The index page for the 1954 French flap section of this website is here.
Reference for this case: 7-Jan-54-Arras.
Please cite this reference in any correspondence with me regarding this case.
On the morning of October 7, 1954, a very big meteor had crossed the sky of northwestern France and finally exploded towards Dieppe. It had sometimes been interpreted as a meteor, sometimes as a "flying disc".
The press had mentioned a witness of Arras who told he had "seen the motionless disc for a moment" in the sky, but he did not have time to contemplate it, "it immediately resumed its race and disappeared on the horizon."
In 1954, pioneering ufologist Jimmy Guieu saw this "immobility" as proof that it was not a meteor.
In 1958, Aimé Michel gave more details that he said came from Agence France-Presse: it was at 4:26 a.m., the witness was a baker from Arras named Brévart who worked in his bakery, came outside to take some air, and barely outside, an unusual light had forced him to look at the sky.
At a point above the Place de la Vacquerie, behind the town hall, he had seen a luminous disc as big as the full moon but shining with a brighter glow, suspended, motionless.
Amazed and incredulous, Mr. Brévart rubbed his eyes, but the object was there, apparently not very far above the sleeping city. It lasted a few seconds, then the object suddenly rocked, projected an intense light which lit the whole place, crossed an arc of circle and disappeared at a dizzying speed in the direction of St-Pol-sur-Ternoize, towards the seashore, illuminating the sky with an immense orange glow.
A few seconds later, the entire department of Seine-Inférieure, from Fécamp to the west to Dieppe in the north, to La Mailleraye in the south and Gournay in the east, was illuminated by a general blaze of the sky. For half a minute, the light was such that the Serqueux railway employees could read the license plate numbers of the wagons.
It was a few minutes later that Dieppe was shaken by a gigantic explosion which shattered many windows and woke up the city.
[Ref. vmr1:] NEWSPAPER "VAR-MATIN - REPUBLIQUE":
It is said it is a bolide...
Dieppe, January 7. -- This morning, between 04:30 and 05:15, nearly 70 dockers of the Dieppe Harbor saw in the sky, a dazzling gleam followed four minutes later by a formidable explosion which opened numerous doors and broke several windows of the houses of the city.
Most of the Dieppe residents were awaked by this deafening noise. The Dieppe semaphore contacted that of Fécamp and with them, all the small harbors of the coast. All agree to state that the phenomenon was seen in these various points.
However, several witnesses in Mailleraye, locality at 80 km approximately in the south of Dieppe, are categorical: they saw the gleam which came from the direction of Dieppe.
Lastly, it must be stressed that one week ago approximately, a small fishing boat arrived at Dieppe very sifted of small glares which might come from an aerolith.
This morning, at 04:27, a railroad worker which took his service in the railway station of Orchies, saw in the sky, a disc of fire which moved horizontally at a vertiginous speed. A luminous trail followed the reddish disc in its trajectory. The same phenomenon was seen about the same hour in Arras. A witness stated to have seen the disc motionless one moment in the sky.
But he did not have time to contemplate it as it resumed its race immediately and disappeared at the horizon.
A fireball
It is most likely, the Institute of Astrophysics of Paris estimates, certain that the observed phenomenon was nothing else than a bolide.
The very hour when this observation was made, little before the sunrise, contributes to support this opinion, are not rare and many others were recorded on all the surface of the globe.
It is known that the bolides are bodies whose origin and composition are little known about and who, moving in the sky at an extreme speed, warm up when they suddenly met the Earth's atmosphere because of the resistance that it opposes to them.
That is when they become incandescent. Sometimes, they pass without being reported differently than a luminous trail, sometimes with great noise. It also happens that they fall on the surface of the globe, entirely or fragmented. Such is the origin of aerolithes falls.
[Ref. bre1:] NEWSPAPER "LA BOURGOGNE REPUBLICAINE":
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Dieppe, 7 (A.F.P.). -- This morning, between 4:30 a.m. and 5:15 a.m., nearly 70 dockers from the port of Dieppe saw a blinding glow in the sky, followed, four minutes later, by a formidable explosion which opened many doors and smashed several windows of houses in the city.
Most of the residents of Dieppe were woken up by this deafening noise. It does not seem that it could be a hallucination, because the testimonies are very numerous and agree on almost all points.
There are only some discrepancies among the witnesses regarding the direction of the light, which, according to some, came from the north and, according to others, from the west.
The postal car that provides traffic between Dieppe and Rouen was in the vicinity of the first of these two cities at the time of the glow. But, according to the two occupants of this vehicle, the explosion did not occur until eight minutes after the glow.
The Dieppe semaphore got in touch with that of Fécamp and with those of all the small ports on the coast. Everyone agrees that the phenomenon has been seen at these different points. However, the Le Havre semaphore found nothing.
However, several witnesses living in La Mailleraye, a village located approximately eighty kilometers south of Dieppe, and in Serqueux, a village 50 kilometers south-east of Dieppe, are categorical: they saw the light, which came from the direction of Dieppe.
Finally, it should be noted that about a week ago, a fishing boat arrived in Dieppe all riddled with small shards that could come from a fireball.
For the moment, we are getting lost in conjectures about the nature of this strange phenomenon.
Continued on page 8, under the title
PHENOMENON
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This morning at 4:27 a.m., a railway employee, who was on duty at the Orchies station, saw a disc of fire moving in the sky at a dizzying pace. A luminous trail followed the glowing disc in its path.
The phenomenon was seen around the same time in Arras. A witness said he saw the disc motionless for a moment in the sky, but did not have time to contemplate it. It immediately resumed its course and disappeared on the horizon.
It is very likely, according to the Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris, that the phenomenon observed this morning in the Dieppe region was nothing but a fireball. The very time at which this observation was made - shortly before sunrise [!] - helps to support this opinion. But, it is added, such explosions are not very rare and many others have been recorded all over the world.
We know that fireballs are bodies whose origin and composition are not well known and which, moving in the sky with extreme rapidity, heat up when they come into contact with the Earth's atmosphere due to the resistance that it opposes to them. It is then that they become incandescent. Sometimes they pass without being noticed other than by a luminous trail. Sometimes they explode silently, sometimes with an explosion sound. It also happens that they fall on the surface of the globe, whole or fragmented: this is the origin of aerolite falls.
[Ref. lpl1:] NEWSPAPER "LE PROVENCAL":
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DIEPPE (A.F.P.).
Yesterday morning, between 4:30 and 05:15 nearly 70 dockers of the Dieppe harbor saw in the sky a blinding gleam followed, four minutes later, of a formidable explosion which opened very many doors and broke the windows of the houses of the city.
Most of the Dieppe residents were awaked by this deafening noise. It does not seem that it can be an hallucination for testimonies are very numerous and agree on almost all the points. Only certain divergences are recorded among the witnesses with regard to the direction of the gleam which, according to the ones, came from the North and according to the others, from the West.
The mail van which ensures the traffic between Dieppe and Rouen was around the first of these two cities at the time when the gleam occurred. But, according to the two occupants of this vehicle, the explosion occurred only eight minutes after the gleam.
Wintnesses are categorical
The semaphore of Dieppe was put in relation to that of Fécamp and those of all the small habors of the seaside. All agree to state that the phenomenon was seen in these various points. On the other hand the semaphore of Le Havre did not notice anything.
However, several witnesses from Mailleraye, localised approximately 80 kilometers approximately in the south-east of Dieppe, and at Serqueux, village at 50 kilometers in the south-east of Dieppe, are categorical: they saw the gleam which came from the direction of Dieppe.
Lastly, it is necessary to stress that one week ago approximately, a small fishing boat arrived in Dieppe very sifted of small pieces which may come from an aerolith.
One loses oneself for the moment in conjectures about the nature of this strange phenomenon.
Same phenomenon in Orchies-en-Arras
Lille (A.F.P).
Yesterday morning, at 04:27, a railroad worker which took his service in the station of Orchies, saw in the sky a disc of fire which moved horizontally at a vertiginous speed. A luminous trail followed the reddish disc in its trajectory.
The same phenomenon was seen about the same hour in Arras. A witness stated to have seen the disc motionless one moment in the sky, but he did not have the time to contemplate it. It began again its race immediately and disappeared at the horizon.
[Ref. pmn1:] NEWSPAPER "LE PETIT MAROCAIN":
The newspaper "Le petit Marocain" published that at approximately 04:27 hours on January 7, 1954, a fiery disc, followed by a luminous trail, was sighted in Arras, Pas-de-Calais Department. An observer stated that the disc remained motionless in the sky for an instant, after which it flew away and disappeared over the horizon.
[Ref. ern1:] NEWSPAPER "L'EST REPUBLICAIN":
Dieppe. -- Yesterday morning, between 4:30 a.m. and 5:15 a.m., nearly seventy dockworkers from the port of Dieppe saw a blinding glow in the sky followed, four minutes later, by a formidable explosion who opened many doors and smashed windows.
Most of the residents of Dieppe were woken up by this deafening noise. There are only some discrepancies among the witnesses as to the direction of the light which, according to some, came from the North and, according to others, from the West.
It should be noted that about a week ago a fishing boat arrived in Dieppe all riddled with small shards that could come from an aerolite.
The Dieppe semaphore was put in touch with that of Fécamp and with those of all the small ports on the coast. Everyone agrees that yesterday morning's phenomenon was seen at these different points.
However several witnesses living in La Mailleraye, a locality approximately 80 km south of Dieppe are categorical. They saw the glow, which came from the direction of Dieppe.
Equally disturbing observations were made in the Nord: at 4:27 a.m., a railway employee who was on duty at Orchies station saw a disc of fire in the sky moving at the horizontal at breakneck speed. A luminous trail followed the glowing disc in its path. The same phenomenon was seen around the same time in Arras. A witness said he saw the disc motionless for a moment in the sky, but did not have time to contemplate it. It immediately resumed its course and disappeared on the horizon.
It is very likely, according to the Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris, that the phenomenon observed yesterday morning in the Dieppe region was a fireball. The very time that this sighting was made - shortly before sunrise - helps support this view.
The bolides are bodies whose origin and composition are poorly known and which move in the sky with extreme rapidity, heat up when they come into contact with the Earth's atmosphere due to the resistance that opposes them. It is then that they become incandescent. Sometimes they erupt silently, sometimes with a crash. It also happens that they fall to the surface of the globe, whole or fragmented. This is the origin of aerolithic falls.
[Ref. ppe1:] NEWSPAPER "PARIS-PRESSE":
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THE EMOTION raised by the appearance in the sky of Dieppe during two following nights of "balls of fire" is not yet quiet down. The phenomenon was not only observed by the dockers of Dieppe, but also by S.N.C.F. employees in Serqueux, by postmen in Rouen, by all the semaphore operators of Dieppe to Fécamp, and by the market gardeners of Forges-les-Eaux, Neuchâtel-en-Bray and of La Mailleraye. At about the same hour the ball of fire was also seen by a witness in Arras.
While popular opinion is convinced that these are "flying saucers", observers from the Paris Astrophysical Institute think of a fireball.
[Ref. cia1:] CIA:
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CLASSIFICATION [Blackened out]
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
INFORMATION FROM
FOREIGN DOCUMENTS OR RADIO BROACASTS
| REPORT NO. | 00-W-30339 | |||
| CO NO.: | .. | |||
| COUNTRY: | Non-Orbit | DATE OF INFORMATION: | 1953-1954 | |
| SUBJET: | Military - Unidentified aircraft | |||
| HOW PUBLISHED: | Newspaper | DATE DIST.: | 26 May 1954 | |
| WHERE PUBLISHED: | As indicated | NO. OF PAGES: | 3 | |
| DATE PUBLISHED: | 10 Dec 1953-2 Mar 1954 | |||
| LANGUAGES: | Various | SUPPLEMENT TO REPORT NO.: | ||
| [Blackened out] | [Blackened out] | THIS IS UNEVALUATED INFORMATION | ||
| SOURCE: | As indicated |
SIGHTINGS OF UNIDENTIFIED FLYING OBJECTS
10 DECEMBER 1953 - 2 MARCH 1954
WESTERN EUROPE
[... (Previous reports)]
FIERY DISK SEEN AT ARRAS -- Casablanca, Le Petit Marocain, 8 jan 54
At approximately 0427 hours on 7 January 1954, a fiery disk, followed by a luminous trail, was sighted in Arras, Pas-de-Calais department. An observer stated that the disk remained motionless in the sky for an instant, after which it flew away and disappeared over the horizon.
[... (Next reports)]
[Ref. jgu1:] JIMMY GUIEU:
Science Fiction writer and ufologist Jimmy Guieu reports that on January 7, 1954, at 04:30 a.m., a discoid craft seemed to explode after having followed a nonrectilinear trajectory, seen by several inhabitants of Dieppe, Orchies and Arras, with a three minutes variation between these cities which - according to him - excludes a meteor.
The author says that windows panes exploded, doors and of the windows were brutally slammed, walls vibrated as with a sonic boom from a supersonic plane. He says that the "ball of fire" had stopped and set out again at one time, and thus no astronomer in the world will be able to baptize it a "meteorite".
[Ref. gqy1:] GUY QUINCY:
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January 7 [1954]
04:26 a.m.: Arras (Pas-de-Calais): luminous disc (meteor?)
04:27 a.m.: Orchies (P.-de-C.): luminous d. (id?)
[Ref. aml1:] AIME MICHEL:
Aimé Michel indicates that on January 7, 1954, at 04:26 in the morning, a baker of Arras named Brévart was working in his bakehouse, when he went outside for some fresh air. Hardly outside, according to the France-Presse Agency, that a strange gleam made him loop up at the sky.
In a point located above the place of Vacquerie, behind the town hall, a large luminous disc like the full moon but of a much stronger glare, was hovering motionless.
Amazed and not believing what he was seeing, Mr. Brévart rubbed his eyes, but the object was really there, not very far apparently above the sleepy city. That lasted during a few seconds, then the object suddenly rocked, projected an intense light which lighted all the place, crossed an arc of circle and disappeared at a vertiginous speed in the direction of St-Pol-sur-Ternoize, towards the coast, while illuminating the sky of an immense orange gleam.
A few seconds later, all the department of Seine-Inférieur, from Fécamp in the west up to Dieppe in the north, from Mailleraye in the south to Gournay in the East, was illuminated by a general flashover of the sky. During one half-minute, the light was so intense that the railwaymen of Serqueux could read the serial numbers of the coaches.
A few minutes later, Dieppe was shaken by a gigantic explosion which broke many windows and woke up from their sleep three quarters of the city.
Aimé Michel notes that after the observations of that day, in the evening, a spokesman of the Institute of astrophysics of Paris sais it was very likely a meteor. Aimé Michel comments:
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In the Dieppe affair for example, it is obvious that the fireball best explains the observations made in Seine-Inférieure. But what does the Institute of Astrophysics think of the observation of Mr. Brévart? They don't think anything of it. Scientists accept scientific fact only those who leave traces. And they are right, of course. This attitude is consistent with the very principles of experimental science.
But it leaves us frustrated. Because if we can possibly doubt the story of the Arras baker [Brévart], it is difficult in the long run to continue to systematically ignore hundreds and thousands of concordant stories, observations that meet on details impossible to invent, because they are meaningless until further notice: what, for example, is this "rocking" invented by the baker from Arras? Why invent a tilting of this imaginary craft? However, the riôcking is uniformly indicated by the thousands of witnesses who saw a saucer go from stillness to movement. This is how it is. The "imaginary" object, designated under the name of saucer, tilts when departing in all the stories, without exception, that have been collected since the A. E. F. [French Central Africa] to Arizona, via Arras and South Africa.
[Ref. pmi1:] PAUL MISRAKI:
Paul Misraki indicates that in book by Aimé Michel a baker of Arras in 1954 described a flying saucer as "a luminous disc, as large as the full moon, but shining of a sharper glare", which "hung motionless (in the night sky). Suddenly, the object rocked..."
[Ref. rct1:] ROBERT CATINAT:
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In Arras, too, a witness, around the same time [4:27], saw the disc motionless for a moment in the sky. But he didn't have time to contemplate it, it immediately resumed its course, and disappeared on the horizon.
[Ref. gni1:] GNEOVNI:
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1/7/1954 - ORCHIES -59- Type III
At 4:30, a discoidal craft which appeared to explode after having followed a non-rectilinear trajectory was observed by several inhabitants of Dieppe, Orchies and Arras (with a gap of 3 minutes between these cities). Windows were broken by the explosion. At one point this ball of fire stopped then started again.
(Les S.V. viennent d'un autre monde J. Guieu p.159)
[Ref. pmi2:] PAUL MISRAKI:
This proponent of a "parapsychological" thesis about UFOs, which would be "signs in the sky" produced by higher powers possibly extraterrestrial according to him, in a comparison table, believes that object seen in Arras is to be compared with that of the "apparitions" of Fatima:
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| Fatima (extracts form the officially recorded reports). |
Testimonies describing flying sucers (taken from the books of Aimé Michel and Donald Keyhoe). |
| A disc with sharp outlines, with sharp edge, luminous and shining, but not hurting the eyes. | A luminous disc, big as the full moon, but of a more brilliant glare, was like suspended motionless (in the night sky). Suddenly the object banked... (A baker from Arras, 1954.) |
[Ref. gep1:] UFOLOGY GROUP "GEPO":
| 01 07 54 (04) | Arras Dieppe | X | 100X1A |
[Ref. fgg1:] LAWRENCE FAWCETT AND BARRY GREENWOOD:
The authors say that the CIA collected many sightings through normal intelligence channels, something which they had supposedly fought to block with the Robertson Panel inquiry, and it included this one:
Fiery Disk Seen at Arras, France
At approximately 0427 hours on January 7, 1954, a fiery disk, followed by a luminous trail, was sighted in Arras, Pas-de-Calais department. An observer stated that the disk remained motionless in the sky for an instant, after which it flew away and disappeared over the horizon.
[Ref. lg1:] LOREN GROSS:
[... Other cases...]
Meteor or what?
The American CIA surveying foreign newspapers found the following in the Liege, Belgium, newspaper Le Monde du Travail:
"On 7 January 1954 at 0420 hours, a Sabena pilot preparing to land at Melsbrock saw a ball of fire low on the horizon, moving in a northnorthwesterly direction. The ball was white, edged with green, and was followed by a long trail. The phenomenon illuminated the whole sky and the pilot supposed at the time that it was a green rocket signal set off by the airport authorities. Since the latter denied this, it was assumed that he had seen the same light which was seen over Dieppe." 31.
We have two sources that mention the phenomenon at Dieppe. Both tell of a blinding explosion that turned night into day and broke windows. It was said the remains of the meteor, or whatever it was, fell into the English Channel off shore near Dieppe. Witnesses abord a French trawler reported the passage of a tremendous ball of fire leaving sparks in its wake. 32.
Jimmy Gieu [sic, Guieu], a French source for this episode, asserts that the object passed over the towns of Arras, Orchies, and Dieppe in a "series of short curves" and for a time "hovered for a few seconds." 33.
A CIA agent in North Africa discovered the following in a French language newspaper. The agent documented this:
"At approximately 0427 hours on 7 January 1954, a fiery disk, followed by a luminous trail, was sighted in Arras, Pas-de-Calais Department. An observer stated that the disks [sic] remained motionless in the sky for an instant, after which it flew away and disappeared over the horizon." 34.
(See French newspaper clipping from the La Bourgogne Republicaine) [Wich is not about this meteor but about another one 2 day later, see January 9.]
[... Other cases...]
[Ref. jca1:] JACQUES COSTAGLIOLA:
The author indicates that on January 7, 1954 at 4:26 in France, "Brévart, Arras, disc".
[Ref. jbu1:] JEROME BEAU:
1954
January
[...]
Observation in Arras (France).
[Ref. lcn1:] LUC CHASTAN:
Luc Chastan indicates that in the Pas-de-Calais in Arras on January 7, 1954, at 04:27 hours "Several witnesses observed a fiery disc followed by a luminous trail. The latter first of all motionless during one moment, then moved disappearing quickly above the horizon."
The source is said to be my website, "Les OVNI vus de près par Gross Patrick ** http://ufologie.net". [This being the old URL of the home page of my website - Chastan chose to ignore my explanation.]
[Ref. uda1:] "UFODNA" WEBSITE:
The website indicates that on 7 January 1954 at 04:26 in Arras, France, "Fireball stopped." And: "A hovering object was observed. One ball was observed by one witness in a city for several minutes (Brevart)."
The sources are indicated as Michel, Aime, The Truth About Flying Saucers, Pyramid T1647, New York, 1967; Vallee, Jacques, Computerized Catalog (N = 3073); Hall, Richard H., UFO Reports from the Files of the CIA, Fund for UFO Research, Washington; Hatch, Larry, *U* computer database, Author, Redwood City, 2002.
[Ref. ubk1:] "UFO-DATENBANK":
This database recorded the case twice:
| Case Nr. | New case Nr. | Investigator | Date of observation | Zip | Place of observation | Country of observation | Hour of observation | Classification | Comments | Identification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19540107 | 07.01.1954 | Arras | France | NL | ||||||
| 19540107 | 07.01.1954 | Arras | France | NL |
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The meteor of that day.
The apparent immobility is not a misperception per se: when the meteor comes into the visible sky from behind the horizon, it does look like it is motionless for a few seconds, and then seems to accelerate and fly fast.
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(These keywords are only to help queries and are not implying anything.)
Arras, Pas-de-Calais, fiery, disc, trail, meteor, motionless, luminous
[----] indicates sources that are not yet available to me.
| Version: | Created/Changed by: | Date: | Change Description: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.1 | Patrick Gross | December 4, 2005 | First published. |
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | December 17, 2009 | Conversion from HTML to XHTML Strict. First formal version. Additions [jgu1], [lcn1], [uda1]. |
| 1.1 | Patrick Gross | December 25, 2009 | Addition [fgg1]. |
| 1.2 | Patrick Gross | February 11, 2010 | Addition [jca1]. |
| 1.3 | Patrick Gross | March 4, 2010 | Addition [vmr1]. |
| 1.4 | Patrick Gross | March 6, 2010 | Addition [pmi1]. |
| 1.5 | Patrick Gross | April 9, 2010 | Addition [lpl1]. |
| 1.6 | Patrick Gross | November 30, 2016 | Additions [lgs1], [ubk1]. |
| 1.7 | Patrick Gross | January 6, 2020 | Addition of the Summary. Explanations changed, was "The meteor of that day." |
| 1.8 | Patrick Gross | January 12, 2020 | Addition [ppe1]. |
| 1.9 | Patrick Gross | January 18, 2020 | Additions [rct1], [gni1]. |
| 2.0 | Patrick Gross | January 22, 2020 | Addition [pmi2]. |
| 2.1 | Patrick Gross | January 8, 2021 | Addition [bre1]. |
| 2.2 | Patrick Gross | February 2, 2021 | Addition [ern1]. |
| 2.3 | Patrick Gross | February 18, 2021 | Addition [gqy1]. |
| 2.4 | Patrick Gross | April 12, 2022 | Addition [gep1]. |
