off Cherbourg, France — 8 February 1672
Triple sky ships
Captain Isaac Guiton reports that a “star” came down; it split into two “ships”, while a third one appeared later. The original reads: “An hour past midday, by the calmest weather in the world, appeared to us a star over our heads, about fifteen feet long. From there it went and fell to the north, leaving some smoke that formed into two ships, each with two lights and the mizzen and their large sails folded, both sailing into the south. The one on the north side was larger than the southernmost one. And as they sailed thus, they separated by about four feet, and another ship formed in the middle, seemingly bigger than the others, all black, and turning its bow to the north without any sails, yet equipped with its masts and ropes, as if resting at anchor. This seemed to us to take over half an hour. After which, they vanished to the south without leaving any trace…”
Source: Cited by Michel Bougard in La chronique des OVNI {1977), 96. Case: W242