The 1954 French flap:

Discs, balls, cigars, rocket

A MARTIAN WITH A MUSTACHE SPENT HIS WEEKEND IN THE VIENNE

Only THREE Martians showed up over the weekend. Very reserved Martians. They abstained from the affectionate demonstrations to which they usually indulge in: caresses or hugs. No doubt they reserve these expressions of sympathy for rural populations: only country people have benefited from it so far.

A manual worker of Lavoux (Vienne), Mr. Roger Barrault, said that riding a bicycle at around 9 a.m. on Saturday, he was suddenly stopped there by a double beam of light directed by him by a "scuba diver" barely 1 m 50 tall with boots without heels very bright eyes and a strong mustache.

- The diver strolled for about a minute on the road, says Barrault, then suddenly disappeared into the nearby forest.

A mechanic from Carcassonne, Mr. Bertrand, saw, also on Saturday evening, on the road, while driving, a spherical craft of shiny metal whose upper part seemed to be made of plastic. He was able, he says, to easily distinguish two human forms in this craft; which disappeared at high speed in the east direction.

Mr. Bertrand could not specify if the two occupants of the craft were mustached like the Martian of the Vienne.

A Lyon resident, Mr. Morguin, claims that he has photographed a saucer over the Rhône.

- It was, he said, a red disc surrounded by white lights.

Several people saw a disc in Mâcon, above the Saône, not brilliant, this time, but dark.

From Montluçon to the Landes marshes...

A worker, Mr. Magnier, and truckers saw a luminous ball at Montluçon crossing the sky at high speed.

In Tourriers, 17 kilometers from Angoulême, around thirty people saw in the night from the 8th to the 9th a "kind of cigar" who remained motionless about forty meters above national road number 10 for about twenty minutes. The craft, which had two fins, then left at a speed of around 250 to 300 km per h.

Mrs. Lebert, guardian of the Pont-Chapelle castle in La Ferté-Macé (Orne), observed a craft in the middle of the afternoon mysterious that looked like a rocket and rose vertically silently, leaving behind a slight white trail.

Also, Mr. Christian Couette, son of a plumber from Tesse-la-Madeleine, was riding a bicycle towards Ranes when, near the Etang de Lande-Forêt, in the commune of Beauvain, he was overtaken by a strange luminous craft which, at high speed, grazed the top of the trees. The object, about 4 m in diameter, had the shape of a domed fireball.

Flying saucers... (continued)

Several people, on the bridge of Saint-Laurent-les-Mâcon, saw a disc above the Saône which disappeared after a short moment. A new detail: this disc was not bright, but dark.

A worker, Mr. Magnier, and some truck drivers, saw in Montluçon a luminous ball crossing the sky at high speed.

In Tourriers, 17 kilometers from Angoulême, about thirty people saw during the night of the 8th to the 9th a "sort of cigar" that remained stationary about forty meters above national road number 10 for around twenty minutes. The craft, which had two small fins, then took off at a speed of approximately 250 to 300 km/h.

Mrs. Lebert, caretaker of the Château de Pont-Chapelle in La Ferté-Macé (Orne), observed in the middle of the afternoon a mysterious object in the sky. This object, which resembled a rocket, was silently rising vertically while leaving a faint white trail behind it. It could be observed for several seconds before quickly disappearing. A woman and children living on the outskirts of the town were also witnesses to the phenomenon.

Meanwhile, Mr. Christian Couette, son of a plumber from Tesse-la-Madeleine, was cycling toward Rânes when, near the Londe-Forêt pond in the commune of Beauvain, he was overtaken by a strange luminous object that, at high speed, skimmed the treetops. The object, about 4 meters in diameter, had the shape of a fireball bulging on top. It could be seen for about ten seconds.

In Münster, Westphalia, Mr. Hoge, a cinema operator by profession, told the DPA agency that he saw four men emerge from a flying saucer Saturday night near Münster.

These men, about 1.20 meters tall, had broad chests and large heads. However, their lower limbs were short and thin.

Mr. Hoge was on his way home when he saw a blue light in a field about sixty meters from the road. He thought it was a crashed plane. Then he realized the light came from an object shaped like a cigar. Four men in rubber suits were working under the craft. None of them spoke a word.

Mr. Hoge watched them work for ten minutes without approaching because he was afraid. Finally, the four men climbed back into the cigar-shaped object via a sort of ladder. A few meters after takeoff, it turned into a saucer projecting a blinding light.

Also in Germany, a "flying saucer" was observed for about two minutes by thirteen members of a gliding school above the Ockstadt airfield near Frankfurt.

The thirteen pilots and student pilots were watching the flight of an instructor when they saw, above the glider in flight at about 3,000 meters altitude, a "slightly bulging silver disc" moving without the slightest sound. The witnesses, including several former Luftwaffe pilots, firmly stated that they could not have been the victims of an optical illusion.

In Egypt, several hundred residents of Alexandria reported seeing a luminous object in the sky that appeared to move while changing color from red to orange, then to green and bluish-gray. Officials from the meteorological service at Alexandria’s airport called the Helwan Observatory near Cairo, requesting that the phenomenon be photographed. However, it disappeared before the special telescope could be set up.

In New Zealand

BELSON [sic] (New Zealand), October 11. -- Mr. K.M. Gibbons of Nelson was able to take a series of telephoto pictures of three flying saucers.

After he had taken two snapshots of the three mysterious craft, they disappeared vertically at high speed. Nevertheless, he continued to take photographs in the direction where the saucers had been. The developed film shows cylindrical objects with a kind of dark core.

Finally, in Cameroon

Several trustworthy individuals claim to have witnessed one of those phenomena known as a "flying saucer" last night.

They include Colonel Cauvin, director of hygiene and prophylaxis services in Cameroon; Dr. Menu, chief physician at the Yaoundé hospital; Mr. Dumont, director of security services in Cameroon; Mr. Poilleux, councilor of the Territorial Assembly of Cameroon; Mr. Moreau, deputy mayor of Yaoundé; and their wives.

All these people, gathered at the chief physician’s house, were preparing to go to the cinema when they were startled by the behavior of the household dog, which suddenly began growling and bristling. Thinking that strangers might be prowling nearby, Dr. Menu went outside and saw a bright object in the sky. He immediately called out to his guests, who all later stated that they had seen, almost directly above the plateau where the hospital is located, a huge, brightly lit disc, motionless at an altitude of about 600 meters.

This sighting lasted fifteen seconds. The object had the exact shape of a mushroom—that is, a very luminous disc (whose diameter the witnesses could not determine precisely), beneath which slightly swayed a cylinder as long as the disc’s diameter and equally illuminated.

Suddenly, the "saucer" moved eastward, and its size appeared to shrink visibly. Then it stopped again for a few seconds before quickly gaining altitude and disappearing.

08/10/1954 Montluçon (20 heures 30).

M. Magnier, ouvrier d'usine demeurant à Argenty descendait vers Montluçon. Soudain, un engin lumineux dont il ne put préciser la forme passa silencieusement près de lui. (La Montagne-Aurillac du 18/10/1954).

October 8 (La Montagne for 11/10) Montluçon 08:30 p.m..

Mr. Magnier saw, passing near him, a luminous machine between Argenty and Montlucon.

030 10/08/54 09:30 p.m. Montluçon
Lum. object. Silent and low altitude

014 10/08/1954 08:30 p.m. Montluçon witness Mr. Magnier

The witness who was going from Argenty to Montlucon suddenly saw silently passing near him a lum. craft whose shape he was unable to specify (Centre Matin for 10/18/54)