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The index page for the 1954 French flap section of this site is here.
Reference number for this case: 26-sep-54-Croix-de-Nivollet. Thank you for including this reference number in any correspondence with me regarding this case.
[Ref. lm1:] "LE MERIDIONAL" NEWSPAPER:
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Carrousel of "saucers" in the sky of DauphinéLYON. -- In the departments of the Rhone, Isère, Drôme and Savoy, many people claim to have seen, these last days, with more or less clarity, craft having either the shape of cigars, or those of discs. In the area of the Arbresle, one of these witnesses, director of a music-hall, stated to have filmed one of these mysterious apparatuses which evolved at a height estimated by him as of approximately 700 meters. One will thus know, after development of the footage, if it was or was not an optical illusion. Close to Feyzin (the Isère) a young man is said to have seen in the countryside, not far from the ground, a machine having the shape of a dome from where spouted out a very sharp light. The witness had compared it with that caused by the combustion of magnesium. The craft, suddenly, went up vertically while leaving a shower of sparks and disappeared. Inhabitants of Chabeuil stated to have seen a flying saucer evolving above the countryside. Lastly, in Savoy, close to the lake of Le Bourget, above Mount Revard, several motorists, on the whole about fifteen people, simultaneously saw an apparatus having the shape of a disc, that evolved during approximately four minutes, to then disappear suddenly. One of the witnesses, a doctor of Chambéry, is a former artillery observer. He carefully wrote up the observations and drew a diagram reproducing the travel of the mysterious apparatus. A "SAUCERS" FOLLOWS A TRAIN IN THE ILLE-ET-VILAINE...
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[Ref. lp1:] "LE PROVENCAL" NEWSPAPER:
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Flying saucersContinued from the first page Mr. L..., who gave us this statement, added: " At the beginning, I did not want to talk about it, but with the news which appeared these last days in the Press, it seems to me that it could contribute to add one more testimony to the "flying saucers" file." It seems, indeed, that we are again in the presence of one of these mysterious craft which would have been posed a few moments (in what intention?) on the plains of the area of Aigues-Mortes. The really disconcerting testimony of a doctor and fifteen peopleDoctor Martinet, dermatologist in Chambéry, saw a flying saucer evolving above the cross of Nivollet. - "About fifteen people, he states, can testify of that." The doctor and his wife returned by car from the col du Chat [pass of the Cat], when they saw over the cross of Nivollet, 2.000 meters of altitude approximately, "a dark aluminum gray mass". The doctor stopped his vehicle, to follow the evolutions of the machine. Three other cars also stopped. - "I observed my watch, said the doctor. It was 17. 8 ' 40 ". At 17:16 whereas it was presented its face, i.e. in the form of disc, I distinguished a clear zone in the center of the machine and dark spots around. The machine went down right above the teleferic station from the Revard, then disappeared suddenly at the speed of a lightning." Meanwhile, about fifteen people had grouped around Doctor Martinet and made the same observations he did. In the departments of the Rhone, Isère, Drôme and Savoy, many people claim to have seen, these last days, with more or less clearness, craft having sometimes the shape of cigars, sometimes of discs. The divers of the sky are cherishingIn the Vienne, a 28 year old farmer, Mr. Yves David, living in Brouloux, community of Vouneuil-sur-Vienne, met, on the road of Cenon to Vouneuil, a kind of "diver". The latter "caressed" his arms, emitted inintelligibles sounds then moved towards a machine that Mr. David cannot describe, and which rose without noise vertically, then disappeared at full speed. |
[Ref. be1:] "BRIDGETON EVENING NEWS" NEWSPAPER:
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[Ref. hw1:] HAROLD T. WILKINS:
The author indicates that in 1954 in France, a doctor from Chambery and 15 witnesses say they saw a "flying saucer circus" in the skies over Lyons. Wilking notes that the expression presumably means a fleet of UFOs. The doctor said what he saw was a dark grey mass hovering over a 6,000 feet high mountain. When it lost height, it looked like an inverted plate, light in color with darker patches.
The author indicates further in his book that that in September 1954, in the Savoie, on the Franco-Swiss frontier, fifteen persons watched for five minutes a saucer maneuvering in the sky.
[Ref. ou1:] INVESTIGATIONS REPORTS IN "OURANOS":
In the Ouranos report on the case in Chabeuil on the same day, this case is mentioned as maybe related to the Chabeuil case. Underneath are the extracts of the related Ouranos report. The witness of Chabeuil, Mrs Leboeuf, heard of the case and mentions it in her statement, and the authors of the Ouranos report specify that it was later in the afternoon (02:30 P.M. versus 05:12 P.M.).
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"A doctor of Chambéry is said to have seen a flying saucer 5 minutes afterwards, coming from the direction of Chabeuil, it could thus be the same one." (1)
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[Ref. am1:] AIME MICHEL:
Aimé Michel indicates that the witnesses were Doctor Martinet, dermatologist of Chambery and formerly artillery observant, his wife, three trainees of the air base of Le Bourget-du-Lac, and the occupants of three car, the whole group amounting to about fifteen people.
Aimé Michel provides the following account by Doctor Martinet, indicate that the account was summarized in the daily press:
"It was approximately 05:12 P.M.. We were returning by car from the col du Chat [pass of the Cat], when suddenly I saw at an apparent location of above la croix du Nivolet, at an altitude which I evaluated of 2000 meters, at the limit of the foggy zone, an aluminium gray body. Having driven past the air force base of Le Bourget, I stopped my vehicle, the three others did stop too, and we followed the evolutions of the object. It was then 05:14:30 P.M.."
"First of all, I thought of some atmospheric phenomenon, such as a cloudburst etc. But the wind blew from the North-West, and the phenomenon came from the South. Thirty seconds later, whereas we were about fifteen people to observe this object, it started to go down in a falling leaf manner, offering the aspect of a plate whose relief had been turned upwards. At 05:16 P.M., it suddenly presented itself upfron in the shape of a perfect disc. After that, it came to the apparent vertical location above the cablecar station of Revard, went down a little, then suddenly accelerated and disappeared as fast as a thunderflash. It was exactly 05:18:40 P.M."
"Depending on the angles of observation, the object went from a dark gray aluminum to a clearer gray. The phenomenon had lasted a little more than four minutes, during which I noted all his complicated moves on my note-book."
[Ref. lo1:] CORAL AND JIM LORENZEN:
These American authors note that on September 26, 1954, in France, half an hour after Madame Leboeuf's encounters, witnesses at Col du Chat, 65 miles northeast of the place of her sighting in Chabeuil, saw an object arrive at that location.
[Ref. ob1:] OTTO BINDER:
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September 26, 1954, Col du Chat, France. Fifteen people saw a disc like an "inverted plate" that was descending "like a falling leaf." |
[Ref. bb1:] GERARD BARTHEL AND JACQUES BRUCKER:
The two authors indicate that Doctor Martinet told:
"It was approximately 05:12 p.m., we were returnin from the Pass of the Cat (Col du Chat) when I suddenly saw above Croix du Nivollet, at an altitude of 2000 meters, at the limit of the foggy area, an aluminum gray body. After the Bourget air base, I stopped as well as the occupants of the other cars, it was 105:14 30 seconds p.m.; thirty seconds later, the object started to go down like a falling leaf, offering the aspect of a plate whose convex side had been turned upwards. At 05:16 it was facing us, in the shape of a perfect disc. In the center of the machine, a clearer zone and dark spots around. Then it went down suddenly, accelerated and disappeared in a split second. Depending on the observation angle, the object changed from dark gray to clear gray."
The two authors comment:
"This testimony is one of most precise there is. Its narrator, whose good faith and the perfect operation of the wristwatch cannot be questioned, the significant number of witnesses result that in this case we have to the perfect elements to analyze this UFO..."
Further in the book, they add that according to France-Soir for October 1, 1954, "a balloon was indeed observed".
[Ref. dj1:] DONALD JOHNSON:
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Encounter With Aliens On This Day September 26 [...] 1954 - A disc-shaped object maneuvered around the sky and then hovered over a radio station on a mountain peak in Col-de-Chat, Savoie department, France at 5:14 p.m. There were 15 witnesses, and the sighting lasted at least 4 minutes. A photograph was taken. (Sources: Thomas M. Olsen, The Reference for Outstanding UFO Reports, case 50; Aime Michel, Flying Saucers and the Straight Line Mystery, p. 81). |
[Ref. lc1:] LUC CHASTAN:
Luc Chastan indicates in his database that in Savoy in Le Bourget du Lac on September 26, 1954 at 17:12, "The witnesses are Doctor Martinet, dermatologist of Chambéry and former artillery observant, his wife, three pupils of the air base of Le Bourget-du-Lac, and the occupants of three cars, the whole group amounting to about fifteen people."
"'It was approximately 17:12. We returned by car from the Pass of Le Chat, when suddenly I saw at the apparent zenith of the cross of Nivolet, at an altitude I evaluated as 2000 meters, at the limit of the misty zone, a gray aluminum body. Having exceeded the air base of Le Bourget, I stopped my vehicle, the three others did the same, and we followed the maneuvers of the object. It was then 17:14 mn 30 s.'"
"'Initially, I thought of some atmospheric phenomenon, such as a cloudburst etc. But the wind blew from the Northwest, and the phenomenon came from the South Thirty seconds later, whereas we were about fifteen people to observe this object, it started to go down in falling leaf motion, offering the appearance of a plate whose bump had been turned upwards. At 17:16, it suddenly presented its front in the shape of a perfect disc. After that, it came to the apparent zenithof the cable car station of Revard, went down a little, then suddenly accelerated and disappeared like a thunderflash. It was exactly 17:18 mn 40 s. Depending on the angles of observation, the object passed from a dark gray aluminium to a clearer gray. The phenomenon had lasted a little more than four minutes, during which I noted all its complicated displacements on my notebook.'"
The sources are indicated as "UFOs at Close Sight by Gross Patrick ** http://ufologie.net" and "M.O.C. by Michel Aimé ** Arthaud 1958".
[Ref. ud1:] "UFODNA" WEBSITE:
The website indicates that on 29 September 1954 at 17:15 in Chambery, France, "Hovered. A hovering object was observed. A daytime disc was observed by 15 witnesses for over four minutes."
The source is indicated as Del Valle [sic, Delval], Pierre, Pierre Del Valle investigation files, Bordeaux.
[Ref. ud2:] "UFODNA" WEBSITE:
The website indicates that on 29 September 1954 at night in Lyon, France, "Doctor incident." And: "Fleet of large dinner-plate shaped discs, silver with dark spots on sides. A flying disc was observed. One silver disc was observed by over 16 witnesses in a city."
The source is indicated as Hatch, Larry, *U* computer database, Author, Redwood City, 2002.
The comment of debunkers Bartel and Brucker is quite stunning. The totality of their book is devoted to the idea that there is strictly nothing of interest or truth in the entire French UFO flap of 1954.
It is particularly telling that whereas they repeatedly claim that ufologists that they call "gullible" do not document the sightings properly, omitting the sources and the dates, they themselve here and elsewhere also do not provide anything more than Dr. Martinet's say. They provide no date, no source, and none of the other information which makes indeed this case very interesting.
Lastly, isn't it frankly amazing that, since they estimate that we "have the perfect elements to analyze this UFO" they provide nothing else as an analysis than the "..." which follows this statement, and, further in the book, their judgement that it was a balloon, as in two other quite different cases with different dates.
Not looked for yet. It has been suggested it might habe been a flock of birds.
(These keywords are only to help queries and are not implying anything.)
Croix de Nivollet, Savoie, Col du Chat, Dr. Martinet, multiple, saucer, grey, altitude, manoeuvers, falling leaf, convex
[---] indicates sources which I have not yet checked.
| Version: | Created/Changed by: | Date: | Change Description: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.1 | Patrick Gross | November 8, 2006 | First published. |
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | March 6, 2010 | Conversion from HTML to XHTML Strict. First formal version. Additions [lc1], [ud1]. |
| 1.1 | Patrick Gross | June 8, 2010 | Addition [be1]. |
| 1.2 | Patrick Gross | July 7, 2010 | Addition [ud2]. |
