Sighting in Caorches-Saint-Nicolas, July 6, 1990

SEPRA learned through the media that a large crater had appeared in a field. It was 14 m across, surrounded by a ring of collapsed earth about 2.5 m wide, with a central mound measuring 4.5 m across and 1.5 m high. The rocks and large blocks brought up from below ground suggested two possible explanations: the fall of a large meteorite, or an underground explosion.

To settle the question, a backhoe loader carefully dug into the crater in layers of 50 to 70 cm, down to a depth of 7 metres. Pieces of sheet metal turned up at various depths, and twenty-five metal fragments were recovered in all. Their presence ruled out a meteorite and pointed instead to the probable underground explosion of a Second World War bomb.

The fragments were sent to the DGA armaments laboratory, whose conclusions confirmed this lead. Reconstructing the device made it possible to identify a 250 kg incendiary bomb of British or American origin, probably manufactured in April 1942. GEIPAN classified the case as A, meaning identified.