The index page for the 1954 French flap section of this website is here.
Reference for this case: 11-oct-54-Lacanche.
Please cite this reference in any correspondence with me regarding this case.
According to the 1958 book by Aimé Michel, who gives no source, on October 11, 1954, around 04:15 a.m., Mr. Labonde, from Epignac-les-Mines, was driving on the departmental road 104 in the Côte-Or between Thury and Champignolles, when leaving the woods of Vernusse, he noticed a curious reddish luminosity floating in the darkness of the car.
He glanced around to find the source, and discovered that a kind of red luminous globe that seemed to be about 2 meters wide followed his car at a distance of about 25 meters.
As he worried, he accelerated and slowed down, and the object came closer. When he reached Champignolles, Mr. Labonde took the departmental road 14 leading to Lacanche, and accelerated thoroughly, and the object then did the same, until the arrival in Lacanche where the object deviated, took altitude and disappeared.
Michel noted that the light scattered inside the car, the variation of the distance between the car and the object, the maneuvers and the flight just before the entry of the village plead against the idea that it would have been a reflection. But neither he nor others have thought it could have been the moon.
In the 1960s, Jacques Vallée gave a source: the newspaper L'Aurore for October 13, 1954.
In 2021, I found an article about this sightingin the regional newspaper La Bourgogne Républicaine, of Dijon, for October 13, 1954, on page 4:
Autun (from our P.C.). -- In Epinac-les-Mines and throughout the region, we know Mr. Labonde as a serious, balanced man. A 1914-1918 veteran, he is not one of those who are easily told stories. Owner of the Etoile-Dancing, and of a café-restaurant, he had fun and let it be known when customers raised the question of the famous saucers in his establishment.
Today, Mr. Labonde, has changed his mind and for good reason...
The other night, around 4 a.m., he was going to Lacanche (Côte-d'Or) on board his traction avant to get his musicians who had just played a conscript ball, when leaving the Bois de Vernusse, a few kilometers from Lacanche, he saw about 25 meters from him, a luminous round craft, red in color, having the shape of a an egg two meters in diameter.
Overwhelmed by an understandable emotion, Mr. Labonde insisted on making sure that he was not the victim of a hallucination. He picked speed, then slowed down. The mysterious craft followed him very close to his car. Finally, it was to disappear suddenly shortly before the arrival of the motorist in Lacanche.
Mr. Labonde had to tell his astonished friends about his adventure, but also less skeptical of the existence of the flying saucer, given the personality of the sympathetic restaurant owner.
[Ref. lbr1:] NEWSPAPER "LA BOURGOGNE REPUBLICAINE":
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Two strange phenomena which could have for origin the same "flying object" took place, a few minutes apart, in the night of Monday to Tuesday.
Autun (from our P.C.). -- In Epinac-les-Mines and throughout the region, we know Mr. Labonde as a serious, balanced man. A 1914-1918 veteran, he is not one of those who are easily told stories. Owner of the Etoile-Dancing, and of a café-restaurant, he had fun and let it be known when customers raised the question of the famous saucers in his establishment.
Today, Mr. Labonde, has changed his mind and for good reason...
The other night, around 4 a.m., he was going to Lacanche (Côte-d'Or) on board his traction avant to get his musicians who had just played a conscript ball, when leaving the Bois de Vernusse, a few kilometers from Lacanche, he saw about 25 meters from him, a luminous round craft, red in color, having the shape of a an egg two meters in diameter.
Overwhelmed by an understandable emotion, Mr. Labonde insisted on making sure that he was not the victim of a hallucination. He picked speed, then slowed down. The mysterious craft followed him very close to his car. Finally, it was to disappear suddenly shortly before the arrival of the motorist in Lacanche.
Mr. Labonde had to tell his astonished friends about his adventure, but also less skeptical of the existence of the flying saucer, given the personality of the sympathetic restaurant owner.
Nevers (from our P.C..) -- Around the same time, two fairground merchants, MM. Henri Gallois and Louis Vigneron, from Clamecy, went to the Corbigny fair yesterday morning.
According to Mr. Gallois, their car was stopped by a beam of light. It was then that they saw in a corner, at the place called "Sassier", a cylindrical craft. On his arrival at Corbigny, M. Gallois stated:
"After passing the Boulevard de l'Hôpital of Clamecy, driving on the middle of the road, I felt a discharge of electric poser all over my body, a few seconds later, the engine of the van stopped, and the headlights went out.
"Suddenly I gasped, because about 50 meters away from me, I had just seen a cylindrical-shaped craft with a large diameter, which I could compare to a saucer.
"This shape had a grayish hue, but I could not distinguish exact characteristics. It was then that I saw around the mysterious craft three small men who appeared to me to be oddly shaped. It seemed to me that one of them was smoking or it was a small light which was on board the craft. My friend and I, we remained immobilized inside the vehicle in the impossibility to move. It was only after the disappearance of the craft that we were able to continue our journey.
"The apparition only lasted a few seconds, it was very clear, no doubt exists for me."
As for Mr. Louis Vigneron, he confirmed the statements of Mr. Gallois point by point. The facts are rigorously correct, he says, it is not an optical illusion.
Also, Mr. Henri Chaumont, from Cary (hamlet of Clamecy) claimed to have also seen the craft.
Is this the same craft seen in Vernusse by Mr. Labonde?
[Ref. aml1:] AIME MICHEL:
Aimé Michel notes that during the short moment separating the cases of Fonfrède and of Clamecy, at 04:15 a.m., Mr. Labonde, originating from Epignac-les-Mines, was driving on the secondary road 104 in Côte-d'Or between the villages of Thury and Champignolles, when, as he came out of the wood of Vernusse, he noticed a curious reddish luminosity floating in the darkness of his car.
Mr. Lalonde threw a circular glance to find the source of it, and discovered that a kind of luminous red globe which seemed to be about two meters broad followed its car at a distance of approximately twenty-five meters.
As it worried him, he accelerated, then slowed down, and the object still approached. When he arrived at the height of Champignolles, Mr. Labonde took the secondary road 14 leading towards Lacanche, and accelerated thoroughly; the object did the same, until the arrival at Lacanche where the object deviated, took altitude and disappeared.
Michel notes that the light spreading inside the car, the variation of the distance between the car and the object, the manoeuvers and the take-off right before the entry of the village plead against the idea that that it could have been a reflection.
Aimé Michel put a sighting location at Vernusse on October 11, 1954, on a map supposed to demonstrate cases are lined up:
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[Ref. gqy1:] GUY QUINCY:
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October 11 [, 1954]
[... other cases...]
04:15 a.m.: Champignolles/Lacanche(22 km O. Beaune--Côte-d'Or):pour.auto
[... other cases...]
[Ref. jve5:] JACQUES VALLEE:
| 301 | -004.56990 | 47.07630 | 11 | 10 | 1954 | 04 | 20 | 1 | (LACANCHE W.BEAUNE) | F | 001133 | C | *269 |
[Ref. jve1:] JACQUES VALLEE:
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October 11, 1954, 04:20, Lacanche (France):
Mr. Labonde was driving at the intersection of D14 and D104 when he was followed by a sort of luminous globe surrounded with a reddish glow, about 2 m in size. It stayed within 25 m of the car. (L'Aurore, 13 oct. 1954).
[Ref. fle1:] FERNAND LAGARDE:
This ufologist promotes the thesis that UFO landings happen on geological faults.
He notes "Lacanche" in 1954 as an observation located on a geological fault, giving as source the book "M.O.C." by Aimé Michel.
[Ref. jve2:] JACQUES VALLEE:
The author indicates that on October 11, 1954, in Lacanche in the Côte-d'Or, Mr. Labonde, who drove his car, was followed by a kind of luminous sphere which was surrounded of a strange reddish gleam of approximately 2 meters of size.
[Ref. prn1:] PETER ROGERSON - "INTCAT":
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408 11 October 1954 0420 hrs
LACANCHE (FRANCE). M. Labonde was driving at the intersection of Dl4 & Dl04 when he was followed by a luminous globe surrounded by a reddish glow, about 2m diameter. It stayed within 25m of the car until he reached the village, where the object swerved, climbed & disappeared. (M233; L'Aurore 13 Oct 54; Michel II, 158)
[Ref. gab1:] UFOLOGY GROUP "G.A.B.R.I.E.L.":
During a chance meeting in Paris, Jimmy Guieu, with whom we were discussing the problem [od the engine stalls], gave us the following interpretation: "When a car or moped passes by, there is interference on television sets... (and he remarked, not without humour) Cars and mopeds were not built with the intention of interfering with televisions...” So, to sum up the thought of a large number of researchers, stopping engines and extinguishing headlights would only be an involuntary and fortuitous inconvenience due to the operation of "Flying Saucers", vehicles passing close to them would suffer the effects and, beyond a certain radius of action, these effects would no longer be perceptible. This deduction seems quite logical, however by carefully studying specific cases from the year 1954, we have come to radically different conclusions!
10/11/1954 Thury (Côte d'Or)
Around 4:15 a.m., Mr. Labonde was driving. On leaving the wood of Vernusse, he noticed a reddish glow. He looked for the source and discovered a luminous globe of red-orange color and 2m in diameter which followed him at 25m. Worried, the witness accelerated, then slowed down... The object, while approaching, modeled its course on that of a car. The witness accelerated at full speed, the object did the same... Approaching a built-up area, the object disappeared. (A. Michel)
10/08/1954 Bergerac (Dordogne)
Mr. M, an electrician, was driving. Suddenly, a light ray coming from a craft posed at 150m on the road stalled the engine of his car. ("Nouvelle République" for 10/10/1954; M. Carrouges)
If the engine stops were linked to the proximity of a "Flying Saucer" in motion, how to explain that an engine is stalled at 150m and not at less than 25? We found the following points: as a rule, nothing happens for a distance greater than 200m; nothing happens either for a distance less than 20m; 1, phenomena considered are only effective for distances between 20 and 200m unless the "Flying Saucer" itself takes the initiative. (comes to see the ground vehicle more closely, follow it, precede it... ). Of the 10 cases of engines stalled by "Flying Saucers" on the ground, we have 9 for which the craft was posed on the road. This observation seems to us to be of capital importance. Indeed, when a "Flying Saucer" has to land on a road, what better way would it have to avoid any collision with a terrestrial vehicle than to stop it purely and simply?
[Ref. fru1:] MICHEL FIGUET AND JEAN-LOUIS RUCHON:
The two authors indicate that in Lacanche in the department of Côte-d'Or, on October 11, 1954 at 04:20 in the morning, a person was driving his vehicle to the intersection of the secondary roads D14 and D104, when he was followed by a kind of luminous sphere surrounded by a reddish incandescent light of pproximately two meters in diameter which remained at a distance of 25 meters of his car.
The authors give as sources case 233 of the Vallée catalogue, Aimé Michel in "A propos des S.V." page 197, and l'Aurore for October 13, 1954.
[Ref. gep1:] UFOLOGY GROUP "GEPO":
| --------- | -4:20 a.m. | Lacanche D14/D104 (Cte d'Or) H07 | 100V1 | 2m |
[Ref. via1:] UFOLOGY BULLETIN "VIMANA 21":
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54 10 11 / LACANCHE / 4:20 / CE1 / P /
The witness who drove by car on the D14 was followed by a luminous globe. The object was about 2m in diameter and was flying at 25m altitude. The color was reddish incandescent.
(Source: Alerte dans le ciel, Ch. Garreau, p. 168)
[Ref. via3:] BULLETIN D'UFOLOGIE "VIMANA 21":
This magazine listed this case:
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54 10 11 4H20 RR1 Lacanche |
[Ref. mft1:] MICHEL FIGUET:
This ufologist noted:
| CASE Nr | CLASSIFICATION | DATE | HOUR | PLACE | ZIP CODE | CREDIBILITY SOURCE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 174 | CE0 | 11 10 1954 | 04.20 | Lacanche | 21230 B6 | NI[=Non Identified]-P, OVNI: p. 148 |
[Ref. emt1:] ERIC MAILLOT:
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19541011 420 u 21 LACANCHE,(DIJON 4720N/0500E)
1 1 0 0 1 D ?NO O;
ROUND REDa DIA=2 ALTIbas25 MVT?
*MOONpi 13j H°13/AZ*260 POSSIBLE EMT
CATADRUP p16*-ADLC,GARR, p168;
[Ref. lhh1:] LARRY HATCH - "*U* COMPUTER DATABASE":
4062: 1954/10/11 04:20 12 4:33:40 E 47:04:40 N 3333 WEU FRN CDO 6:8
LACANCHE,FR:D14/D104:SAME 2M RED GLOW ORB FOLLOWS CAR HERE
Ref# 8 VALLEE,Jacques: PASSPORT TO MAGONIA. Case No. 233 : FARMLANDS
Larry Hatch mistakenly recorded the case twice:
4061: 1954/10/11 04:10 10 4:33:00 E 46:52:40 N 3333 WEU FRN CDO 8:6
D104/VERNUSSE,FR:90cm RED GLOBE FOLOS CAR/TURNS:^^ nr LACANCHE:/r138#9
Ref# 49 MICHEL,Aime: FS & STRAIGHT LINE TH: Page No. 158 : FARMLANDS
[Ref. lgs1:] LOREN GROSS:
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11 October. Vernusse, France. (4:20a.m.)
Crimson globe follows car.
Michel wrote:
"M. Labonde, of Epinac-les-Mines (Saone-et-Loire), was driving between Thury and Champignolles on Route D-104 when, as he left the Vernusse woods, he became aware that a strange reddish glow was lighting up the dark interior of his car. Glancing around, he discovered that a luminous crimson globe almost six feet in diameter was about 75 feet behind him above the road, and seemed to be following the car. "M. Labonde nervously speeded up, then slowed down. The object was still coming after him. He turned into Route D-14, which led toward the village Lacanche, and pushed the accelerator down to the floor, the object still kept pace behind him. But the moment the car arrived at Lacanche, the luminous globe swerved, climbed into the sky, and disappeared." (xx.)
(xx.) Michel, Aime. Flying Saucers and the Straight-Line Mystery. pp.l58-159.
[Ref. goe1:] GODELIEVE VAN OVERMEIRE:
Godelieve van Overmeire indicates that on October 11, 1954 at 04:20 in Lacanche, Mr. Labonde was driving at the intersection of D14 and D104 in France when he was followed by a sort of luminous globe surrounded with a reddish glow, about two meters in size. It stayed within 25 meters of his car.
The source is indicated as Jacques Vallee, Passport to Magonia: A Century of Landings, p. 224.
[Ref. djn1:] DONALD JOHNSON:
Donald Johnson indicates that on October 11, 1954 at 04:20 in Lacanche, Mr. Labonde was driving at the intersection of D14 and D104 in France when he was followed by a sort of luminous globe surrounded with a reddish glow, about two meters in size. It stayed within 25 meters of his car.
The source is indicated as Jacques Vallee, Passport to Magonia: A Century of Landings, p. 224.
[Ref. jbu1:] JEROME BEAU:
Jérôme Beau indicates that on October 11, 1954, at 04:20 in Lacanche, Mr. Labonde was driving at the intersection of D14 and D104 in France when he was followed by a sort of luminous globe surrounded with a reddish glow, about two meters in size. It stayed within 25 meters of his car.
Jérôme Beau indicates that the source is "L'Aurore, October 13, 1954".
[Ref. mps1:] MICHEL PADRINES:
Michel Padrines indicates that on October 11, 1954, at 04:20 in Lacanche, Mr. Labonde was driving at the intersection of D14 and D104 in France when he was followed by a sort of luminous globe surrounded with a reddish glow, about two meters in size. It stayed within 25 meters of his car.
Michel Padrines indicates that the source is "L'Aurore, October 13, 1954".
[Ref. lc1:] LUC CHASTAN:
Luc Chastan indicates that in the Côte d'Or on October 11, 1954, at 04:20 in Lacanche, Mr. Labonde was driving at the intersection of D14 and D104 in France when he was followed by a sort of luminous globe surrounded with a reddish glow, about two meters in size: which stayed within 25 meters of his car.
Luc Chastan indicates that the source is "Ovni, Premier dossier complet... by Figuet M./ Ruchon J.L. ** Alain Lefeuvre pub. 1979".
[Ref. uda1:] "UFODNA" WEBSITE:
The website indicates that on 11 October 1954 at 04:20 in Lacanche, France, a "sort of luminous globe surrounded with a reddish glow, two meters in size, was seen. Mr. Labonde was driving at the intersection of D14 and D104 when he was followed by a sort of luminous globe surrounded with a reddish glow, about two meters in size. It stayed within 25 meters of the car."
The website adds that an "object was observed from a car. One red ball, about 5 feet across, was observed by one male witness on a farm."
The sources are indicated as "Michel, Aime, Flying Saucers and the Straight-Line Mystery, S. G. Phillips, New York, 1958; Bowen, Charles, The Humanoids: FSR Special Edition No. 1, FSR, London, 1966; Vallee, Jacques, Computerized Catalog (N = 3073); Vallee, Jacques, Challenge to Science: The UFO Enigma, Henry Regnery, Chicago, 1966; Vallee, Jacques, A Century of Landings (N = 923) (in JVallee04), Chicago, 1969; Schoenherr, Luis, Computerized Catalog (N = 3173); Hatch, Larry, *U* computer database, Author, Redwood City, 2002."
[Ref. nip1:] "THE NICAP WEBSITE":
*Oct. 11, 1954 - At 4:20 a.m. in Lacanche, Côte-d'or, France Mr. Labonde was driving at the intersection of D14 and D104 when he was followed by a sort of luminous globe surrounded with a reddish glow, about two meters in size. It stayed within 25 meters of his car. (Sources: Aime Michel, Flying Saucers and the Straight Line Mystery, p. 158; Jacques Vallee, Passport to Magonia: A Century of Landings, p. 224, case # 233).
[Ref. ubk1:] "UFO-DATENBANK":
This database recorded this case 9 times instead of once:
| Case Nr. | New case Nr. | Investigator | Date of observation | Zip | Place of observation | Country of observation | Hour of observation | Classification | Comments | Identification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19541011 | 11.10.1954 | Lacanche | France | |||||||
| 19541011 | 11.10.1954 | Lacanche | France | CE I | ||||||
| 19541011 | 11.10.1954 | Lacanche | France | CE I | ||||||
| 19541011 | 11.10.1954 | Lacanche | France | CE I | ||||||
| 19541011 | 11.10.1954 | Lacanche | France | CE I | ||||||
| 19541011 | 11.10.1954 | Lacanche | France | CE I | ||||||
| 19541011 | 11.10.1954 | Champignolles | France | |||||||
| 19541011 | 11.10.1954 | Vernusse Foret | France | |||||||
| 19541011 | 11.10.1954 | Vernusse | France | CE I |
[Ref. prn2:] PETER ROGERSON - "INTCAT":
October 11 1954. 0420hrs.
VERNUSSE (ALLIER : FRANCE)
Mr Labonde was driving between Thury and Champignolles on Rte D 104, when, as he left the Vernusse woods, his car was lit by a reddish glow. Glancing round he saw that a luminous crimson globe almost 1.8m in diameter was following his car at a distance of about 25m. It paced him as he speeded, slowed and turned into Rt D 14, until he reached Lacanche, where it swerved and climbed up in the sky to disappear.
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This is one of those cases that immediately make me think a a misinterpretation of the Moon.
Lacanche is located at 47° 04' 31'' North, 4° 33' 31'' East. It would have occurred on October 11, 1954, around 4:15 in the morning.
I find that the moon was indeed visible, at the azimuth 260° 46' 49.6'' (roughly to the East), the low elevation of 14° 49' 22.9'', and it was a full moon.
It must have been a "Red Moon", described thus as "incandescent reddish" by the witness. Would it not have been a red moon, he would probably have recognized it for what it was.
Aimé Michel indicates that the witness was driving "on the departmental road 104 in the Côte-d'Or between Thury and Champignolles". He comes out of the wood of Vernusse when he sees the thing for the first time (spot 1). This coincides with the moon at 260°; it is indeed almost exactly behind him; it "follows" him, he thinks. Arrived at the height of Champignolles, he takes the D14 leading to Lacanche (spot 2). He turns to the left.
On arrival in Lacanche, the road turns a little to the right, then a little to the left, then frankly to the right in the entrance to Lacanche. It is said that the object "deviates" there, an illusion quite understandable in this turn. It takes altitude and disappears. At the entrance to Lacanche, the D14 seems to be a bit downhill and uphill; which gives the illusion of the change of altitude of the ball. And once in Lacanche, the witness could no longer see the ball, the houses hid it. Since he thought that the ball was only 25 meters behind him, he logically thought it must have "disappeared".
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And there is something else. In the case of Fonfrède, in the Loire, 135 km further south, at the same hour or almost, I think a meteor was observed. The witness in Lacanche could have even seen this meteor; which would have illuminated his car, and then further increased his confusion. He could have first seen the meteor clearly moving, then think that the red moon was the same "object" starting to follow. Or maybe the meteor was the object which, at the end of the sighting, rose and disappeared.
(These keywords are only to help queries and are not implying anything.)
Lacanche, Côte-d'Or, Labonde, road, car, vehicle, globe, luminous, sphere, incandescent, fiery, red
[----] indicates sources that are not yet available to me.
| Version: | Created/Changed by: | Date: | Change Description: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.1 | Patrick Gross | April 7, 2003 | First published. |
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | December 17, 2008 | Conversion from HTML to XHTML Strict. First formal version. Additions [djn1], [jbu1], [goe1], [mps1]. |
| 1.1 | Patrick Gross | December 20, 2008 | Addition [uda1]. |
| 1.2 | Patrick Gross | June 28, 2010 | Addition [jve5]. |
| 1.3 | Patrick Gross | October 18, 2014 | Addition [nip1]. |
| 1.4 | Patrick Gross | February 21, 2017 | Addition [ubk1]. |
| 1.5 | Patrick Gross | April 29, 2019 | Additions [prn1], [mft1], [via1], [lhh1], Summary. Explanations changed, were "Not looked for yet." |
| 1.6 | Patrick Gross | September 11, 2019 | Addition [prn2]. |
| 1.7 | Patrick Gross | March 1, 2021 | Addition [lbr1]. |
| 1.8 | Patrick Gross | March 24, 2022 | Additions [fle1], [lgs1], [emt1]. |
| 1.9 | Patrick Gross | May 3, 2022 | Additions [gqy1], [gep1]. |
| 2.0 | Patrick Gross | July 9, 2022 | Addition [gab1]. |
