The 1954 French flap:

The Dieppe flying saucers:

Fireballs,
savants think

THE EMOTION raised by the appearance in the sky of Dieppe during two following nights of "balls of fire" is not yet quiet down. The phenomenon was not only observed by the dockers of Dieppe, but also by S.N.C.F. employees in Serqueux, by postmen in Rouen, by all the semaphore operators of Dieppe to Fécamp, and by the market gardeners of Forges-les-Eaux, Neuchâtel-en-Bray and of La Mailleraye. At about the same hour the ball of fire was also seen by a witness in Arras.

While popular opinion is convinced that these are "flying saucers", observers from the Paris Astrophysical Institute think of a fireball.

The tremendous explosion that shook Dieppe is believed to be caused by a meteorite

say astrophysicists

Dieppe (A.C.P.)

No one yet knows what happened in Dieppe, where, last night, a tremendous explosion occurred, shattering hundreds of windows.

This phenomenon is being compared to the explosions that occurred a few days ago in the sky over London, which likewise remain unexplained.

Witnesses who were at the port at the moment of the blast declared:

"A huge ball of fire lit up the horizon. The phenomenon lasted two seconds, then night returned. Four or five minutes later, the tremendous explosion tore through the air. We thought the gasoline depot in Rouen had blown up. We also considered the possibility that a jet aircraft had disintegrated mid-flight, but changed our minds, since such an explosion could not light up an entire city."

It cannot be said that the people of Dieppe were victims of a mass hallucination.

Within a 100-kilometer radius, all testimonies are consistent: railway workers in Serqueux, 40 kilometers from Dieppe; residents of Mailleraye, 60 kilometers away; people from Forges-les-Eaux in Seine-Inférieure, and even from the Arras region, all saw and heard the explosion and its flash.

According to scientists at the Paris Astrophysics Institute, it was very likely the explosion of a meteorite.

MYSTERIOUS PEBBLES ON THE BEACH

Metallic-looking fragments, some as large as ordinary pebbles, were discovered on the beach in Dieppe shortly after the appearance of the mysterious luminous phenomenon.

Sent to the municipal laboratory in Rouen for analysis, these fragments were found by chemists to be iron-based. So far, they have been unable to further identify their composition or determine their precise origin with certainty.