The 1954 French flap:

A mysterious craft explodes in the sky of Dieppe

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 testimonys 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.

Witnesses 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 aerolite.

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.

Mysterious phenomenon in the Dieppe region

A blinding glow
followed by a great
explosion

A little earlier, a disk of fire
had been seen, moving in the sky
at a dizzying pace

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

PHENOMENON

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.

A FIREBALL?

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.

YESTERDAY MORNING AT DAWN

A TREMENDOUS EXPLOSION WOKE THE PEOPLE OF DIEPPE

blowing open doors and shattering windows

It is believed to be caused by the fall of a meteor

Dieppe, January 7. -- This morning, between 4:30 and 5:15 a.m., nearly 70 dockworkers from the port of Dieppe saw a blinding light in the sky, followed four minutes later by a tremendous explosion that blew open many doors and shattered several windows in houses throughout the city.

Most of the residents of Dieppe were awakened by the deafening noise. It does not appear

Continued on page 8

THE DIEPPE EXPLOSION

Continued from the front page

it is unlikely to have been a hallucination, as there are numerous testimonies that agree on almost every point. The only discrepancies among witnesses concern the direction of the light, which some said came from the north, while others claimed it came from the west.

The postal vehicle operating between Dieppe and Rouen was near the first of these two cities at the time the light appeared. However, according to the two occupants of the vehicle, the explosion occurred only eight minutes after the light.

The semaphore station in Dieppe contacted the one in Fécamp and those in all the small ports along the coast. All confirmed that the phenomenon was seen at these various locations. However, the semaphore station in Le Havre reported nothing.

Meanwhile, several witnesses living in La Mailleraye, a town about eighty kilometers southeast of Dieppe, and in Serqueux, a village located 50 kilometers southeast of Dieppe, were categorical: they saw the light coming from the direction of Dieppe.

Finally, it should be noted that about a week ago, a fishing boat arrived in Dieppe riddled with small fragments that could have come from a meteorite.

For the moment, the nature of this strange phenomenon remains the subject of speculation.

IT IS BELIEVED TO BE A METEOR

It is very likely, according to the Paris Astrophysics Institute, that the phenomenon observed this morning in the Dieppe area was a meteor. The very hour at which the sighting occurred - just before sunrise - supports this theory[!]. But, they added, such explosions are not very rare and have been recorded many times around the globe.

It is known that meteors are bodies whose origin and composition are poorly understood, and which move through the sky at extreme speeds, heating up when they encounter Earth's atmosphere due to the resistance it offers. That is when they become incandescent. Sometimes, they pass unnoticed except for a luminous trail. Sometimes, they explode silently, and sometimes with a loud bang. It also happens that they fall to Earth, whole or fragmented: such is the origin of meteorite falls.

SHATTERED WINDOWS, HOUSES SHAKEN

A tremendous explosion startles the city of Dieppe

The blast, accompanied by a flash of light, was felt over 100 km away.

METEORITE, SAY ASTRONOMERS

(From our special correspondent MAURICE JOSCO.)

DIEPPE, January 8 (by telephone).

Between 4:30 and 5:15 a.m. yesterday morning, several hundred residents of Dieppe saw a blinding flash of light in the sky and heard a tremendous explosion that shook their homes. Today, everyone is talking about the event.

What exactly happened? No one yet knows for sure. And that is why the people of Dieppe are uneasy.

Early this morning, before dawn, dockworkers gathered on the harbor quays to unload and sort fish. That's where we met them; they described the phenomenon they had witnessed:

- "It was pitch dark, just like now," said head docker René Morin. "Suddenly, a huge ball of fire lit up the sky. The light, first white, then orange, illuminated the entire city. The phenomenon lasted about 2 seconds, then the night returned."

"Four or five minutes later came the explosion. A horrible noise! Everything shook. It sounded like a rolling thunder so violent that my comrades and I thought the Rouen fuel depot had exploded. Then we thought maybe a jet plane had blown up in flight. But, on second thought, those ideas seemed stupid. The light and the sound came from the sea, and an exploding plane couldn't light up an entire city…"

The blast was extraordinarily powerful. All the houses in the port district were shaken. The windows of several homes shattered. Only the suddenness of the event prevented panic.

- "I felt like the city was being bombed," said Jeanne Loriane, who was performing in a bar near the port. "Everything trembled around me. For long minutes I was paralyzed, fearing new tremors."

A blinding light

The residents of Dieppe were certainly not victims of a mass hallucination: the extraordinary phenomenon was observed in a radius of more than 100 kilometers. And all the eyewitness accounts agree. Railroad workers on duty at Serqueux station, 40 kilometers from Dieppe, also heard the terrible explosion around 4:20 a.m.

- "Five or six minutes before the blast," they claim, "a blinding light spread above our heads. It was so bright that we could read the numbers on the stationary railcars from a distance."

This blinding flash, followed by the explosion, was also seen in Malleraye, 80 kilometers from Dieppe, in Forges-les-Eaux, in Seine-Inférieure, in Orchies, more than 100 kilometers from the port, in Formerie (Oise), and even in the region of Arras.

The phenomenon was also observed at sea. The "Neptune," a scallop trawler, was about 16 miles off the coast of Dieppe around 4:30 a.m. when the sky suddenly lit up.

A huge fireball

- "It was a huge fireball that cast a blinding light," the sailors of the "Neptune" told us last night. "It was moving rapidly toward the land, in the direction of Dieppe, leaving behind a wide trail of sparks. None of us saw any object fall into the sea…"

Countless theories are now circulating in Dieppe. None seem to withstand serious scrutiny.

- "It was a mine that exploded at sea," some claim. "It was a jet plane that crashed, or an atomic bomb that exploded," say others…

The sailors, for their part, are convinced that the phenomenon was caused by the explosion of a meteorite.

"It was likely a meteorite"
say the astrophysicists and scientists of the Observatory

Scientists at the Paris Astrophysical Institute believe, pending further information, that it was most likely a meteorite - that is, one of those planetary fragments that travel through outer space.

The tremendous speed of these fireballs causes them to become incandescent upon entering Earth's atmosphere. They sometimes explode with a loud bang. They don't always reach Earth's surface. If our planet's gravitational pull isn't strong enough to alter their trajectory, they continue their wild course through interplanetary space.

The time at which the phenomenon occurred, say experts at the Paris Observatory, supports the meteor hypothesis [nonsense, meteors don't have a preferred schedule!]. They also note that the most reliable testimonies were collected in Dieppe, in Serqueux, in Neufchâtel-en-Braye, and in Forges-les-Eaux - four localities aligned almost perfectly along a 60-kilometer straight line.

The fact that the witnesses do not all agree on the direction the fireball followed is due to the general illumination of the sky, which made it difficult to distinguish the exact trajectory of the light source.

The tremendous explosion that shook Dieppe is believed to be caused by a meteorite

say astrophysicists

Dieppe (A.C.P.)

No one yet knows what happened in Dieppe, where, last night, a tremendous explosion occurred, shattering hundreds of windows.

This phenomenon is being compared to the explosions that occurred a few days ago in the sky over London, which likewise remain unexplained.

Witnesses who were at the port at the moment of the blast declared:

"A huge ball of fire lit up the horizon. The phenomenon lasted two seconds, then night returned. Four or five minutes later, the tremendous explosion tore through the air. We thought the gasoline depot in Rouen had blown up. We also considered the possibility that a jet aircraft had disintegrated mid-flight, but changed our minds, since such an explosion could not light up an entire city."

It cannot be said that the people of Dieppe were victims of a mass hallucination.

Within a 100-kilometer radius, all testimonies are consistent: railway workers in Serqueux, 40 kilometers from Dieppe; residents of Mailleraye, 60 kilometers away; people from Forges-les-Eaux in Seine-Inférieure, and even from the Arras region, all saw and heard the explosion and its flash.

According to scientists at the Paris Astrophysics Institute, it was very likely the explosion of a meteorite.

MYSTERIOUS PEBBLES ON THE BEACH

Metallic-looking fragments, some as large as ordinary pebbles, were discovered on the beach in Dieppe shortly after the appearance of the mysterious luminous phenomenon.

Sent to the municipal laboratory in Rouen for analysis, these fragments were found by chemists to be iron-based. So far, they have been unable to further identify their composition or determine their precise origin with certainty.

Mysterious phenomenon in the North

MANY DIEPPE RESIDENTS
see a blinding light in the sky
followed by an explosion

IT MAY HAVE BEEN A FIREBALL

Dieppe, January 7. -- This morning, between 4:30 and 5:15 a.m., nearly 70 dockworkers from the port of Dieppe saw a blinding light in the sky followed four minutes later by a tremendous explosion that opened many doors and shattered the windows of houses throughout the city. Most of the inhabitants of Dieppe were awakened by the deafening noise.

The postal vehicle operating between Dieppe and Rouen was near the first of these two towns at the moment the light appeared. According to the two occupants of the vehicle, the explosion occurred only eight minutes after the flash.

The Dieppe semaphore made contact with the one in Fécamp and with those in all the small ports along the coast. All confirmed that the phenomenon was seen in each of these locations.

Read more on PAGE EIGHT

A mysterious phenomenon

Continued from THE FRONT PAGE

However, several witnesses living in La Mailleraye, a locality located about 80 kilometers south of Dieppe, and in Serqueux, a village about 50 km southeast of Dieppe, are categorical: they saw the light, which came from the direction of Dieppe.

Finally, it is worth noting that about a week ago, a fishing boat arrived in Dieppe riddled with small fragments that could have come from a meteorite.

At the moment, speculation abounds regarding the nature of this strange phenomenon.

This morning at 4:27 a.m., a railway employee starting his shift at Orchies station saw in the sky a disc of fire moving horizontally at dizzying speed. A luminous trail followed the glowing disc along its path.

The same phenomenon was seen at roughly the same time in Arras. A witness stated that he saw the disc standing still for a moment in the sky, but did not have time to observe it further. It immediately resumed its course and disappeared over the horizon.

It is very likely, according to the Paris Institute of Astrophysics, that the phenomenon observed this morning was nothing other than a fireball. The very time at which the observation was made supports this opinion. But, they add, such explosions are not very rare and have been recorded many times all over the globe.

It is known that fireballs are bodies whose origin and composition are poorly understood, and which, when moving through the sky, heat up as they encounter the Earth's atmosphere due to the resistance it exerts. It is then that they become incandescent.

The Dieppe flying saucers:

Fireballs,
savants think

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.

A fireball explodes
in the sky
of Dieppe

Thursday morning, 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 the windows of houses in the city.

Most of the inhabitants of Dieppe were woken up by this deafening noise.

The keeper of the Dieppe semaphore got in touch with his colleague from Fécamp and with those of all the small ports on the coast. Everyone agrees that the phenomenon was seen at these different points.

On the other hand, the keeper of the Le Havre semaphore did not notice anything.

However, several witnesses living in La Mailleraye, a locality located approximately 80 kilometers south of Dieppe, and in Serqueux, a village 50 kilometers south-east of Dieppe, are adamant: they saw the light coming from the direction of Dieppe.

It is very likely, according to the Institut d'astrophysique de Paris, that the phenomenon observed 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 view. But, one adds, such explosions are not very rare, and one could record many others on all the surface of the globe.

The luminous phenomenon [of Dieppe on January 7, 1954] was seen in Fécamp and in many small ports on the coast, but one did not see anything in Le Havre. At La Mailleraye (80 km S of Dieppe) and in Serqueux (50 km S of Dieppe) one saw the light that came from the direction of this city.