The index page for the 1954 French flap section of this website is here.
Reference for this case: 29-sep-54-Painblanc.
Please cite this reference in any correspondence with me regarding this case.
In his 1958 book on the French wave of 1954, "Flying Saucers and the Straight Line Mystery", pioneering ufologist Aimé Michel reported that among the observations of September 29, 1954, there was one in Painblanc, in the Côte-d'Or department:
Around 8 p.m., an anonymous mechanic was riding a motorbike on the national 470, coming from Beaune. As he reached Painblanc, he saw a vast luminous body of greenish white color swelling in the sky, then pass abovehead and moving away quickly.
At the time of his closest proximity, the witness had noticed that this "object was animated with a kind of spinning."
Aimé Michel, whose story will be repeated many times, had not given his source; but the ufology group A.D.R.U.P. of the Côte-d'Or, in its bulletin Viamana 21 #10-11 of the 3rdquarter of 1982, gave the same report in the form of a quotation from an article in the newspaper of the region Le Bien Public, without specifying the publication date, however.
The article specified that the observation had taken place when the mechanic worker was a little before the hamlet of "Pâquier" (actually Pasquier, 1 kilometer West of Painblanc). He had seen "not without great emotion, spinning in the sky above him, a rather large disc and of green hue. In a few seconds, he saw the craft disappear in the direction of Crugey."
[Ref. aml1:] AIME MICHEL:
Aimé Michel noted a number of sightings on September 29, 1954, and says there was one in Painblanc, Cote-d'Or.
He indicates that about 8 p.m., "X. ..", a mechanic, was riding a motorcycle on the national road 470, from Beaune. By the time he reached Painblanc, 120 km west-southwest of Rigney, he saw a large luminous body of greenish-white color, which passed over him and went away into the sky.
When it was at the closest distance, he found that "the object was animated by a kind of spin."
[Ref. gqy1:] GUY QUINCY:
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September 29 [, 1954]
[... Other cases...]
08:15 p.m. ?: Painblanc (Côte-d'Or): lumin. obj.
[... Other cases...]
[Ref. gcu1:] LEONARD G. CRAMP:
A mechanic riding a motor-cycle coming from Beaune, France, saw a luminous aerial vehicle. It passed over him emitting a greenish-white colour, and as it got closer he observed "a sort of revolving motion".
[Ref. jve5:] JACQUES VALLEE:
| 162 | -004.62591 | 47.14920 | 29 | 09 | 1954 | 20 | 00 | 101 | PAINBLANC | F | 151144 | C** | 155 |
[Ref. gep1:] UFOLOGY GROUP "GEPO":
| 09/29/54 | ( ) | Pain Blanc (cote d'Or) F | R | 1039C2 |
[Ref. via1:] UFOLOGY BULLETIN "VIMANA 21":
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MONDAY 4 OCTOBER: IS THIS A FLYING SAUCER? -
Last Wednesday, around 8 p.m., a mechanic returning from Beaune, on a motorcycle, saw, a little before the hamlet of Pâquier, at Pain Blanc, and not without great emotion, spinning in the sky above him, a rather large disk of green hue. In a few seconds, he saw the machine disappear in the direction of Crugey.
The source is said to be the newspaper Le Bien Public.
[Ref. via3:] "VIMANA 21" UFOLOGY MAGAZINE:
This magazine listed this case:
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54 09 29 20H LN Painblanc |
[Ref. lgs1:] LOREN GROSS:
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Montagney, France. 8:00 p.m. September 29th.
A huge, bright object that rivaled the full moon in size lit up the countryside around the French village of Montagney at 8:00 p.m. The object soared east to west much slower than a meteor because a resident of the village that witnessed the appearance was able to alert others to the phenomenon, and more importantly, the brillant object flew out of sight under the clouds.
A motorist, Mr. Gazon, on Route N 486 to the southwest of Montagney, was driving passed the community of Rigney when he caught sight of the UFO. He said it was an oblong object on a horizontal course, giving off a green white light.
Elsewhere in the area, a motorcyclist speeding along Route N-470 near Painblanc observed the passage of a green-white body, apparently the same object.
Some 70 miles beyond Painblanc at Langeron another sighting was made. Riding a bicycle on Route N-151 a M. Raymond Deloire spotted an object in the sky approaching him from the west. It was a luminous, hemispherical shape, orange in color instead of green-white. It travelled silently.
Other French towns reporting UFOs on the 29th were: Landeda-L'Aber Wrac'h in the French department of Finistere in Brittany, and Cabestany in the French department of Pyrenees Orientas [sic] which is near Spain. 154.
[...]
154. Paris, France. France-Soir. 2 October 54
[Ref. lhh1:] LARRY HATCH - "*U* COMPUTER DATABASE":
3865: 1954/09/29 20:00 1 4:37:40 E 47:09:00 N 3333 WEU FRN CDO 6:6
PAINBLANC,21,FR:NLTS PLAY/SKY:LRG UFO PASSES OVR OBS/N470:SPINS
Ref# 49 MICHEL,Aime: FS & STRAIGHT LINE TH: Page No. 97 : FARMLANDS
[Ref. lcn1:] LUC CHASTAN:
Luc Chastan indicates that in the "Côte d'or" in Painblanc on September 29, 1954 at 20:00 hours "The witness ride a motorbike on the N470 coming from Beaune. While arriving in the borough hesuddenly sees enlarging in the sky a vast luminous element of greenish white color which passes above him and moves away quickly. When the object was the closest, the witness noted that it was animated of a kind of whirling."
The source is indicated as "M.O.C. par Michel Aimé ** Arthaud 1958".
[Ref. uda1:] "UFODNA" WEBSITE:
The website indicates that on 29 September 1954 at 20:00 on the N470, near Painblanc, France, "A cigar-shaped object was observed. One cigar-shaped object was observed by one witness on a farm for over one minute (Paquier)."
The sources are indicated as Michel, Aime, Flying Saucers and the Straight-Line Mystery, S. G. Phillips, New York, 1958; Vallee, Jacques, Computerized Catalog (N = 3073); Vallee, Jacques, Challenge to Science: The UFO Enigma, Henry Regnery, Chicago, 1966; Vallee, Jacques, Preliminary Catalog (N = 500), (in JVallee01); Hatch, Larry, *U* computer database, Author, Redwood City, 2002.
[Ref. uda2:] "UFODNA" WEBSITE:
The website indicates that In September 1954 in Beaune, France, there was a "Mechanic incident." "An object was observed. It moved with a falling-leaf motion. One object was observed by one male witness on a highway briefly."
The source is indicated as Cramp, Leonard G., Piece for a Jig-Saw, Somerton, Isle of Wight, 1966.
[Ref. ubk1:] "UFO-DATENBANK":
This database recorded this case three times:
| Case Nr. | New case Nr. | Investigator | Date of observation | Zip | Place of observation | Country of observation | Hour of observation | Classification | Comments | Identification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19540929 | 29.09.1954 | Painblanc | France | 20.00 | NL | |||||
| 19540929 | 29.09.1954 | Painblanc | France | 20.00 | NL | |||||
| 19540929 | 29.09.1954 | Painblanc | France | 20.00 | NL |
[Ref. aln1:] ALAIN LEQUIEN:
The author indicates that on September 29, 1954, there had been numerous observations of a luminous object, a meteor, crossing France, which was seen in Painblanc as in other communes of Burgundy.
Around 8 p.m., the witness was riding a motorbike on the national road coming from Beaune, arriving in the village, he suddenly saw a large luminous body of greenish white color swelling in the sky, which passed over him and moved away quickly. The witness noticed that it was animated with a kind of spinning.
In Meix near Seurre, a young 19-year-old resident had noticed a strange apparition. Standing on his doorstep around 9 p.m., he saw a green glow in the sky moving slowly for about fifteen seconds.
The author indicates that the source and the book by Aimé Michel [aml1].
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The September 29, 1954, meteor, about 08:30 p.m.
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The witness, coming from Beaune, was going west and was after Painblanc and shortly before Pasquier; he saw what he believed to be a "craft" heading for Crugey.
(These keywords are only to help queries and are not implying anything.)
Painblanc, Côte-d'Or, night, motorbike, Beaune, luminous, white, greenish, fast, Crugey, Pâquier, rotation
[----] indicates sources that are not yet available to me.
| Version: | Created/Changed by: | Date: | Change Description: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | February 19, 2010 | First published. |
| 1.1 | Patrick Gross | June 19 2010 | Addition [jve5]. |
| 1.2 | Patrick Gross | July 4, 2010 | Additions [gcu1], [uda2]. |
| 1.3 | Patrick Gross | September 30, 2014 | Addition [aml1]. Explanation changed from "Not looked for yet" to "The September 29, 1954, meteor, about 08:30 p.m." |
| 1.4 | Patrick Gross | February 10, 2017 | Addition [ubk1]. |
| 1.5 | Patrick Gross | June 20, 2019 | Additions [via1], [lhh1]. In the Explanations, addition of the paragraph "The witness, coming from Beaune..." and the map above it. |
| 1.6 | Patrick Gross | February 11, 2021 | Additions [via3], [aln1]. |
| 1.7 | Patrick Gross | November 20, 2021 | Additions [gqy1], Summary. |
| 1.8 | Patrick Gross | April 5, 2022 | Addition [gep1]. |
