Frejus, FR being encounter — November 1954

The Fréjus story can be traced to a reader’s letter signed by soldier Christophe De Devi in Radar, published November 7, 1954. It places the event at approximately 6 a.m. near Military Hospital 294 during light rain. The exact observation date is not secured by the publication date; later catalogues supply differing early-November dates. De Devi said he and fellow soldier Zopina, out to fetch milk, heard a moped-like humming from a ravine. They approached a pale, metallic-looking rounded apparatus with a tail-like projection. Two ordinary-sized men reportedly emerged. The first had curly hair, a dark complexion and pilot’s clothing; the second looked remarkably similar. After hearing unfamiliar speech and seeing the men approach, the soldiers fled. They said two colleagues joined them for the departure observation. Later writers expanded or criticised the account, including claims of a barroom invention and an alternative helicopter interpretation. Neither an undocumented hoax allegation nor unfamiliar crew speech settles the identification. The illustration follows the letter’s reported encounter, showing two soldiers, two human-looking pilots and the unusual apparatus. It does not portray all four soldiers as witnesses to the initial close approach.