The index page for the 1954 French flap section of this website is here.
Reference for this case: Aug-54-Caussols.
Please cite this reference in any correspondence with me regarding this case.
In the ufology magazine Lumières Dans La Nuit #376 of September 2004, Claude Minghelli reported his own sighting during the summer holidays of 1954:
There has long been talk of "the 1954 Fall Wave". It is obvioustoday that the frequency of unusual sightings had begun to increase well before the onset of autumn. The case "near Quimperlé", which we have just seen, is just one example. Here's another one.
My testimony dates from the summer holidays of 1954. Excuse the imprecise time: I was 14 years old then, and I did not know anything about this matter.
I was then a boy scout, taking part in a camp located north of the town of Grasse, in the Alpes-Maritimes (Michelin map nr84, fold 8), on the Plateau de la Malle, itself even located south of the Plateau de Caussols (1000 m altitude).
One night (I don't remember which one, alas), I left for a "night walk" with the patrol of which I was a member. Leaving the camp behind us, we went by flashlight towards the Col de la Femme morte located north-northeast of the camp and giving access to the plateau of Caussols. From there we joined a natural curiosity, the Embut de Caussois, a spectacular sinkhole, then we directed our steps towards a destination (I no longer remember which one) located due east.
As we walked together, somewhat impressed by the darkness (light pollution of urban origin did not yet exist) and the silence of the night, great was our amazement to see appear above a ridge located northeast of the Plateau de Caussois, above a place called "Colle de Rougiès", a circular object with an apparent diameter equivalent to that of the full Moon, comprising a small concentric circle, the whole yellow-orange in color, followed by a small, slightly curved luminous tail, of the same color and whose length was equivalent to, say, four times the diameter of the "object". This "object" moved in the direction of the south-east in about five seconds, all in the greatest silence! I had the impression that it was about 1 km from us, but I know that we must be very wary of this kind of assessment when we are in the dark about the real size of the observed object!
After a short moment during which we remained stunned, we resumed our walk without saying a word.
Half a century later, I humbly confess that I do not remember if this event was the cause of discussions between us. But it was the origin of my interest in the UFO problem.
The chance would be extraordinary if I could find my former companions in order to make sure with them wether they remember that night.
A sketch accompanied the report; wgich is visible further down in this file.
[Ref. ldl1:] UFOLOGY MAGAZINE "LUMIERES DANS LA NUIT":
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Claude Minghelli
There has long been talk of "the 1954 Fall Wave". It is obvioustoday that the frequency of unusual sightings had begun to increase well before the onset of autumn. The case "near Quimperlé", which we have just seen, is just one example. Here's another one.
My testimony dates from the summer holidays of 1954. Excuse the imprecise time: I was 14 years old then, and I did not know anything about this matter.
I was then a boy scout, taking part in a camp located north of the town of Grasse, in the Alpes-Maritimes (Michelin map nr84, fold 8), on the Plateau de la Malle, itself even located south of the Plateau de Caussols (1000 m altitude).
One night (I don't remember which one, alas), I left for a "night walk" with the patrol of which I was a member. Leaving the camp behind us, we went by flashlight towards the Col de la Femme morte located north-northeast of the camp and giving access to the plateau of Caussols. From there we joined a natural curiosity, the Embut de Caussois, a spectacular sinkhole, then we directed our steps towards a destination (I no longer remember which one) located due east.
As we walked together, somewhat impressed by the darkness (light pollution of urban origin did not yet exist) and the silence of the night, great was our amazement to see appear above a ridge located northeast of the Plateau de Caussois, above a place called "Colle de Rougiès", a circular object with an apparent diameter equivalent to that of the full Moon, comprising a small concentric circle, the whole yellow-orange in color, followed by a small, slightly curved luminous tail, of the same color and whose length was equivalent to, say, four times the diameter of the "object". This "object" moved in the direction of the south-east in about five seconds, all in the greatest silence! I had the impression that it was about 1 km from us, but I know that we must be very wary of this kind of assessment when we are in the dark about the real size of the observed object!
After a short moment during which we remained stunned, we resumed our walk without saying a word.
Half a century later, I humbly confess that I do not remember if this event was the cause of discussions between us. But it was the origin of my interest in the UFO problem.
The chance would be extraordinary if I could find my former companions in order to make sure with them wether they remember that night.
[Drawing caption:]
East
Rougiès glue
trajectory
Col de l'Ecre
Caussois plateau
track
colors of the ball and the trail: yellow in the center, orange on the edges.
[Ref. lcn1:] LUC CHASTAN:
Luc Chastan indicates that in the "Alpes Maritime" in Caussols in August 1954, "During one night a group of boy scouts is on a walk. They go on the plate of Caussols when suddenly above the peak of the Colle de Rougiès a circular object of a diameter identical to that of the full moon of yellow-orange color appears. The object was followed of a trail of the same length 4 times its size. The object moved towards the south east disappearing behind the pass of Ecre at the end of 5 seconds."
The source is indicated as "Lumières dans la Nuit issue 376".
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Obvious description of a meteor.
(These keywords are only to help queries and are not implying anything.)
Caussols, Alpes-Maritimes, Claude Minghelli, night, young people, multiple, duration, yellow, orange, movement, trail, scout, Plateau de la Malle, Plateau de Caussols, Col de la Femme Morte, cave, crest, Colle de Rougiès, object, circular, circle, concentric, luminous, curb, direction, silent, distant
[----] indicates sources that are not yet available to me.
| Version: | Created/Changed by: | Date: | Change Description: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | March 19, 2010 | First published. |
| 1.1 | Patrick Gross | February 7, 2019 | Addition of the Summary. |
| 1.2 | Patrick Gross | June 17, 2022 | Addition [ldl1]. Summary rewritten, was "The ufology magazine Lumières Dans La Nuit #376, in 2004, reportedly indicated that in August 1954, in the Alpes-Maritimes, during a night, a group of Scouts was walking on the plateau of Caussols, when suddenly, a circular object of a diameter identical to that of the full Moon, of yellow-orange color, appeared above the ridge of the Colle de Rougiès. The object was followed by a trail of the same color, of four times its size, and moved to the southeast, disappearing behind the Ecre pass after 5 seconds. " |
