The 1954 French flap:

Many residents of Calais
have seen move yesterday morning
A BRILLIANT MACHINE
while a motorist tells us
the curious adventure that happened to him
between Saint-Inglevert and Calais

THIS time "they" are here. And even a quite here since the first of their appearance in the sky of Calais was greeted by dozens and dozens of witnesses, as we will read later. These are of course the "flying saucers" which, since their frequent hikes in the skies of France, seemed to neglect the City of the Six Burgers [= Calais] which is, let us regret it this time, never in advance.

But now this gap is filled, finally, enough talk, let's come to "serious things".

COLLECTIVE VISION

Around 9:15 a.m. yesterday morning, excitement reigned in different parts of the city, for example: Place d'Alsace, at the end of Boulevard Pasteur, a small group was discussing firmly showing the sky; from the butcher to the hairdresser, passing by the grocery woman everyone had to agree on one point: a very shiny machine taking weird shapes was moving in the azure blue, seeming to be located above Saint-Inglevert.

A motorist of our acquaintance who was passing through the area joined the group and had to face the facts. One could clearly see one of the most bizarre things flying in the sky.

Our fellow citizen driving his vehicle "rushed" towards Fort-Nieulay, near the Pont-Jourdan, another group watched the phenomenon. The latter then disappeared between Wimereux and Cape Gris-Nez.

Then, shortly after, phone calls came to the newspaper. Witnesses came to visit us. A group of workers working on rue Thiers had seen and followed the moves of the craft. There was also a bus driver, a peacekeeper, another motorist, etc..., etc..., in short dozens of Calais residents who confirmed the fact to us.

What shapes did the craft take?

It was a kind of very shiny disc that moved at average speed. Its size was imposing; which seemed to rule out the hypothesis of a sounding balloon. It was nothing like a normal plane.

This disc, when it moved in a certain direction, looked only like a black spot. Then it shone again and from time to time, seen horizontally took the shape of these famous flying cigars of which one talks so much.

The only "terrestrial" explanation: it could have been a "flying wing" of the R.A.F. or any original design constructions. But for many Calais residents it was a saucer.

Others consider that it was a Meteorological device, of large dimensions and equipped with a kind of parachute.

Anyway, the fact is there...

A WEIRD ENCOUNTER

On the other hand, in the night from Friday to Saturday, a driver from Calais told us the extraordinary story of an adventure which occurred on the National Route Nr 1, thhe one that goes from Boulogne to Calais: a mysterious craft came towards him, flew over the road then took another direction.

Our fellow citizen who provided us with interesting details said:

- Being well known in town, I don't want my name to be written in the newspaper. One would say that I had "visions", that I wanted publicity or that I put together a hoax from the ground up for the purpose of mystification.

"No, I simply state, and with sincerity that what I am going to tell you is not an invention on my part, nor even a hallucination!"

And he goes on:

- I was driving on National Road Nr 1, Friday evening. I had descended the Anglaise hill and I was going to go down a second hill, the one that begins about 300 meters from the end of the Bonningues road. The night was dark and a light rain dampened the road. My 4 C. V. was traveling at about sixty kilometers an hour. It was 9:10 or 9:15 p.m. Suddenly in the distance, to my left, I saw a gleam coming from the fields and which could be that produced by the dynamo of a bicycle. In myself, I made an ironic observation: well, a fool who cyclo-crosses through the fields. I did not lose sight of the glow that suddenly darted towards the road, in my direction. And as it approached, the light changed and a craft of very large proportions appeared to me. It was a bluish color, like that which emerges from the blue painted windows and behind which there is light.

"It was then that I was taken with an unspeakable fear. Without thinking and seeing this craft coming on me, I braked short, I turned off all my headlights and I said to myself by taking in hand the door handle: if this goes on I'll run away across the fields!

"At that time I had a very good sight of the craft: it was a kind of bluish disc, with the very clear shape of a dome above. Its length was greater than the width of the road de Boulogne. It moved without any noise, and that is what increases the fright. There was nobody on the road. No sign of car headlights in the distance. The craft seemed to come from Escalles. It flew over the road, veered and, transforming its trajectory into a V whose point would be located on the Route. It spun towards Calais. I saw it disappear and at that moment, the bluish hue gave way to this initial white headlight!"

And all that said with sincerity that makes the most skeptical think.

Other French motorists had an identical encounter.

The mystery remains whole.

 

A MOTORIST OF CALAIS SAW

A large bluish disc surmounted of a cupola moving without noise above the road

Calais (A.F.P.).

Several residents of Calais saw Saturday morning, around 09:45 a shining craft that evolved while taking, according to witnesses', odd shapes.

In addition, a motorist of Calais saw, in the night of Friday above the road of Boulogne-sur-Mer, an unidentified craft that he believes to be a flying saucer.

It was 09:15 p.m., told the motorist when towards the left, I saw a gleam coming from the fields and that could be that which the dynamo of a bicycle produces. The gleam, suddenly, dove towards the road, in my direction and a craft of very large size appeared to me. It was of bluish color, as that which released, during the war, windows panes painted in blue. I slowed down clear and extinguished my headlights. The machine passed above the road, it was well a blue disc comprising at the top and clearly visible a cupola. The machine moved without noise. It overflew the road, veered and went away in the direction to Calais. I saw it disappearing and at this time

Continued on page 8 under the headline: THE SAUCERS

Flying disc in the sky of Calais

Calais. -- Several residents of Calais spotted Saturday morning a shining craft that moved in the sky while changing shape. A motorist claimed to have seen a gleam diving in his direction and a kind of huge disk appear to him. It was of bluish color, with a clearly defined cupola.

The machine moved without noise, flew over the road and sped towards Calais while taking white reflections.

IN THE OISE AND ELSEWHERE

The flying saucers did
respect the Sunday truce

The file of the flying saucers did not grow much during the weekend, since all in all, only three luminous craft were spotted in the skies of France, in Creil and Calais. Each time the apparitions were observed, it seems, by several people at the same time.

This is how in the city of Rouher, in Creil, it is a group of witnesses including in particular three peacekeepers, who said he saw an imprecise, luminous shape in the sky. The shape, he said, was moving rapidly over the Oise valley, towards Nogent.

For their part, several Calais residents said they saw Saturday morning around 9:15 a.m., a brilliant craft that moved in the sky, taking, according to witnesses, weird shapes.

Also, a motorist from Calais saw, during the night from Saturday to Sunday, above the road to Boulogne -on-Sea, an unidentified craft he believes to be a flying saucer.

"It was 9:15 p.m.," said the motorist, when, to the left I saw a glow coming from the fields and possibly like that produced by the dynamo of a bicycle. The glow, suddenly, darted towards the road, in my direction, and a craft of very large proportions appeared to me. It was of a bluish color, like that which came during the war, from the windows painted in blue. I braked sharply and turned off my headlights. The craft passed over the road. It was indeed a blue disc, comprising, above and clearly emerging, a dome. The craft moved silently. It flew over the road, turned and spun in the direction of Calais. I saw it disappear and at that moment the primitive bluish glow gave way to a white headlight as it had originally appeared to me."

Saucers, cigars, etc.

In France

On Saturday and Sunday, the "saucers" were particularly numerous to fly over our country. Here are some witness reports:

Riding a bike towards Rânes (Orne) Mr. C. Couette, son of a plumber from Tesse-la-Madeleine, was overtaken by a strange luminous craft which, at high speed, shaved the treetops. The craft, about 4 feet in diameter, had the shape of a ball of fire domed on top. It was observed for ten seconds.

At 17 km from Angouleme, about thirty people Tourriers saw on the night of the 8th to the 9th, a "kind of cigar" that stood motionless at forty meters above the national road No. 10 for a twenty minutes. The machine, which was provided with two fins, then departed at a speed of about 250 to 300 kilometers an hour.

A motorist of Calais saw over the road to Boulogne-sur-Mer, an unidentified craft he believes to be a flying saucer.

"It was 9:15 p.m., the driver said, when, to the left, I saw a glow coming from the fields and that could have been produced by the dynamo of a bicycle. The glow suddenly dove toward the road in my direction, and a craft of very large proportions appeared to me. It was bluish, like the blue of the painted windows during the war. I stopped short and turned off my headlights. the craft passed over the road. It was indeed a blue disc...

Featuring clearly visible dome on the top, the machine moved noiselessly. It flew over the road, veered and sped towards Calais. I saw it disappear and, at that time, the bluish glow gave way to a white light as it had initially appeared to me."

Sunday night, while he was driving his car, Jean Bertrand, a mechanic at Carcassonne, saw, flying low, a bright spherical craft of metal whose upper part seemed to be made of plastic. He could, he said, easily distinguish two human forms in this craft that disappeared at high speed in the direction of the East.

In Belgium

A "flying cigar" was seen by the rural mail carrier in a village near Huy, between Namur and Liege. The postman said the craft was high in the sky when he came close, but he could clearly distinguish two figures on board of "approximately human" shape.

In Egypt

It is reported in Alexandria, from official sources, that a mysterious craft stayed in the air above the control tower of the Muzha airport for an hour Saturday night.

The machine, in the shape of lengthened "saucer", changed color from red to orange and from green to gray, before moving away at breathtaking speed.

FLYING SAUCERS EXPLORE GERMANY

Bonn, 11. -- A "flying saucer was observed for about two minutes by 13 members of a gliding school above the aerodrome of Ockstadt, near Frankfurt.

The 13 pilots and student pilots were watching the progress of a monitor when they saw appearing above the glider in flight, at about three thousand meters above sea level, a "slightly swollen silver disc" which moved without the slightest noise. The witnesses, including several former Luftwaffe aviators, are formal to declare that they cannot have been victims of an optical illusion.

IN LEBANON

Beirut, 11. -- The newspaper "L'Orient" reports this morning a statement by Mr. Max Favell, representative in Beirut of a German firm, who claims to have seen Saturday at 10:15 p.m. (loc.) at the seaside a motionless craft in the sky which emitted a whitish light.

Mr. Favell clarified that the craft which was a few meters from the ground landed for a few seconds and then took off vertically, rotating on itself and soon disappearing into the sky. The witness did not notice any trace on the ground at the place of landing of the craft.

Following the publication of this statement, a journalist. Mr. Abdelkarim, revealed that he had also seen the same day but around 7:00 p.m., a kind of red ball moving in the sky and coming from the North. Mr. Abdelkarim, fearing that little credit would be given to his "vision", had not revealed it to anyone.

IN EGYPT

Alexandria, 11. -- Egypt in its turn enters the competition of flying saucers. At the start of Saturday night, several hundred residents of Alexandria reported the presence in the sky of a luminous object which seemed to change from red to orange, then to green and gray-blue. Officials from the meteorological service at the Alexandria aerodrome alerted the Helouan observatory, near Cairo, by telephone, asking that the phenomenon be photographed. However, it disappeared before the observatory's special telescope could be prepared.

The deputy director of the observatory, Mr. Azouz Ismail, told the press that it could be an aurora borealis. A magnetic storm was, indeed, observed for forty-eight hours, which would make the explanation plausible.

In Cameroon too

Yaounde, 11. -- Several reliable people claim to have witnessed one of these phenomena called "flying saucer" last night.

These are Colonel Cauvin, director of hygiene and prophylaxis services in Cameroon; Dr. Menu, chief doctor of the Yaounde hospital; by MM. Dumont, director of security services in Cameroon; Pailleux, adviser to the Territorial Assembly of Cameroon; Moreau, administrator, deputy mayor of Yaoundé, and their wives.

All these people, gathered at the chief doctor of the Hospital, were preparing to go to the movies when they were intrigued by the attitude of the house dog who suddenly started to growl and bristle his hairs. Thinking that strangers were lurking near his house, Dr. Menu went out and saw a bright object in the sky. He immediately called his guests, who all then declared that they had seen, almost vertically above the plate where the hospital is located, a huge, brightly lit, motionless disc at an altitude of about 600 meters.

This "appearance" lasted fifteen seconds. The machine was very exactly of the shape of a mushroom whose people could not exactly assess the diameter, under which a cylinder swayed very slightly, of a length equal to the diameter of the hat and also very bright.

Suddenly, the "saucer" took the direction of the east, and its volume seemed to decrease visibly. Then it stopped for a few seconds before quickly gaining altitude and disappearing.

Read more on the 8^th page.

Flying spheres
and... "divers"

Human forms

Carcassonne, 11. -- Saturday evening, around 4 p.m. while driving his car, Mr. Jean Bertrand, a mechanic in this city, saw, flying at low altitude, a spherical craft of shiny metal, the upper part of which seemed to be made of plastic. He was able, he says, to easily distinguish two human forms in this craft; which disappeared at high speed in the east direction.

A huge ball

Limoges, 11. -- Last Friday, around 10 p.m., in Uzerches (Corrèze), two young people, Charles and Alphonse Beaujou, were driving by car on the road to Eyburie, saw at the height of the castle of Fargeas and in the direction of Espartignac, a huge extremely shiny ball.

The two young people, having stopped their vehicle, watched this ball for about a quarter of an hour, it turned from white to orange then to red before disappearing in the direction of Lagraulière.

Other people saw the same phenomenon.

A character with a strong mustache

Poitiers, 11. -- Mr. Roger Barrault, farmer in Lavoux (Vienne), said that, riding a bicycle, around 7 p.m. on Saturday, he had been suddenly stopped by a double beam of light emanating from a sort of scuba diver hardly 1.50 m. tall with boots without heels, very bright eyes and a strong mustache.

The diver strolled about a minute on the road, says Barrault, then suddenly disappeared into the nearby forest.

An inconstant cigar

In Tourriers, 17 km from Angoulême, around thirty people saw on the night of 8-9, a "kind of cigar" which remained stationary at about forty meters above the national road Nr 10, during about twenty minutes. The craft, which had two fins, then decided to leave at a speed of around 250 to 300 kph.

Calais and Boulogne overflown by a "flying saucer"

Calais, 11. -- Several residents of Calais saw on Saturday morning around 9:15 a.m., a brilliant craft which moved in the sky.

On the other hand, a motorist from Calais saw at night, over the road to Boulogne-sur-Mer, a luminous object.

- It was 9:15 p.m., said the motorist, when to the left I saw a gleam coming from the fields and which could be that produced by the dynamo of a bicycle. The glow suddenly dove towards the road, in my direction, and a machine of very large proportions appeared to me. It was bluish in color, like that which emerged during the war from the windows painted blue. I braked and turned off my headlights. The craft passed over the road. It was a blue disc with above and clearly emerging, a dome. The machine moved silently. It flew over the road, turned and sped towards Calais. I saw it disappear and at that moment the primitive bluish glow gave way to a white headlight as it had originally appeared to me.

SAUCERS OR NOT SAUCERS (Continued)

"A CRAFT SHINING LIKE GOLD"
reportedly flew over Calais the day before yesterday at night

The Calais residents now have a topic of conversation: Are you for or against the flying saucers.

Indeed, there is a lot of talk in Calais about the alleged passage in our sky and on the railways of these unidentified flying machines.

There is now, within our walls, a psychosis similar to that which was felt in all the other regions of France.

Also it is necessary to collect, for information only, the various testimonies which do not fail to flow in the newsrooms of Calais.

Last appearance: above Calais-Nord, the day before yesterday in the evening.

We will see further under what conditions.

Several "craft"
above Calais

Flying saucers and other cigars have long neglected the skies of Calais and the Pas-de-Calais.

They were seen everywhere in France, except above the City of the Six Burgers [= Calais] and particularly caustic citizens, already accused the Tourists' Office of negligence.

It is obsolete now since the saucers are there, and even quite there.

The first was seen a few weeks ago, in Bonningues-les-Ardres, by a particularly well-balanced rural couple.

A little later, it was in Nielles-les-Ardres that the passage of a brilliant disc was reported. But the witnesses, interviewed by us, made us think of jokers who could not back down, much to their embarrassment.

Then it was Nortkerque, near Audruicq, where a brave woman witnessed the passage of a squadron of four luminous craft.

And then it was the story told to us by a driver from Calais who claims to have met between Coquelies and Saint-Inglevert, a bluish craft of impressive dimensions.

This was happening on the night of Friday to Saturday, last week.

That same Saturday, at 9:15 a.m., a big event in Calais: dozens of witnesses affirm that they saw a strange object in the sky. Everyone is formal about the various forms of the craft. But there is room left before baptizing it a flying saucer; which some people quickly did.

Sunday evening, between 11:30 p.m. and 1 a.m., several reliable people, on the third floor of a building in the Esplanade, swear their great gods to have seen on numerous occasions, very high in the sky, above Calais, luminous craft, flying very fast, it could not be planes, according to the witnesses.

Then, it was an old lady from Calais who cared little for these aerial questions who saw something odd in the sky.

Closer to home, we know the story of the baker boy, domiciled in Le Virval, who swears to have seen, on the railway line from Calais to Dunkerque, a semi-spherical shape, yellow in color and very shiny.

Things would be left there if two new testimonies hadn't reached us.

Was it the flying wing
the day before yesterday evening?

It is first of all a young Calais resident, in his twenties, living in an extramural district, Mr. J. F., employed in a house on rue du Vauxhall.

He's a very calm boy who has nothing to do with hallucinations or visionaries. Besides, he was not the only witness who saw something, the person accompanying him confirming his words:

"I was in Calais Nord, the day before yesterday evening, around 9 p.m., when, very high in the sky, I saw a craft whose yellow color shone like gold. Its speed was really extraordinary. The apparatus seemed to come from Saint-Pierre. It disappeared towards the sea. It did not have so much the shape of a disc, but only, it resembled this English plane presented lately in the News, "the Flying Wing"..."

- o-

Also the day before yesterday, around 7:30 p.m., a young man, about 24 years old, employed at the "Clinique du Pneu", at M. Argot's, rue de la Pomme d'Or, was in the garage yard when he saw a kind of fireball moving in the sky. He could not find an explanation for this phenomenon.

As it was pointed out to him that, around this time, the moon appeared to the eye, quite low on the horizon, towards Dunkirk, like a big red ball, our fellow citizen replied that he had not confused.

- o-

Obviously, the optical effects are legion and one of our fellow citizens pointed out to us the following fact. He even almost fell victim to this curious illusion.

He was returning by car from Blériot-Plage. It was around 9 p.m.

He was driving on Route Nationale 40 and, having arrived about a hundred meters from the Henri Hénon bridges, he turned mechanically to his left and saw, seeming to swing, then settle, offshore, above the sea, a luminous object which had the shape of a cigar.

He braked, got out of the car, climbed onto the embankment. He still saw the same thing and for two minutes was convinced of the authenticity of his vision. And it was when he was leaving that he realized the optical effect.

It was a ray of light which, gushing from a nearby brewery was stopped on an electric wire which lit up over a certain length. The wind was responsible for the swing and movement of this "flying cigar with an elongated and luminous shape!".

The point of view
of the Calais authorities

In Calais, the police authorities as well as those of the constabulary do not hide their skepticism:

"Every night, as the service demands", we were told at the gendarmerie, "several of our men are on the way. Obviously they have never seen anything odd in the sky..." Wether we investigate the alleged visions already reported in Calais: "No, not at all... Note that if really, a fact was convincing, or even very disturbing, we would establish a report that we would forward... But so far, we have been able sleep easy."

At the Police, humor does not lose its rights:

If one day a Martian would stole a bicycle, we would arrest him. If we meet one who is drunk, we will bring him to the courthouse, but for the moment the question is of little interest to us."

At the General Intelligence, one drops the ball to the Air Force which is qualified for this kind of investigation since the landing in Quarouble (Nord), of one of these alleged craft.

In Calais, that's how thing are.

(To be continued in a future issue).

NORD - HE [missing part]

Henri Dubois, 46 years old, saw on the National Road [?]
Calais, a "bluish disc", of considerable dimensions [?]
[?] disappeared while Mr. Dubois was still [?]
Nothing surprizing: the Nord is a region [?]

October 7 [, 1954]

[... other cases...]

09:10 p.m.: Summer.Boulogne-Calais(Pas-de-Calais): blue disc with cuppola

[... other cases...]

212 October 8, 1954, 09:15 p.m., Calais, (France):

On the road to Boulogne a bluish object, clearly seen with a dome on top, dived toward the ground, became white and went away. (P. 44, P. 45, M. 154).

72, Oct. 8. On the road to Boulogne, near Calais, a bluish object, seen clearly with a dome on top, dived towards the ground. It then went away, became white. The next morning, several people in Calais saw a bright object which did not land.

October 8, 1954, 09:15 p.m., Calais, (France):

On the road to Boulogne a bluish object, clearly seen with a dome on top, dived toward the ground, became white and went away. (L'Aurore, Le Figaro, le Parisien, 11 oct. 1954).

212 8-10-54 Calais

388 8 October 1954 2115 hrs

CALAIS (FRANCE) On the road to Boulogne a blueish object, clearly seen with a dome on top, dived towards the ground, turned white & went away. (M212; L'Aurore, Le Parisien, 11 Oct 1954: Figaro, 11 Oct 1954: Michel II, 154)

October 8th. Calais, France. (9:15 p.m.)

A domed object, bluish in color, swooped over a road, turned a white hue, and then sped away. 83.

• 83. Paris, France. Le Parisien, 11 October 54.

4020: 1954/10/08 21:20 3 1:46:00 E 50:54:00 N 3333 WEU FRN PDC 6:8

N1 SW/CALAIS,FR:BLUISH DOMED SCR DIVES/GROUND:TURNS >>NE:SAME THING NEXT DAY.

Ref# 30 FIGEUT[sic]&RUCHON: OVNI: Le 1er Dossier Page No. 134 : PASTURE

Calais, (France).

10/8/1954 21:15

On the road to Boulogne a bluish object, clearly seen with a dome on top, dived toward the ground, became white and went away.

*Oct. 8, 1954 - At 9:15 p.m., on the road to Boulogne in Pas de Calais department, France a bluish domed disc-shaped object dove toward the ground, became white and then flew away. (Source: Aime Michel, Flying Saucers and the Straight Line Mystery, p. 154; Jacques Vallee, Passport to Magonia: A Century of Landings, case # 212).

October 8 1954. 2115hrs.

CALAIS (PAS DE CALAIS : FRANCE)

A motorist driving to Boulogne saw a light in a field, like that from a bicycle lamp. The object then came over the road, and he could see it was a large devise with its surface and windows blue in colour, and surmounted by a clear dome. It turned white and disappeared towards Calais, silently.

• Gross 1954. citing Le Provencal 11 October 1954. citing AFP
• Vallee Case 212 citing L'Aurore + Le Parisien + Figaro all of 11 October 1954.
• Evaluation - Another helicopter?