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The 1954 French flap:

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October 15, 1954, Rasteau, Vaucluse:

Reference for this case: 15-Oct-54-Rasteau.
Please cite this reference in any correspondence with me regarding this case.

Summary:

From 1978 to 1981, the ufology group GREPO, of Avignon, cataloged several times in their bulletin Vaucluse Ufologie an observation that they said was reported in the newspaper Le Provençal for October 16, 1954; which was summarized in their bulletin to the following information:

On Friday, October 15, 1954, in Rasteau, one "Mr. R." saw "a pink ball moving north."

Reports:

[Ref. vau1:] "VAUCLUSE UFOLOGIE" UFOLOGY BULLETIN:

20) 10/15/54 - 06:21 p.m. - Rasteau.

[Ref. vau2:] UFOLOGY BULLETIN "VAUCLUSE UFOLOGIE":

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 15, 1954

With Vaucluse Ufologie #3 and #6, we showed you how rich the day of October 14, 1954 was in observations. The next day is also rich, we have four observations throughout the Vaucluse:

At 6 p.m. - LE PONTET.

Mr. Jean C., deputy mayor, Mr. Louis M. and F., municipal councillors, all three saw an aluminum-colored sphere flying silently.

At 6:05 p.m. - at L'ISLE SUR SORGUE.

A sphere, with a 50 cm trail, red and yellow, is sighted by four witnesses. Is it the same object as at Pontet?

At 6:10 p.m. - at BOLLENE.

Twenty people saw, for 6 seconds, a very fast object with a green and orange trail.

At 6:21 p.m. - RASTEAU.

A ball is also observed.

We have scant information on these sighting [sic]; most of which come from Le Dauphiné Libéré for the first three, from Le Provençal for the last. If you have more information, we ask that you let us know. We will publish them in this section with your references.

[Ref. vau3:] "VAUCLUSE UFOLOGIE" UFOLOGY BULLETIN:

23° - 10/15/54 - 06:21 p.m. Rasteau. A pinkish ball.

[Ref. vau4:] "VAUCLUSE UFOLOGIE" UFOLOGY BULLETIN:

V. 10/15/54

06:21 P.M.

Rasteau. Ball

Ref. Le Provençal for 10/16/54 - J.P. [= Jean-Pierre Troadec] file

FRIDAY OCTOBER 15, 1954 - 18:21 P.M.

RASTEAU

Reference 7

Monsieur R. sees a pinkish ball that moves towards the North.

"Reference 7" refers to "Le Provençal".

Explanations:

There are several possibilities for this observation with indigent information:

Maybe it was on October 15, 1954, and was a meteor, or a plane.

Maybe it was on October 14, 1954, and not on October 15, 1954, and then, probably the meteor largely reported about 06:13 p.m. on October 15, 1954.

Maybe it was indeed on October 15, 1954, and it was the high-altitude balloon of the University of Padua seen in this area, among other laces, around that hour (see here).

(That ballooon and that meteor both went to the North).

What more can be said when the information does not even allow to discriminate between a balloon and a meteor?

Keywords:

(These keywords are only to help queries and are not implying anything.)

Rasteau, Vaucluse, ball, pink, unique, direction, north

Sources:

[----] indicates sources that are not yet available to me.

[----] Article in the newspaper Le Provençal, France, October 16, 2019.
[vau1] "La rubrique des années 50, catalog by René Faudrin, in the ufology bulletin Vaucluse Ufologie, of the GREPO ufology group, Avignon, France, #7, January / February 1978.
[vau2] Ufology bulletin Vaucluse Ufologie, France, #10, July / August 1978.
[vau3] "La rubrique des années 50", catalog by Michel Sorgues, in the ufology bulletin Vaucluse Ufologie, of the GREPO ufology group, Avignon, France, #11, September / October 1978.
[vau4] "30 années d'observations vauclusiennes", catalogue in the ufology bulletin Vaucluse Ufologie, of the GREPO ufology group, Avignon, France, Special Issue #1, 1981.

Document history:

Version:	Created/Changed by:	Date:	Change Description:
1.0	Patrick Gross	August 11, 2019	First published.
1.1	Patrick Gross	July 2, 2022	Addition [vau2].

This page was last updated on July 2, 2022.