The index page for the 1954 French flap section of this website is here.
Reference for this case: 4-Nov-54-Senlis.
Please cite this reference in any correspondence with me regarding this case.
In the 1970s, Claude Poher, future first head of the first official UFO sightings study group in France, GEPAN, had compiled a computer file of observations whose witnesses were officials or civil servants.
He noted in it a sighting on November 4, 1954 at 7:30 p.m. in Senlis, France, which had been the subject of an official investigation; the duration is categorized as "from 10 to 59 seconds", the speed as "1500 to 2500 km/h", the color as "yellow, amber", the trajectory as straight or very wide curve. The thing was silent.
There would have been three adult witnesses in the age categories "21 to 59".
Some summaries by others would appear later, without further information.
[Ref. cpr1:] CLAUDE POHER, UFO RESEARCH GROUP "GEPA":
In 1968-1969, before the official GEPAN ufology effort started, its future head Dr Claude Poher was a member of the unofficial GEPA ufology group, and gathered a computer coded listing of more than 700 UFO reports on which multiple factors statistical computation could be run. In the file were a number of 1954 French UFO reports, among those this one.
For readability, a decoded interpretation of the data is provided here under the original 80 character encoded string. Decoding was done according to the original indications, the code number and its generic meaning is given. Please not that the generic meaning of each code is a predefined category, not the real specific details of the case. For example, if the main witness' age was 33, the coding would result in a number "3" which corresponds to a category "Adult from 21 to 59 years."
| Original code: | 0652550411195419301JA113501030001A0099040080117000000000000000000000000000010000 |
| Location: | Senlis - France |
| Case number: | 0652 |
| Source code: | 55 |
| Nature of the source: | Reports from official French sources: Police, Gendarmerie, Army, Pilots |
| Day: | 04 |
| Month: | 11 |
| Year: | 54 |
| Hours: | 19 |
| Minutes: | 30 |
| Type of Time: | 1 = local time |
| Number of witnesses: | 1 = 1 |
| Main witness named: | 1 = name(s) indicated |
| Main witness age: | 3 = Adult from 21 to 59 years |
| Main witness occupation: | 5 = technician, air trafic controler, radar operator, technical representative, reporter, teacher, photographer, optician, psycholog, ufo private investigator (when profession unknown) |
| Official investigation: | 1 = an official investigation was made |
| Weather: | 0 = no indication |
| Duration: | 3 = from 10 to 59 seconds |
| Minimal distance witness - phenomenon: | 0 = no indication |
| Method of observation: | 0 = no indication |
| Number of "objects" observed simultaneously: | 01 = 1 |
| Shape of the "object" (terminology of witness(es)): | A = a dot, star, "big planet" |
| Dimensions of the phenomenon: | 00 = diameter or length 0 meters, 99 = more than 100 meters |
| Color of the observed phenomenon: | 04 = yellow, amber |
| Luminosity of the phenomenon: | 0 = no indication |
| Lights or projectors on the phenomenon: | 0 = no indication |
| Moving speed of the phenomenon: | 8 = 1500 to 2500 km/h |
| Acceleration of the phenomenon: | 0 = no indication |
| Trajectory of the phenomenon: | 1 = straight line or very wide curve |
| Sounds perceived during observation: | 1 = no noise, total silence, object noiseless |
| Maximum angular height of observation (horizon = 0°): | 7 = altitude is indicated |
| Nature of the landing place: | 0 = no indication |
| Number of contact points with ground: | 0 = no indication |
| Traces of landing: | 0 = no indication |
| Observation of "occupants" | 0 = no indication |
| Height of the occupants observed: | 00 = no indication |
| Garment of the occupants: | 00 = no indication |
| Garment: | 0 = no indication |
| General behavior of "occupants": | 0 = no indication |
| Interaction of "occupants" with witness: | 0 = no indication |
| Head, hair: | 0 = no indication |
| Voice, breathing, chin: | 0 = no indication |
| Skin: | 0 = no indication |
| Eyes: | 0 = no indication |
| Mouth: | 0 = no indication |
| Various details: | 0 = no indication |
| Thermal effects: | 0 = no indication |
| Luminous effects: | 0 = no indication |
| Magnetic effect (or electromagnetic): | 0 = no indication |
| Odor perceived by witness: | 0 = no indication |
| Physiological effects on the witness(es): | 0 = no indication |
| Psychological effect on the witness(es): | 0 = no indication |
| Effects on animals: | 0 = no indication |
| Other effects reported: | 0 = no indication |
| Nebulosity: | 0 = no indication |
| Oscillations, emission of matter: | 0 = no indication |
| Spin, formation flight: | 0 = no indication |
| Immediate disappearance: | 1 = "sudden" appearance or disappearance. (NB : with or without explosion noise) |
| Halo surrounding the phenomenon: | 0 = no indication |
| Interaction witness / phenomenon (complement to the other rubrics): | 0 = no indication |
| Drawing or photo: | 0 = no indication |
| Structural details observed: | 0 = no indication |
[Ref. lcn1:] LUC CHASTAN:
Luc Chastan indicates that in the Oise in Senlis on November 4, 1954 at 19:30 hours, a witness observed during less than one minute a yellow object of a length estimated as more than 100 meters. It flew in straight line at approximately 1500 to 2500 km/h without noise. It disappeared suddenly.
The source is indicated as "Les Universons by Poher Claude ** http://www.premiumwanadoo.com/universons/".
[Ref. lpn1:] "LE PARISIEN":
54 YEARS AGO
Ufo invasion
As in many countries and French regions, the year 1954 was rich in observations of UFOs and other strange phenomena in the Oise. It is believed that visitors to the area were particularly pleased with the department, from Crépy-en-Valois to La Chapelle-en-Serval, via , Ressons-sur-Matz, Senlis or Formerie, witnesses swore they saw saucers, flying cigars and other mini-extraterrestrials helmed with an orange beam! Press clippings and gendarmerie investigations evoke these episodes, none of which, alas, brought tangible evidence.
[Ref. ubk1:] "UFO-DATENBANK":
This database recorded the case twice:
| Case Nr. | New case Nr. | Investigator | Date of observation | Zip | Place of observation | Country of observation | Hour of observation | Classification | Comments | Identification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19541104 | 04.11.1954 | Senlis | France | 19.30 | ||||||
| 19541104 | 04.11.1954 | Senlis | France | 19.25 | NL |
|
The description is typical of a meteor.
(These keywords are only to help queries and are not implying anything.)
Senlis, Oise, official, duration, yellow, fast, silence
[----] indicates sources that are not yet available to me.
| Version: | Created/Changed by: | Date: | Change Description: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.1 | Patrick Gross | December 26, 2004 | First published. |
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | January 18, 2009 | Conversion from HTML to XHTML Strict. First formal version. Addition [lcn1]. |
| 1.1 | Patrick Gross | February 2, 2017 | Addition [ubk1]. |
| 1.2 | Patrick Gross | March 2, 2017 | Addition [lpn1]. |
| 1.3 | Patrick Gross | June 30, 2022 | Addition of the Summary. |
