The index page for the 1954 French flap section of this website is here.
Reference for this case: 5-Jul-54-Gardanne.
Please cite this reference in any correspondence with me regarding this case.
In his 1956 book "Flying Saucers Come from Another World", the author of Science-Fiction and pioneer of French ufology Jimmy Guieu reported an observation of 5 July 1954, in Gardanne, Bouches-du-Rhone department:
At exactly 12:47, six people saw a bright spot that went down vertically, looking like an aluminum disc.
The disc made short pause, began a very tight vertical turn, oscillating slightly on itself, then presenting a gray underside that contrasted with the "metallic polish" of its upper part.
The disk whirled on itself, then took an ascending course to the west, jerking and spiraling and giving off a slight smoke on its periphery.
At a certain height, its color changed to brown and it moved away very quickly.
The whole observation lasted a minute.
One of the witnesses was an aviator who was very intrigued by these maneuvers, assuring that it could not be a plane or a helicopter or a balloon.
[Ref. jgu1:] JIMMY GUIEU:
The author indicates that on July 5, 1954 at 12:47 p.m. exactly in Gardanne in the Rhone delta, six people saw a shining point which went down quickly and vertically while taking the aspect from a disc of aluminium color.
The disc had a short time of hovering then started a very tight vertical turn while oscillating slightly on itself by then presenting a gray ventral face which contrasted with the "metallic polish" of its upper face.
The disc whirled on itself then continued its upward course towards the west while moving by jerks and in spiral and releasing a slight smoke at its periphery.
At a certain height its color changed to brown and it moved away very quickly.
The whole observation lasted one minute.
One of the witnesses was a pilot that these maneuvres puzzled a lot, this witness stating formally that it could not have been a plane neither a helicopter nor a weather balloon.
[Ref. gqy1:] GUY QUINCY:
|
July 5 [1954]
12:27: Gardanne (B. du RH): brilliant disc
[Ref. lcn1:] LUC CHASTAN:
Luc Chastan indicates that in the Bouches du Rhônein Gardanne on July 5, 1954 at 12:27 hours "Six people saw a shining dot which went down quickly vertically, taking the aspect of a disc of aluminum color. After a short stop, the object started a very tight vertical turn while oscillating slightly on itself, presenting its greyish ventral side contrasting with the polished top. Rotating on itself it continued its ascentionnelle race towards the West moving by jerks in spiral and releasing a slight smoke at its periphery. Arrived at a certain altitude, its color changed to chestnut and it moved away very quickly."
Luc Chastan indicates that the source is "Black-out sur les Soucoupes volantes by Guieu Jimmy ** Fleuve Noir 1956 omnium 1977".
[Ref. uda1:] "UFODNA" WEBSITE:
The website indicates that on 5 July 1954 12:27 Gardanne, France "An unusual object was sighted, that had unconventional appearance and performance. One object was observed by six witnesses."
The source is indicated as Guieu, Jimmy, Flying Saucers Come from Another World, Citadel, New York, 1956".
[Ref. ubk1:] "UFO-DATENBANK":
| Case Nr. | New case Nr. | Investigator | Date of observation | Zip | Place of observation | Country of observation | Hour of observation | Classification | Comments | Identification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19540705 | 05.07.1954 | Gardanne | France | DD |
|
Unidentified, possible extraterrestrial craft.
(These keywords are only to help queries and are not implying anything.)
Gardanne, Bouches-du-Rhône, disc, aluminium, manoeuvers, fast, stationary, rise, descent, oscillation, multiple, anonymity, day, brown, smoke, gray, spiral, jerk, duration, control
[----] indicates sources that are not yet available to me.
| Version: | Created/Changed by: | Date: | Change Description: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.1 | Patrick Gross | April 8, 2007 | First published. |
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | December 30, 2009 | Conversion from HTML to XHTML Strict. First formal version. Additions [lcn1], [uda1]. |
| 1.1 | Patrick Gross | December 3, 2016 | Addition [ubk1]. |
| 1.2 | Patrick Gross | July 2, 2019 | Addition of the Summary. Explanations changed, were "Not looked for yet." |
| 1.3 | Patrick Gross | February 19, 2021 | Addition [gqy1]. |
