The article below was published in the daily newspaper Les Dernières Nouvelles d'Alsace, Strasbourg, France, page 2, on September 7, 1952.
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DURBAN. -- Two members of the meteorological office of the Union of South Africa, Mr. Meyer and Mr. Smith, saw six "flying saucers" flying over Durban at high altitude yesterday morning. The objects, they said, were spherical and appeared to be at an altitude of more than 6,500 meters. It is believed to be the first time meteorologists have observed "flying saucers," and their description has been recorded in the official meteorological archives. Mr. Meyer stated that he was observing a weather balloon released to measure wind speed and direction. When the balloon was about 3,500 meters high, a white object entered his field of vision. "The object moved smoothly," he said, "but I couldn’t follow it because I had to keep my eye on the balloon." A minute later, two more similar spheres appeared under the same conditions and passed in the same way. "I called Mr. Smith when the third object appeared. We were both watching the phenomenon when two more appeared. I tracked one with the theodolite, which means it was at a very high altitude. It was about the same size as the balloon at only 3,500 meters." Mr. Meyer and Mr. Smith, who is the director of the Natal meteorological office, have been meteorologists for many years.
