The index page for the 1954 French flap section of this site is here.
Reference number for this case: 17-Oct-54-Langres. Thank you for including this reference number in any correspondence with me regarding this case.
[Ref. 1642:] "LA HAUTE-MARNE LIBEREE" NEWSPAPER:
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A shining craft in the sky of Langres intrigued the crowdYesterday in the end of the afternoon, the residents, and in particular the crowd of the Turenne Stadium, could observe a brilliant craft at very high altitude, which, after having been motionless during a long moment finally rose and disappeared with, some claim, a release of smoke. Was it one of these mysterious craft that are seen everywhere? Or more simply, despite everything, a weather balloon? |
[Ref. 1416:] "OUEST-FRANCE" NEWSPAPER:
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During more than one hour, Sunday afternoon, the 400 witnesses of the football game, in Langres, instead of following the evolutions of the round balloon on the ground, payed to see from the inside of the stadium the evolutions of an unknown apparatus which was at a very high altitude and which everyone could contemplate. Some believed that it was a weather balloon, which, say the others, appears not very probable, for before disappearing, the machine moved in the direction opposite of the wind. |
[Ref. 323:] GERARD BARTHEL AND JACQUES BRUCKER:
The two authors first reproduce the "Ouest-France" newspaper article for October 19.
Then, they comment: "Error!" and tell us of a "recipe" which consist in taking a cardboard disc of a "good diameter", to use adhesive tape to tape it all around, to turn it upside down and to attach at the top with some strings three of four toy balloons and so we get a "vers rare specialty: the Adamsky saucer."
They add that this trick has been published in "Paris-Presse" some time in October 1954 under the "never-ending topic: flying saucers."
I cannot even begin to grasp which extraordinary mental process has brought thse authors to comment this case by indicating that an "Adamsky saucer" can be constructed with some toy balloons and cardboard.
It is of course understood that faked flying saucers can be made of balloon and carboard, or you can make funny hats or halloween costumes out of that, but where on earth is this relevant to the sighting as told in the newspaper article?
If the assumption is made that the winds at high altitude goes in a different direction than at low altitude, which is possible, and the reasonable assumption that the directions of the winds at high altitude was not checked at the weather services, then the argument that it cannot be a balloon does not hold.
Also, it is noted that the sighting lasted one hour. This suggests that the object in the sky could have been slow or even motionless during one hour, which is possible for a balloon. The lack of detailed information on the position changes versus time prohibits a sure explanation.
It could have been a balloon.
(These keywords are only to help queries and are not implying anything.)
Langres, Haute-Marne, duration, multiple, object, high, balloon, machine, wind
[-] indicates sources which I have not yet checked.
