The 1954 French flap:
The index page for the 1954 French flap section of this site is here.
NOVEMBER 11, 1954, LES SABLES D'OLONNE, VENDEE:
Reference number for this case: 11-Nov-54-Sables-d'Olonne. Thank you for including this reference number in any correspondence with me regarding this case.
REPORTS:
[Ref. bb1:] GERARD BARTHEL AND JACQUES BRUCKER:
The two authors quote the newspaper "La Vendée Libre" for November 14, 1954:
"Les Sables d'Olonne (85)."
"Several residents of Les Sables d'Olonne state in good faith to have seen at a very early hour, Thursday, a flying machine having the shape of a cigar, of which emanated drapes of various colors."
The two authors comment that the newspaper is mistaken in the date since they wrongly date two other cases as being of this same day, and that there was consequently no ufological occurrence on November 11.
[Ref. mv1:] "LES MYSTERES DE VENDEE" WEBSITE:
The website's author found this observation in Barthel and Brucker's book and notes the following:
- The relevant issue of "La Vendée Libre" is unfortunately not available for reading in the Departmental Archives, either because it is missing or because it is in a too bad state, and all the observations which it contains thus remain unknown except three cases among them this one. The entirety of the September 1954 month is in the same case and some observations of this period will only be known when these documents are scanned, unless this month is quite simply lost.
- Barthel and Brucker are making some incredible interpretation by modifying the dates of the observations without explaining at all how this makes sense.
- Barthel and Brucker make a curious analysis which raises doubts, since they claim that the three events are at the same date while only one is dated exactly, then they claim that there are no ufological facts on November 11, 1954, then that ufologists give false dates by mistaking the dates of publications in newspapers and the dates of the sightings, which is sometimes true but is obviously not a question here.
- The author of the "Mysteries of Vendée" presents the three cases dated as of November 11 since one is dated at November 11, and that there are no precise details for the two others. He notes that it is not necessarily the same object which was observed in the other sightings mentioned in the same newspaper article.
NOTES:
The newspaper "La Vendée Libre" for Sunday 14, November 14, 1954 writes that the sighting was on Thursday, and the Thursday preceding Sunday 14, November 14, 1954 is really Thursday, November 11, 1954.
EXPLANATIONS:
Not looked for yet.
The case at least shows the intellectual weakness of the "analysis" by debunkers Barthel and Brucker, as rightfully exposed by [mv1].
KEYWORDS:
(These keywords are only to help queries and are not implying anything.)
Les Sables d'Olonne, Vendée, multiple, morning, object, craft, cigar, colors
REFERENCES:
[---] indicates sources which I have not yet checked.
- [---] Article in the regional newspaper La Vendée Libre, Les Sables d'Olonne, Vendée, France, November 14, 1954.
- [bb1] "La Grande Peur Martienne", book by Gérard Barthel and Jacques Brucker, Les nouvelles Editions Rationalistes publisher, France, pp 132-133, 1979.
- [mv1] Les Mystères de Vendée website, France, circa 2006, at journaldumerveilleux.perso.cegetel.net
