The 1954 French flap:

A flying saucer and a luminous cigar observed in Le Relecq-Kerhuon and Brest

Brest, 25. -- Flying saucers are dominating the news more than ever. Here and there, many comments are devoted to them. Official investigations are undertaken in some cases, generally resulting in disappointing outcomes.

Opinions remain divided: some systematically deny the existence of these mysterious objects. Others - likely representing the majority - agree in acknowledging "that there's something," though it's obviously impossible to specify the nature of that something.

Finally, there are those who have seen mysterious craft and who categorically state that the phenomena they witnessed cannot in any way be the result of an optical illusion.

Many of these witnesses are perfectly credible, particularly the two individuals whose statements and impressions we faithfully report below.

A LUMINOUS SAUCER IN LE RELECQ-KERHUON

The two phenomena occurred last Thursday, several hours apart, but based on the explanations given by the parties involved, there doesn't appear to be any precise or close connection between the two events.

Let's turn to the first testimony.

"It was 8 a.m.," we were told, "and the sun was already shining. I was watching some small clouds drifting across the sky. They weren't particularly interesting, except for one that provoked an amused remark from me.

'Doesn't that cloud look like the shape of a flying saucer?' I asked a friend who was standing next to me.

'Well...'

'To be sure, I decided to fetch my binoculars, but when I came back, the object had vanished…'"

However, our source discussed the phenomenon with several other people, and just when everyone was about to move on, someone in the group spotted the saucer again. It was visible for a moment, then disappeared once more, this time for good.

The object, the main witness concluded, had the shape of a bi-convex lens, with two domes - one above, one below the lens. The whole thing shone brightly, not like metal, but more like crystal…"

A GLOWING CIGAR SURROUNDED BY A HALO

The second witness is Miss Mocaer, residing on Rue Sully-Prudhomme in Brest. The phenomenon she observed was also very clear and distinct.

"I was coming home on Thursday, around 7:30 p.m., and had bent down slightly to find my front door key in my handbag. As I stood up, I saw the object.

"It seemed to be coming from the direction of the slaughterhouse, as if it had just taken off. It had the shape of a glowing cigar, with a dark band across the middle and surrounded by a halo. It moved at a dizzying speed, suddenly lifted upward, and then shot off toward the sea."

Miss Mocaer was able to observe the phenomenon for several seconds, but when she moved to her window to get a better look, it had vanished.

THEY ARE NOT WEATHER BALLOONS

As we reported yesterday, several residents of Brest claimed to have seen a flying globe moving at high speed over the Brest harbor on Friday evening.

Starting from the idea that the simplest explanations are usually the best, some have tried to interpret these sightings in more... tangible terms.

"Aren't these luminous globes just weather balloons like the ones used by meteorological services?"

The explanation would be pleasantly prosaic... and reassuring. Unfortunately, it doesn't hold up.

It's true that the meteorological station at Guipavas launches one of these weather balloons every twelve hours. We were told that they frequently and rapidly reach altitudes of 20,000 meters. But these balloons are always launched at 3 a.m. and 3 p.m. Now, the witnesses we mentioned saw the mysterious object around 7:30 p.m. that Friday. That day, a strong westerly wind was blowing, and by the time indicated by our fellow citizens, the balloon launched at 3 p.m. would already have been above the Paris region. Moreover, weather balloons move only with the wind and therefore cannot travel at the dizzying speeds described. Finally, their altitude defies human perception.

A luminous globe above the Brest harbor

In our regional news last Saturday, we reported that several residents of Morlaix had seen a "flying saucer" in the sky on Thursday around 7:25 p.m.

A Brest shopkeeper and a person accompanying him also observed the same phenomenon around 7:28 p.m., above the Brest harbor.

"We were driving," the shopkeeper - who wishes to remain anonymous - told us, "on the road from the commercial port to Moulin-Blanc, when suddenly, halfway between the chemical plant and the Vieux-St-Marc beach, we witnessed a strange phenomenon.

"Emerging to our left, an incandescent mass, whose exact shape we couldn't determine but which at times looked like a sphere, appeared in the sky, followed by a luminous trail four times wider.

"This rocket - or meteor - came from the northwest and disappeared from our view toward the southeast.

"Since we had the sea on our right, our field of vision was very wide, and we were able to observe the phenomenon for about 6 seconds. It seemed to be flying at an altitude of around 5,000 meters."

It is worth noting that another Brest shopkeeper, just as reliable as the first, also saw the "globe" at exactly 7:30 a.m. while he was at Tritschier. He described the phenomenon the same way as his colleague but estimated that the craft was flying at an altitude of no more than 600 to 700 meters.

GEPSI

Groupe d'Etude des Phénomènes Spatiaux Inexpliqués [Unexplained Space Phenomena Study Group]

A.S.B.L.
1901 LAW- OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF OCTOBER 6, 1983
HEADQUARTERS [] RUE DE SIAM - 29200 BREST
OBJECT: STUDY OF THE UFO PHENOMENON BY ALL
LEGAL MEANS WHICH MAY PROVE NECESSARY
(INVESTIGATIONS AND COUNTER-INVESTIGATIONS
TO THE VARIOUS SOURCES, COLLECT AND ANA-
LYSIS OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, ETC.)

GENERAL CATALOGUE OF WITNESSES
FINISTERE

Type of testimony: NL [Nocturnal Light]

Date: [25, barred] October 21, 1954

Time: at about 07:30 P.M.

Location: Brest

Number of witnesses:

Investigation:

Identification:

Case summary: A GLOWING CIGAR SURROUNDED BY A HALATION
The second witness is Miss Locaer, resident of Sully-Prudhomme street in Brest, and the phenomenon which she witnessed is also very precise and very clear.

"I returned home Thursday, at about 07:30 P.M., and I had slightly bent down to get the key of the entry door which was in my handbag. It is when I stood straight again that I saw the machine. It appeared me to come from the slaughter-house exactly as if it had just taken off. It had the shape of a glowing cigar, barred of a dark ring in its middle and surrounded by an aureole. It moved at a vertiginous speed, then stood right suddenlyly and the bolide then took the direction of the sea."

Miss Mocaer managed to observe the phenomenon during several seconds, but when she went at her window to observe it more attentively, it had disappeared.

Brest ( 29 200 ), 21 October 1954, 19 h 30 ...

Testimony nr. FR 29 200 1954 10 21 19 30

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