The index page for the 1954 French flap section of this website is here.
Reference for this case: 14-Oct-54-Manosque.
Please cite this reference in any correspondence with me regarding this case.
The regional newspaper Le Méridional, on page 6 for October 15, 1954, reported via their press correspondent in Manosque, that the night before, at dusk - thus on October 14, 1954, around 06:10 p.m. - about twenty inhabitants of that city, including Mr. Maurel, coffee shop owner, Mr. Entressangle, transporter, Mr. Rose, EDF employee, Mr. Dini, transporter, and several local gendarmes, had seen "a cigar-shaped craft stopped above the Mont-d'Or."
"After a few moments," said the newpaper, "the machine craft its course while spreading a strong glow."
[Ref. lml1:] NEWSPAPER "LE MERIDIONAL":
MANOSQUE (C.P.). -- Yesterday, at nightfall, a score of inhabitants of our city, among whom misters Maurel, café owner, Entressangle, transporter, Rose, E.D.F employee, Dini, conveyor, and several of our police officers saw a craft in the shape of a cigar stopped just above the Mount-d'Or. At the end of a few moments, the craft resumed its travel while spreading a strong gleam.
Rest of the article about other sightings available here.
[Ref. ubk1:] "UFO-DATENBANK":
This database recorded this case twice:
| Case Nr. | New case Nr. | Investigator | Date of observation | Zip | Place of observation | Country of observation | Hour of observation | Classification | Comments | Identification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19541014 | 14.10.1954 | Manosque | France | 18.15 | ||||||
| 19541014 | 14.10.1954 | Manosque | France | 18.15 |
|
Probably the 06:13 p.m. meteor.
If it seems "stopped" above the Mont d'Or, it is because the witnesses see it coming. As the meteor came from the South or South-South-East, the Mont d'Or must be approximately south of Manosque.
I did find a "Mont d'Or Tower", an old watchtower southeast of the old castle of Manosque; this is a match.
Arriving from the horizon towards Manosque, it looked like a motionless ball; then passing the city, the witnesses thought it was speeding up, and saw its trail.
(These keywords are only to help queries and are not implying anything.)
Manosque, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, twilight, multiple, Maurel, Entressangle, Rose, Dini, gendarmes, machine, cigar, gleam, stationary, movement, gleam
[----] indicates sources that are not yet available to me.
| Version: | Created/Changed by: | Date: | Change Description: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.1 | Patrick Gross | April 11, 2006 | First published. |
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | April 8, 2009 | Conversion from HTML to XHTML Strict. First formal version. |
| 1.1 | Patrick Gross | February 25, 2017 | Addition [ubk1]. |
| 1.2 | Patrick Gross | July 16, 2019 | Addition of the Summary. Explanations changed, were "Probably the 06:15 p.m. meteor." |
