The index page for the 1954 French flap section of this website is here.
Reference for this case: 20-sep-54-La-Châtre.
Please cite this reference in any correspondence with me regarding this case.
Ufology sources in the 1970s indicated that on September 20, 1954, in La Châtre, in the Indre department, there was an observation, apparently a "luminous machine was seen from a close distance on the ground, then rose to the sky."
A little more was told by ufologist Jean Sider in 1997. He indicated that an article in the newspaper L'Echo du Berry for October 8, 1954, was about an observation on September 20, 1954, at 09:00 p.m., in Sainte-Anne, La Châtre, the Indre:
Mr. Billonnet of Saint-Anne and his wife were alerted by their dog; this allowed them to see a luminous apparatus rise from a field near their home.
The bewspaper article cited by Sider atually told:
Not serious, the testimony by Mr. Billonet of Ste Anne and that of Mrs. Billonet, who, on the 20th, at 9 P.M, alerted by their dog, saw a luminous apparatus taking off of a field near their residence.
[Ref. eby1:] "L'ECHO DU BERRY" NEWSPAPER:
[... (extract)]
Not serious, the testimony by Mr. Billonet of Ste Anne and that of Mrs. Billonet, who, on the 20th, at 9 P.M, alerted by their dog, saw a luminous apparatus taking off of a field near their residence.
[...]
[Ref. ldl1:] UFOLOGY MAGAZINE "LUMIERES DANS LA NUIT":
In an article about the alleged UFO trace case of Marliens in 1967, the magazine noted:
[... other cases...], on October 7 [1954], [... other case...]; La Châtre (Indre).
[Ref. cgu1:] CHARLES GARREAU:
Charles Garreau mentions that there was an observation on October 7, 1954 in La Châtre, in the Indre department.
[Ref. ldl2:] UFOLOGY MAGAZINE "LUMIERES DANS LA NUIT":
On september 20, 1954 at 09:00 P.M. a luminous craft have been seen from a short distance on the ground, and then raised into the sky.
[Ref. jsr1:] JEAN SIDER:
French ufologist and author Jean Sider says he learned in an article from the newspaper "L'Echo du Berry" for October 8, 1954, that on September 20, 1954, at 09:00 p.m., in Sainte-Anne, Châtre, Indre, Mr Billonnet, of Saint-Anne, as well as his wife, were alerted by their dog, which allowed them to see a luminous machine rising of a field close to their residence.
[Ref. edr1:] EMMANUEL DEHLINGER:
Emmanuel Dehlinger has an entry for this case in his listing for the French 1954 UFO flap:
| Location | Approximate coordoninates | Date | Civilian time | Z time | Duration | Sky | Distance and movement of ufo | Altitude of ufo | Angle B of sun to horizon | Azimut of sun | Angle B of moon to horizon | Azimut of the moon | EL | State of night | Case | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| La Châtre (Indre) | 1° 22' E 46° 25' N | Sept 20 | 21:00C | Close | on the ground then rises | -21° 32' | 296° | -20° 31' | 15° | ~40%- | NN | NN4 ? | Luminous craft. | N° 319 p. 4 |
[Ref. lcn1:] LUC CHASTAN:
Luc Chastan indicates that in the Indre in La Châtre on September 20, 1954, at 21:00 "At the place called Ste Anne a couple is alerted by their dog. They then observe a luminous object rise from a field close to their house."
The source is indicated as: "Lumières dans la Nuit".
[Ref. jqy1:] JEAN DE QUERCY:
Mr Billonet of Sainte Anne was with his wife. They observed on September 20 around 8 or 9 p.m. a luminous craft rising from a field near their home. As the object passes, the dog reacts by barking.
(Source: L'Echo du Berry of October 8, 1954 p.02)
|
The extract of the article of the newspaper L'Echo du Berry ([eby1]) starts with the words "Not serious."
This could wrongfully create the notion that the newspaper really regarded this observation as "not serious."
In fact, the author of the article wrote an article of protest against the public assertion in the national press by Evry Schatzman, an astrophyisician and also president of the "Union Rationnaliste" at this time. Evry Schatzman had proposed his opinion which was that "stories of flying saucers are not serious", and it in protest against this position and convinced, on the contrary, that this observation is a serious observation among other serious observations that the journalist from L'Echo du Berry listed a number of observations, such as this one, starting with these words, "Not serious."
Of course it may be that Mr. and Mrs. Billonet, and their dog, were indeed not serious.
(These keywords are only to help queries and are not implying anything.)
La Châtre, Indre, Billonnet, object, craft, luminous, landing, dog, barking, animal, effect
[----] indicates sources that are not yet available to me.
| Version: | Created/Changed by: | Date: | Change Description: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.1 | Patrick Gross | June 5, 2005 | First published. |
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | January 4, 2010 | Conversion from HTML to XHTML Strict. First formal version. Additions [lcn1]. |
| 1.1 | Patrick Gross | July 7, 2010 | Addition [cgu1]. |
| 1.2 | Patrick Gross | November 24, 2021 | Addition [ldl1]. |
| 1.3 | Patrick Gross | April 6, 2022 | Addition [jqy1]. |
