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 SAUCER AT THE RELECQ-KERHUON

The two phenomena occurred last Thursday and at several hours of interval, but in the light of the explanations which were given to us by the involved people, it does not seem that there is a precise and close connection between them.

Let's see the first witness:

"It was 8 hours of the morning, we were told, and the sun was already shining. I contemplated some small clouds which ran in the sky. They were not of such a particular interest, except for the one of them which caused an amused reflexion of my share.

- Don't you think this cloud shows the shape of a flying saucer? I asked a friend who was at my side.

- Well...

- To be sure I decided to go to seek my binoculars but when I came back the craft had disappeared..."

Our interlocutor however discussed the phenomenon with some other people and it is at the time when everyone was going to think about other things that somebody in the group found the trace of the saucer. One could follow it one moment, then it disappeared, again, definitively this time.

"The object, concluded the main witness, had the shape of a biconvex lens, with two cuppolas, one above, the other below the lens. The whole shone very strongly, not with the manner of a metal but rather of the crystal..."

References: PI 10/26/54

4238: 1954/10/21 20:00 2 4:18:40 W 48:04:40 N 3333 WEU FRN MRB 6:8

NE/PLOUGASTEL,FR:NAVAL ENGNR+1:VLUMn.LENS DISK HVRS/8km alt:CLOUDS INTERVENE..

Ref#138 GROSS,L.:UFOs a HISTORY-1954/10 bks Book # 9 Page 71 : RESIDENT'L