Sighting record / 1952

The Asni and Oukaïmeden Sighting and the Moroccan Saucer Cluster of July 1952

July 13, 1952 · Oukaïmeden ski station and the Sanglier qui fume inn near Asni, High Atlas, south of Marrakech, Morocco

37Partially documented UAP Sphere 15 sources

Sunday evening, 13 July 1952. High in the Atlas Mountains, a group of young sportsmen were resting at the Oukaïmeden ski station. Around 22:00 they saw a white ball the size of the full moon. It flew level, from northeast to southwest. Then it split into three glowing sections, like luminous wagons on a single train, and vanished behind a peak. At the same hour, 25 km to the west, about 40 people at an inn near Asni saw the same thing. Among them were the regional chief and the Portuguese consul. Across Morocco that week, policemen, aviators and couples reported glowing balls, trails of light and a silent cigar.

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Key facts

When	July 13, 1952
Time of day	about 10 pm (Sunday evening)
Where	Oukaïmeden ski station and the Sanglier qui fume inn near Asni, High Atlas, south of Marrakech,Morocco
Duration	not recorded
Witnesses	40
Witness roles	police,pilot,government
Found	declassified documents
Evidence	none confirmed
Investigations	none recorded
Status	undisputed

The object

A white ball the size of the full moon, flying horizontally from northeast to southwest. It soon split into three sections, like three luminous wagons attached to the same train, then disappeared behind one of the peaks of the Oukaïmeden resort.

Colour	white
Surface	glowing
Lights	3 lights, row of lights, white
Motion	split or merged

The 1952 Washington, D.C. UFO Flap (same wave)
Wonsan-Sunchon B-29 "Orange Globe" Sightings (same wave)

Context

Summer 1952. Flying saucer reports filled the French press. Morocco was then a French protectorate, and in mid July the reports began to arrive from all over the country.

Sources (15, most influential first)

Le Bien Public, 16 July 1952 (English translation) · Patrick Gross, ufologie.patrickgross.org· 1952-07-16 · Research organisation · news
Des soucoupes volantes dans le ciel du Maroc? (French original) · Patrick Gross, ufologie.patrickgross.org· 1952-07-16 · Research organisation · news
Unidentified Flying Objects over Morocco and French West Africa · Central Intelligence Agency · Official document · gov doc
Unidentified Flying Objects over Morocco and French West Africa (reading room node) · Central Intelligence Agency · Official document · gov doc
UFO sightings in Africa · Wikipedia · Wiki, blog, podcast · wiki