The index page for the 1954 French flap section of this website is here.
Reference for this case: 4-Nov-54-Pontivy.
Please cite this reference in any correspondence with me regarding this case.
The newspaper Les Nouvelles du Morbihan for November 14, 1954, reported that Thursday, November 4, 1954, at approximately 7 a.m., a number of residents of Pontivy going to their workplace had seen an atmospheric phenomenon in the sky: a dazzling light which illuminated "the space" for a few seconds.
Several people the newspaper interviewed stated it was a bright ball projecting a lightning of white light. The newspaper added that this phenomenon was also seen in the surrounding countryside.
[Ref. lnm1:] NEWSPAPER "LES NOUVELLES DU MORBIHAN":
On Thursday November 4, numerous residents of Pontivy going to their work saw an atmospheric phenomenon in the sky. It was nearly 7 when they saw a dazzling light which lighted the space during a few seconds. Several people whom we questioned declared that it was a luminous ball projecting a white light like a flash. This phenomenon was also seen in the surrounding countryside.
[Ref. jsr1:] JEAN SIDER:
November 4 [1954], 7 a.m., Le Sourn, Morbihan
(This case is more or less well corroborated by other sightings made that same morning in the region, some of which deserve a short quotation. J.S.)
Leaving their farm at 6:30 a.m., MM. Jacques Leclainche and Joseph Postic, farmers in Locmaria, were surprised to find that one was able to see as clearly as in daylight. They distinguished, at a low height, an oval craft, white and of great luminosity; which disappeared towards the south, as if rolling on itself.
It is apparently the same phenomenon that Mrs. Le Corre, from Kervern, witnessed, also at 6:30 a.m. Other witnesses, in Guériellec, in Kermer, in Kerlay and in Melrand, provided very similar testimonies.
At 7 a.m., the phenomenon was observed by several residents of Pontivy. Around the same time, a farmer from Kerhulu [a place near Le Sourn], who was driving his horse to the blacksmith, arriving near Kerserre [?], near of Le Sourn, was literally dazzled by two very bright lights, seeming to come from two headlights. The man and the animal remained for a moment frozen in place by fear. Almost immediately, a craft rose from the ground, gained height, and disappeared.
Dazzled by the light, the man could not make out many details. He estimates that the craft could measure between 5 and 7 m in length.
Later, when the day came, he returned to the scene to search for possible traces, but found none. It should be noted that at the time of his observation, a resident of the town noticed a luminous ball in the sky, so luminous "that one could have seen a pin on the ground."
source:
Les Nouvelles du Morbihan, Vannes, 11/14/54. p.4
[Ref. lcn1:] LUC CHASTAN:
Luc Chastan indicates that in the Morbihan in Pontivy, on November 4, 1954 at 07:00 hours, there is an observation by several residents of a luminous aerial phenomenon.
The source is indicated as "Lumières dans la Nuit".
The meteor of November 4, 1954, at about 07:15 a.m.
Below: map of the places mentionned in {jsr1}, in the Morbihan department. The yellow line shows 30 km.
(These keywords are only to help queries and are not implying anything.)
Pontivy, Morbihan, duration, multiple, light, luminous, dazzling, flash, ball, white
[----] indicates sources that are not yet available to me.
Version: | Created/Changed by: | Date: | Change Description: |
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0.1 | Patrick Gross | October 1, 2005 | First published. |
1.0 | Patrick Gross | January 18, 2009 | Conversion from HTML to XHTML Strict. First formal version. Addition [lcn1]. |
1.1 | Patrick Gross | December 15, 2019 | Addition of the Summary. |
1.2 | Patrick Gross | June 22, 2022 | Addition [jsr1]. |