The index page for the 1954 French flap section of this website is here.
Reference for this case: 3-Aug-54-Gerardmer.
Please cite this reference in any correspondence with me regarding this case.
François Diolez of the CNEGU ufology group built up in November 1984 a catalogue of cases from the Vosges, with the help of François Lagarde.
The catalogue indicates that according to personal notes of Mr. J.D. who is the husband of the witness Carmen D., notes "transmitted to the Circle", there was an observation on Tuesday, August 3, 1954, at 05:30 p.m. local time in Gérardmer - Dosseaux, described completely in these notes as this:
The witness saw "just above Les Dosseaux at very high altitude" a luminous dot similar to a star, motionless.
The point disappeared in a few minutes, by the time that she got inside and outside.
The sky was clear, not very cloudy, "was it Venus, Vega or a saucer at very high altitude?"
The author of the catalogue notes that a counter-investigation carried out by Claude Fleurance on September 24, 1983, did not make it possible to obtain from Carmen D. other details then, and that like her husband, she is interested in ufology.
[Ref. lbs1:] UFOLOGY BULLETIN "LA LIGNE BLEUE SURVOLEE?":
|
7°) CASE N° F/98/88540803 (01)
GERARDMER (LES DOSSEAUX) - TUESDAY AUGUST 3, 1954
5:30 p.m. Local time
Witness: Mrs. Carmen D... {wife of Mr. J. D...)
Sources: Personal notes of M. J. D... transmitted to the Cercle
Observation:
"Carmen sees just above the DOSSEAUX at very high altitude, a luminous point similar to a star, motionless.
Gone in minutes (time to get in and out).
Clear sky, few clouds, was it VENUS, VEGA or a very high altitude saucer?".
(Full notes.)
Note: Counter-investigation carried out by Claude FLEURANCE on 24.09.83: Carmen D... cannot give any other details today. Like her husband, she is interested in ufology.
[Ref. lbs2:] UFOLOGY BULLETIN "LA LIGNE BLEUE SURVOLEE?":
|
| Num. | DATE | PLACE | TIME | SHORT DESCRIPTION | 1234 | SOURCES | EXPLANATIONS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 08/03/1954 | GERARDMER | 05:30 p.m. | Moving luminous dot similar to a star but seeming to disappear a few minutes later. | ...X | Archive J. D. | Star, planet |
[Ref. fdz1:] FRANCOIS DIOLEZ:
F. Diolez of the CNEGU built up in November 1984 a catalogue of cases from the Vosges, with the help of François Lagarde.
The catalogue indicates that according to personal notes of Mr. J.D. who is the husband of the witness Carmen D., notes "transmitted to the Circle", there was an observation on Tuesday, August 3, 1954, at 05:30 p.m. local time in Gerardmer - Dosseaux, described completely in these notes as this:
The witness saw "just above the DOSSEAUX at very high altitude" a luminous dot similar to a star, motionless.
The point disappeared in a few minutes, by the time that she got inside and outside.
The sky was clear, not very cloudy, "was it VENUS, VEGA or a saucer at very high altitude?"
The author of the catalogue notes that a counter-investigation carried out by Claude Fleurance the 09/24/1983 did not make it possible to obtain from Carmen D. other details then, and that like her husband, she is interested in ufology.
[Ref. uda1:] "UFODNA" WEBSITE:
The website indicates that on 3 August 1954 at 17:30 in Gerardmer, France, "A daytime disc was reported."
The source is indicated as "Vallee, Jacques, Computerized Catalog (N = 3073)".
[Ref. ubk1:] "UFO-DATENBANK":
| Case Nr. | New case Nr. | Investigator | Date of observation | Zip | Place of observation | Country of observation | Hour of observation | Classification | Comments | Identification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19540803 | 03.08.1954 | Gerardmer | France | 17.30 |
|
The explanation would be immediately suspected to be an astronomical misinterpretation, if it hadn't been by day. In August, at 05:30 p.m., it was obviously totally in daylight. The "dot" disappears, but the witness herself indicating that there were "few clouds", one can think that some cloud hid the dot.
The only astronomical body - besides the moon and the sun, of course - that can be seen by day, according to some ufologists, is Venus.
Venus was there, direction 220°, elevation 37°, with 64% of its surface lighted by the sun.
But an other obvious possibility is that of a balloon, for example a weather balloon.
(These keywords are only to help queries and are not implying anything.)
Gerardmer, Vosges, point, dot, luminous, motionless, star, planet
[----] indicates sources that are not yet available to me.
| Version: | Created/Changed by: | Date: | Change Description: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | December 23, 2009 | First published. |
| 1.1 | Patrick Gross | March 20, 2010 | Addition [uda1]. |
| 1.2 | Patrick Gross | November 20, 2016 | Addition [ubk1]. |
| 1.3 | Patrick Gross | February 7, 2019 | Addition of the Summary. Explanations changed, were "Not looked for yet. Probably astronomical." |
| 1.4 | Patrick Gross | June 8, 2022 | Additiona [lbs1], [lbs2]. |
