The index page for the 1954 French flap section of this website is here.
Reference for this case: 22-Oct-54-Segré.
Please cite this reference in any correspondence with me regarding this case.
French ufologist and author Jean Sider discovered this case in the regional newspaper Ouest-France for October 23-24, 1954:
A farmer from Segré in the department of Maine-et-Loire, Mr. Folliard, went to his fields in the Chatelais estate near Segré on October 22, 1954, at at 4 a.m.
He had heard a slight whirr, then saw a sort of semi-circular "white cloud" descending, "lighted at the ends" of a dazzling orange light.
The phenomenon approached the road, illuminating it better than in broad daylight. Mr. Folliard was blinded and frightened and ran away to the nearest farm, where he alerted the residents who then also saw the phenomenon.
[Ref. jsr1:] JEAN SIDER:
The ufologist and author Jean Sider discovered this case in the newspaper Ouest-France for October 23-24, 1954:
Mr. Folliard, a farmer of Segré in the department of the Maine-and-Loire went to his fields of the domaine du Chatelais near Segré on October 22, 1954 at 4 o'clock in the morning.
He heard a gentle whirr. Then he saw a kind of descending "white cloud," which was semicircular, and "enlightened at the ends" of a dazzling orange light.
The phenomenon approached the road, illuminating it better than daylight. The witness was dazzled and frightened and fled running towards the nearest farm, of which he alerted the occupants who then also saw the phenomenon.
[Ref. lhh1:] LARRY HATCH - "*U* COMPUTER DATABASE":
4242: 1954/10/22 04:00 3 0:52:00 W 47:41:20 N 3333 WEU FRN M&L 8:8
SEGRE,FR:3/FARM:ODD WHT CLOUD ^:LITES/ENDS:LITES ROAD LIKE DAY!:/LDLN#324
Ref#217 Jean SIDER: Le DOSSIER 1954 (2 vol.) Page No. 119 : FARMLANDS
[Ref. djn1:] DONALD JOHNSON:
Encounters with Aliens on this Day
October 22
1954 - At four o'clock in the morning an object that resembled a white cloud with lights on each end descended over a country road in Segre, Maine-et-Loire, France. It illuminated the road like daylight. (Source: Larry Hatch, U computer database, case 4039, citing Jean Sider, Dossier 1954 et l'Imposture Rationaliste, p. 119).
[Ref. lcn1:] LUC CHASTAN:
Luc Chastan indicates that in the Maine et Loire in Segré on October 22, 1954 à 04:00, "A farmer went in his fields of the Chatelais domain. He hears a light whirring sound. Then he sees a kind of 'white cloud' going down, semicircular, and 'enlightened at the ends' of a dazzling orange light. The phenomenon approached the road, illuminating better than in full day. The witness was blinded and frightened and fled running towards the nearest farm, of which he alerted the occupants who then also saw the phenomenon."
Luc Chastan indicates that the source is "Les OVNI vus de près par Gross Patrick ** http://ufologie.net." [The old URL of my website's home page.]
[Ref. uda1:] "UFODNA" WEBSITE:
The website indicates that on 22 October 1954 at 04:00 in Segre, France, "Fog, mist, vapor. White cloud with lights on ends descends. Illuminates road like daylight." And: "An unidentified object was sighted, that had an unusual appearance or performance. One white cloud-like object was observed on a farm for over three minutes. "
The source is indicated as Hatch, Larry, *U* computer database, Author, Redwood City, 2002.
[Ref. nip1:] "THE NICAP WEBSITE":
*Oct. 22, 1954 - At four o'clock in the morning an object that resembled a white cloud with lights on each end descended over a country road in Segre, Maine-et-Loire, France. It illuminated the road like daylight. (Source: Larry Hatch, U computer database, case 4039, citing Jean Sider, Dossier 1954 et l'Imposture Rationaliste, p. 119).
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Even if the "dazzling" and the illumination of the place "as if in broad daylight" seem to eliminate the possibility that it was the Moon, other cases showed that misunderstandings caused by the moon may occasionally result in reports with effects just as "spectacular". It is therefore necessary to check the presence or absence of the moon in the sky of Segré on October 22, 1954, at 4 o'clock in the morning.
Indeed the moon was present at an azimuth of 91° 48', a low elevation favorable to mistakes of 7° 42'. It was in phase 0.18905, the first crescent, with 18.9% of its surface illuminated.
The moon with perhaps a "red moon" aspect and clouds causing a partial concealment of its normally recognizable crescent shape, may have fooled the witnesses.
It goes without saying that this does not constitute "proof" that the witnesses took the moon for something else, but the possibility cannot be eliminated for now.
Segré is a former French commune located in the department of Maine-et-Loire, in the Pays de la Loire region. It was one of the sub-prefectures of the department.
Since 2016 Segré is one of the 15 delegated communes of the new Commune of Segré-en-Anjou.
The coordinates of the center of Segré are 47° 41' 10" N and 0° 52' 11° W.
(These keywords are only to help queries and are not implying anything.)
Segré, Maine-et-Loire, night, Folliard, field, road, semicircular, cloud, white, orange, light, frightened, dazzled, multiple
[----] indicates sources that are not yet available to me.
| Version: | Created/Changed by: | Date: | Change Description: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.1 | Patrick Gross | January 16, 2004 | First published. |
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | January 14, 2010 | Conversion from HTML to XHTML Strict. First formal version. Additions [lcn1], [djn1], [uda1]. |
| 1.1 | Patrick Gross | October 25, 2014 | Addition [nip1]. |
| 1.2 | Patrick Gross | March 10, 2017 | Addition of the Summary and the Notes. Explanations changed, were "Not looked for yet." |
| 1.3 | Patrick Gross | December 29, 2018 | Addition [lhh1]. |
