The index page for the 1954 French flap section of this website is here.
Reference for this case: 27-sep-54-Valence.
Please cite this reference in any correspondence with me regarding this case.
In is 1958 book about the French saucer wave of 1954, pioneering ufologist Aimé Michel reported that on September 27, 1954, at about 09:40 p.m., Mr. Hénard, an employee of the mail services, was in front of his residence in the district of le Plan in the city of Valence, when he saw eight to ten luminous objects moving with complicated manoeuvers at a high altitude in the sky while going away into the distance.
Mr. Hénard alerted his family and they all saw the things moving at a high pace in the sky and getting lost from sight in the North-East.
[Ref. aml1:] AIME MICHEL:
Aimé Michel reports that on September 27, 1954, at about 09:40 p.m., Mr. Hénard, an employee of the mail services, was in front of his residence in the district of le Plan in the city of Valence, when he saw eight to ten luminous objects moving with complicated manoeuvers at a high altitude in the sky while going into the distance.
M. Hénard alerted his family and they all saw the things moving at a high pace in the sky and getting lost from sight in the North-East.
[Ref. gqy1:] GUY QUINCY:
|
September 27, 1954]
[... Other cases...]
11:00 p.m.: Lemps (Ardèche)/Valence (Drôme): 10 to 13 luminous objects.
[... Other cases...]
[Ref. fru1:] MICHEL FIGUET AND JEAN-LOUIS RUCHON:
The two authors indicate that in Valence in the Drôme, on September 27, 1954, eight or ten objects moved in the sky.
[Ref. gep1:] UFOLOGY GROUP "GEPO":
| 09/27/54 | (22) | Lemps-Valence (drome) F | NE | 009XC2 30 |
[Ref. uin1:] "UFO INFORMATION" - A.A.M.T:
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DATE: September 27, 1954
LIEU: VALENCE - 26
HOUR: about 10:15 p.m.
OBSERVATION: Mr. Hénard, postal worker, was in front of his home in the Plan district, when he saw in the sky, at a great height, eight or ten luminous objects moving in a complicated way while moving away; Mr. Hénard alerted his family, and everyone could see the apparatuses spinning at high speed in the night sky and disappear towards the northeast.
SOURCES: Aimé MICHEL "Mystérieux objets célestes".
[Ref. goe1:] GODELIEVE VAN OVERMEIRE:
The Belgian ufologist indicates that in 1954, on September 27, in France, in Valence (the Drôme), "23 hours: 8 or 10 luminous objects move in the sky."
The source is noted as "M. FIGUET/ J.L. RUCHON: 'Ovni, le premier dossier complet..' - Alain Lefeuvre pub. 1979, p. 92".
[Ref. lcn1:] LUC CHASTAN:
Luc Chastan indicates in his database that in the Drôme (26) in Valence on September 27, 1954 at 23:00 hours, " the witness, a mailman, stood in front of his home in the district of the Plan in Valence, when he saw from eight to ten luminous objects moving while carrying out complicated operations at a high altitude in the sky all while moving away. The family also witnessed it."
The sources are indicated as: " Ovni, Premier dossier complet... by Figuet M./ Ruchon J.L. ** éd. Alain Lefeuvre 1979" and "M.O.C. by Michel Aimé ** Arthaud 1958".
[Ref. ubk1:] "UFO-DATENBANK":
This database recorded this case twice:
| Case Nr. | New case Nr. | Investigator | Date of observation | Zip | Place of observation | Country of observation | Hour of observation | Classification | Comments | Identification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19540927 | 27.09.1954 | Valence | France | 22.00 | NL | |||||
| 19540927 | 27.09.1954 | Valence | France | NL |
As the sun set at 06:30 p.m., there is no chance at 21:40 that the luminous objects were sun-lit birds.
Aimé Michel insisted on the fact that a similar case involving a dozen small objects was reported for the same day in Lemps around 11 p.m., 21 km north-northeast of Valencia, and another in the night of the 27th to the 28th September 1954, or at 11:45 or at midnight or early morning in Rixheim in the Haut-Rhin, 370 km north-north-east from Valence.
In Valence, 8 to 10 objects perform "complicated maneuvers"; at Lemps, "a dozen craft came to join the first, and performed with it a real ballet"; at Rixheim, "it was shaped like a long cigar, and a dozen small satellite cigars surrounded it." This does not seem to correspond to a fragmenting meteor, and there is obviously no return of satellites or satellite balloons or rocket debris in 1954.
However, the case in Rixheim is unfortunately dubious, possibly a deformation of a case in Mulhouse on September 23, 1954; which was a possible meteor seen after the passage a squadron of jet planes; and further mixed with a case of possible meteor in Rixheim on September 28, 1954.
The date of the case in Lemps is not well-determined, and the whole sighting may be explained by military aircraft manoeuvers.
I have no ordinary explanation for the sighting in Valence yet, extraterrestrial visitors are possible, but jet fighter planes too.
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Probables planes.
The press, on September 24, 1954, announced "Operation Shooting Star", "the largest allied air exercise in Europe", air maneuvers of NATO forces, which will take place over France and Germany.
Historically, these "Shooting Star" maneuvers including "Indian Summer" lasted from 20 to 27 September 1954, involving the new NATO dispersal base of Damblain, implicating hosts of the F-84G Thunderjet of the 3rd Fighter Wing from Reims and the 2/3 Fighters Wing also using F-84G's.
The maneuvers were conducted under realistic conflict conditions, the planes were parked outdoors where maintenance was also done, and the airmen lived and slept in camouflaged tents.
(These keywords are only to help queries and are not implying anything.)
Valence, Drôme, objects, luminous, points, manoeuvres, altitude, fast
[----] indicates sources that are not yet available to me.
| Version: | Created/Changed by: | Date: | Change Description: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.1 | Patrick Gross | April 13, 2004 | First published. |
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | February 5, 2010 | Conversion from HTML to XHTML Strict. First formal version. Additions [fru1], [goe1]. |
| 1.1 | Patrick Gross | February 9, 2017 | Addition [ubk1]. |
| 1.2 | Patrick Gross | July 28, 2019 | Addition of the Summary. Explanations changed, were "Not looked for yet." |
| 1.3 | Patrick Gross | October 3, 2021 | Addition [uin1]. In the Explanations, addition of the Update of October 3, 2021. |
| 1.4 | Patrick Gross | November 25, 2021 | Addition [gqy1]. |
| 1.5 | Patrick Gross | April 8, 2022 | Addition [gep1]. |
