** | 217 |
[Ref. gep1:] UFOLOGY GROUP "GEPO":
| 10/03/54 | ( ) | Santenay La Dree Amiens Pommiers | 300V1 Y | 30m |
[Ref. jsr1:] JEAN SIDER:
In his 1997 book on the 1954 French flap, UFO researcher and author Jean Sider notes that Mr. Desbois, investigator member of the private ufology group Lumières Dans la Nuit, who has done counter-investigations on a number of French UFO reports of the year 1954, has investigated a case of October 3, 1954, 09:30 P.M. at Pommiers in the Indre, and that he could not find any trivial explanation of that case.
[Ref. lhh1:] LARRY HATCH - "*U* COMPUTER DATABASE":
3951: 1954/10/03 21:30 1 1:39:40 E 46:31:20 N 3333 WEU FRN INR 6:5
POMMIERS,FR:2 OBS:SLNT BRILL.YEL-ORG.CGR N>S:LO alt:NFD:/LDLN#319p26
Ref# 49 MICHEL,Aime: FS & STRAIGHT LINE TH: Page No. 128 : FARMLANDS
[Ref. lcn1:] LUC CHASTAN:
Luc Chastan indicates that in the Indre in Pommiers on October 3, 1954 at 21:30 hours, the witness is in front of his house when he observes a very shining object of orange yellow color crossing the sky at low altitude. The object took a North-South trajectory and had the shape of a cigar. A second witness made the same observation.
Luc Chastan indicates that the source is "M.O.C. by Michel Aimé ** Arthaud 1958".
[Ref. uda1:] "UFODNA" WEBSITE:
The website indicates that on 3 October 1954 at 21:30, in Pommiers, France, an "unidentified object was sighted, but with appearance and behavior that most likely would have a conventional explanation. One object was observed by two witnesses on a farm for a few minutes (Prunget)."
The sources are indicated as "Michel, Aime, Flying Saucers and the Straight-Line Mystery, S. G. Phillips, New York, 1958; Vallee, Jacques, Computerized Catalog (N = 3073); Vallee, Jacques, Challenge to Science: The UFO Enigma, Henry Regnery, Chicago, 1966; Vallee, Jacques, Preliminary Catalog (N = 500), (in JVallee01); Vallee, Jacques, Anatomy of a Phenomenon, Henry Regnery, Chicago, 1965; Hatch, Larry, *U* computer database, Author, Redwood City, 2002".
[Ref. dcn1] DOMINIQUE CAUDRON:
Dominique Caudron indicates that the catalogue of 800 cases published in 1970 by Maurice Santos, is a good example of what one should not do; he indicates to extract from it the list of the cases of October 3, 1954; which he knows well as he had investigated into these cases of his area of Nord. For each case, below the text of the Santos catalogue, he states what should have been written, and the explanation after analysis, when there is one.
Santos wrote that for this case 556 of "various forms" there had been on 3 October 1954 in Pommiers Unknown Object Flying in the shape of cigar at low altitude.
Dominique Caudron says that towards 09:30 p.m. perhaps, in Pommiers, 36, only one source, again Aimé Michel, mentions a cigar without a trail moving North-South and disappearing towards the south after a few seconds; which to Dominique Caudron was a possible meteor.
He notes that the numbering of the cases by Santos seemed a good idea, but that it prevents the evolution of the catalogue, whose numbering becomes incoherent at the first update: "For example, this catalogue contains only 10 cases for the area of the Nord, whereas we know 48 of them. How to place the 38 others?"
[Ref. ubk1:] "UFO-DATENBANK":
This database recorded the same case three times instead of once:
| Case Nr. | New case Nr. | Investigator | Date of observation | Zip | Place of observation | Country of observation | Hour of observation | Classification | Comments | Identification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19541003 | 03.10.1954 | Pommiers | France | 21.30 | NL | |||||
| 19541003 | 03.10.1954 | Pommiers | France | 21.30 | ||||||
| 19541003 | 03.10.1954 | Pommiers | France | 21.30 | NL |
[Ref. jqy1:] JEAN DE QUERCY:
L'Alsace newspaper reports a sighting in Pommiers, without any other information.
Aimé Michel reports that on October 3, 1954, around 9:30 p.m. in Pommiers in the Indre, Mr. Jules Prunget, town clerk, was in front of his house and saw a very bright yellow-orange object crossing the sky at an altitude that seemed to be low. Madam Nicaud, a neighbor, also saw it, from her doorstep.
The two witnesses indicated that the object was going from north to south and had the shape of a cigar which moved noiselessly and without leaving a trail then disappeared towards the south in a few seconds.
(Sources: L'Alsace of October 6, 1954 - In "Mystérieux Objets Célestes" Aimé Michel Ed. Seghers.– website "UFOs At Close Sight" by Patrick Gross)
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It could have been a meteor if there was a trail; but we can also consider that the cigar-shape is due to a trail... so: possible meteor.
(These keywords are only to help queries and are not implying anything.)
Pommiers, Indre, luminous, shiny, yellow, orange, cigar, silent, multiple, Jules Prunget, Nicaud, night
[----] indicates sources that are not yet available to me.
| Version: | Created/Changed by: | Date: | Change Description: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.1 | Patrick Gross | November 28, 2004 | First published. |
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | January 9, 2009 | Conversion from HTML to XHTML Strict. First formal version. Additions [lcn1], [uda1]. |
| 1.1 | Patrick Gross | June 3, 2010 | Addition [lae1]. |
| 1.2 | Patrick Gross | June 21, 2010 | Addition [jve5]. |
| 1.3 | Patrick Gross | October 14, 2016 | Addition [dcn1]. |
| 1.4 | Patrick Gross | May 24, 2019 | Additions [lhh1], Summary. Explanations changed, were "Not looked for yet." |
| 1.5 | Patrick Gross | November 16, 2019 | Additions [ads1]. |
| 1.6 | Patrick Gross | January 16, 2020 | Addition [ppe1]. |
| 1.7 | Patrick Gross | April 3, 2022 | Additions [jqy1], [gep1]. |
