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November 5, 1954, La Roche-en-Brenil, Côte-d'Or:

Reference for this case: 5-nov-54-La-Roche-en-Brénil.
Please cite this reference in any correspondence with me regarding this case.

Summary:

20 years after the events he claims to have occurred, Raymond R. wrote this letter to a French regional newspaper's director.

"Many people at this time speak about the flying saucers. I will give you the account, with all its details, of what I saw with my own eyes, on Friday, November 5, 1954."

"My profession forces me to work in the nature. On Friday 5, I was on the territory of the city of La Roche-en-Brenil (Côte-d'Or) at 3 km in the South of this city, in the meadows which border the Paris-Nice national road. The young man (aged 13) who was working pointed out for me an enormous gray mass, at the edge of the wood, which detached clearly on the yellow leaves at approximately 500 m away. It was then 10:09 A.M. I rushed with the kid in the direction of the object; after having made 100 meters, we saw orange gleams all around the machine. I did immediately think of a saucer. I thus returned over to our starting point to get my case which contained a 6x6 camera."

"We ran very quickly towards the machine but going through the wood to avoid being seen. At this point in time a scene appeared to our eyes, which I will remember a long time. We were in the wood, at 40 m of the saucer which was in the field. A man was outside, at 5 m of the machine; he carried a colorless combination, of plastic appearance. The shoulders were very developed, there was in its back, under its dressing, something which formed a kind of bump; he had a dark gray helmet, of a diameter of approximately 40 cm, which started from the shoulders."

"The man, who measured 1,50 m approximately but not more, held a box of a brilliant black on his chest. He moved heavily in all directions, in a radius of 3 m; he advanced, stopped, moved, returned. This lasted at least 10 min. The saucer was approximately 9 m in diameter. I drew a sketch for you, according to the photographs, which will be easier than a description."

"From Disc number 2 a weak gleam escaped, sometimes orange, sometimes greenish, a buzz similar to that of a power station characterized the noise of the machine, the cupola, of 3 m height, topped the craft, itself of a total height of approximately 5 m. The cupola was surrounded by portholes quite close one from each other."

"I then took, blow on blow, with some difficulties, the 7 photographs which were still available. The man entered again in the saucer, through a door located at the base of the craft, and which slipped from the inside. Then two other men in the same clothing came out from there. I have to state that a sharp gleam reigned inside the machine. I became very frightened, so did the kid. One of the two men held in his hands something which strangely resembled a machine pistol, which had a widening gun. The second held a white ball as large as two fists. They went to the exact place where their colleague had stopped, they turned their back at us, I could not see what occurred but a luminous blue smoke escaped. The kid, overwhelmed with emotion, left running through the wood, in the direction of National Road II and did much noise while running on dead branches. Immediately, one of the portholes of the cupola highly lightened in a raw green. A beam swept the area where the young man ran. I ducked against the slope."

"Then the kid pushed a sharp cry. I thought I would faint at this time. A few 20 seconds later, a powerful whistle and the saucer took off vertically. Michel, the kid, had a knee on the ground, his head was lowered, he was in the impossibility to stand up. His face pricked. Having put him back on his feet, his legs collapsed, but then he walked and it was over. Nevertheless we went to the site where the craft had been. The grass was burned and the black ground and softened like ash, on a radius of 3 m. It was 10:55 A.M.. Further away, I found a part of the white ball. It was an absorbent kind of cotton, but I was quite surprised when I picked it up! Heavy like lead. (I weighed it at the house, 428 grams.) At its side, a yellow powder also remained, resembling sulfur. I recovered what I could; it was also very heavy, 78 grams that I wrapped in a paper."

"But as soon as arrived at the car, the paper was corroded and my fingers burned. On the next days inflated blisters of water and blood were formed. At present all is healed, but my fingers remain sensitive, the very black skin became normal again."

"We were hardly recovering of our emotions, at 06:05 P.M., when nine objects with orange reflections crossed the sky from East to West with a rather marked whistle which drew our attention. One of them suddenly shot down vertically while the eight others disappeared in a snap. Judging by the clouds, they were at 8000 m of altitude. At 100 m above the ground, the craft was hovering; we then saw the shape of a disc. Then the gleam became pale, the very soft whistle and the disc landed while gently rocking. It touches the ground at the exact place, I insist, at the exact place where eight hours earlier we had already observed the same phenomenon. The orange light became very very pale, with greenish reflections occasionally."

"Neither the young man nor myself dared to approach. We were roughly 3200 m away. Approximately ten minutes later, the saucer took off rather gently until it was 10 m off the ground, then in an huge orange sheaf, it went up vertically, the ball quickly became very small and disappeared in the distance."

"Of the seven photographs I took, four only are very clear, for I changed diaphragm several times. After enlarging, one can very clearly distinguish the man, his clothes below the suit are probably black. It is impossible to distinguish the head or the hands which are hidden by opaque gloves."

"I had the powder and the cotton analyzed by a chemical engineer who remained perplexed with these two unknown substances. But it appears that in the powder, there is silver nitrate in great proportion. I preserve this evidence preciously, I will not reveal them now as one always ridicules the witnesses of similar encounters; but I would like that the public knows that the saucers really exist, this is why I authorize you to publish my account. Whether they are interplanetary or of a foreign country, I do not know, but it is undeniable that the ray it used as a weapon can have unimaginable consequences; when the kid was stopped, he was at more than 80 m of the craft including 40 m thickness of coppice; conclude for yourself."

"I am not insane. I have all my reason and if one day the need is felt, I will then be able to prove what so far the major part of the people believed to be an hallucination."

Raymond R. never provided any of the photographs he claimed he shot, and nothing else seems to have surfaced.

Reports:

[Ref. pgs1:] THE LETTER BY THE ANONYMOUS WITNESS:

Scan.

Mr. Raymond R.
to Mr. Director
of the newspaper "Bourgogne Républicaine"
Dijon

Sir,

Many people at this time talk about the flying saucers. I will give you the account, with all its details, of what I saw with my own eyes, on Friday, November 5, 1954.

My occupation forces me to work in the nature. On Friday 5, I was on the territory of the city of La Roche-en-Brenil (Côte-d'Or) at 3 km in the South of this city, in the meadows which border the Paris-Nice national road. The young man (aged 13) which worked pointed out for me an enormous gray mass, at the edge of the wood, which detached clearly on the yellow leaves at approximately 500 m away. It was then 10:09 A.M. I rushed with the kid in the direction of the object; after having made 100 meters, we saw orange gleams all around the machine. I did immediately think of a saucer. I thus returned over to our starting point to get my case which contained a 6x6 camera. We ran very quickly towards the machine but going through the wood to avoid being seen. At this point in time a scene appeared to our eyes, which I will remember a long time. We were in the wood, at 40 m of the saucer which was in the field. A man was outside, at 5 m of the machine; he carried a colorless combination, of plastic appearance. The shoulders were very developed, there was in its back, under its dressing, something that formed a kind of bump; he had a dark gray helmet, of a diameter of approximately 40 cm, which started from the shoulders. The man, who measured 1,50 m approximately but not more, held a box of a brilliant black on his chest. He moved heavily in all directions, in a radius of 3 m; he advanced, stopped, moved, returned. This lasted at least 10 min. The saucer was approximately 9 m in diameter. I drew a sketch for you, according to the photographs, which will be easier than a description.

Scan.

From Disc number 2 a weak gleam escaped, sometimes orange, sometimes greenish, a buzz similar to that of a power station characterized the noise of the machine, the cupola, of 3 m height, topped the craft, itself of a total height of approximately 5 m. The cupola was surrounded by portholes quite close one from each other.

I then took, blow on blow, with some difficulties, the 7 photographs which were still available. The man entered again in the saucer, through a door located at the base of the craft, and which slipped from the inside. Then two other men in the same clothing came out from there. I have to state that a sharp gleam reigned inside the machine. I became very frightened, so did the kid. One of the two men held in his hands something that strangely resembled a machine pistol, which had a widening gun. The second held a white ball as large as two fists. They went to the exact place where their colleague had stopped, they turned their back at us, I could not see what was going on but a luminous blue smoke escaped. The kid, overwhelmed with emotion, left running through the wood, in the direction of National Road II and did much noise while running on dead branches. Immediately, one of the portholes of the cupola highly lightened in a raw green. A beam swept the area where the young man ran. I ducked against the slope. Then the kid pushed a sharp cry. I thought I would faint at this time. A few 20 seconds later, a powerful whistle and the saucer took off vertically. Michel, the kid, had a knee on the ground, his head was lowered, he was in the impossibility to stand up. His face pricked. Having put him back on his feet, his legs collapsed, but then he walked and it was over. Nevertheless we went to the site where the craft had been. The grass was burned and the black ground and softened like ash, on a radius of 3 m. It was 10:55 A.M.. Further away, I found a part of the white ball. It was an absorbent kind of cotton, but I was quite surprised when I picked it up! Heavy like lead. (I weighed it at the house, 428 grams.) At its side, a yellow powder also remained, resembling sulfur. I recovered what I could; it was also very heavy, 78 grams that I wrapped in a paper. But as soon as arrived at the car, the paper was corroded and my fingers burned. On the next days inflated blisters of water and blood were formed. At present all is healed, but my fingers remain sensitive, the very black skin became normal again. We were hardly recovering of our emotions, at 06:05 P.M., when nine objects with orange reflections crossed the sky from East to West with a rather marked whistle which drew our attention. One of them suddenly shot down vertically while the eight others disappeared in a snap. Judging by the clouds, they were at 8000 m of altitude. At 100 m above the ground, the craft was hovering; we then saw the shape of a disc. Then the gleam became pale, the very soft whistle and the disc landed while gently rocking. It touches the ground at the exact place, I insist, [rest is missing]

[Ref. jve1:] JACQUES VALLEE:

Scan.

329) November 5, 1954, 10:10 a.m., La Roche-en-Brénil (France):

Raymond R. saw a craft, which made a noise like a large transformer and gave off an orange light, land in a pasture. Three men in dark coveralls were standing nearby. One was holding a sort of box, "which emitted a beam of light three meters long." The other two were holding objects that looked like weapons. Another witness fled and felt prickling on his face as he ran. Four photographs of the scene were taken. Traces: a whitish substance and a circle 3 m in diameter where the ground had an ashlike appearance. (Personnel).

[Ref. jve8:] JACQUES VALLEE:

Scan.

As far as the French cases are concerned, we are left with only three sightings: La-Roche-en-Breuil [sic], Bouzais and Chaleix: they give very little information on which a serious investigation could be based. No official file has been established; and the account published in the newpapsers do not provide any evidence tending to indicate that these observations are other than misinterpretations or hoaxes. They certainly do not provide evidence of extraterrestrial origin of the phemomena.

[Ref. ldl2:] UFOLOGY MAGAZINE "LUMIERES DANS LA NUIT":

In a list of cases that the magazine called for investigation or re-investigation, there was:

323 11/5/54 La Roche-en-Brénil

[Ref. ldl1:] UFOLOGY MAGAZINE "LUMIERES DANS LA NUIT":

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Search the archive

LA ROCHE-EN-BRENIL

Following our previous articles published these last days in our columns about the flying saucers which landed on the territory of the commune of La Roche-en-Brenil, on November 5, 1954 at 10:00 a.m. and 06:00 a.m., we have the privilege of publishing below the detailed account of witness No. 1 of these apparitions, Mr. Raymond R... who, at the time, was accompanied by a 13-year-old boy.

We hope that the publication of this story will help find this witness who saw the flying saucers. He can get in touch with the correspondent of "Dépêches" in La Roche-en-Brenil, himself in close contact with the Parisian specialists of this affair.

* * *

"A lot of people are talking about flying saucers right now. I'm going to tell you the full story of what I saw with my own eyes on Friday, November 5, 1954.

My profession requires me to work in nature. on Friday the 5th, I was on the territory of the commune of La Roche-en-Brenil (Côte-d'Or) 3 km south of this town, in the meadows bordering the Paris-Nice national road. The young man (13 years old) who worked with me pointed out to me about 500 m from us, an enormous, gray mass, at the edge of the wood, which stood out clearly against the yellow leaves.

Scan.

It was then 10:09 a.m. I rushed with the kid in the direction of the object; after having moved of 100 meters, we saw orange lights all around the craft. I immediately thought of a saucer. So I went back to where we started to get my briefcase which contained a 6x6 camera.

We ran very fast towards the craft but passing through the woods to avoid being seen. It was then that a scene appeared to our eyes that I will remember for a long time. We were in the woods, 40 m from the saucer which was in the meadow. A man was outside, 5 m from the craft; he wore a colorless jumpsuit, plastic in appearance. The shoulders were very developed. There was something under his jumpsuit, on his back, which made him look like a bump; he had a dark gray helmet, with a diameter of about 40 cm, which started from the shoulders.

The man, who was about 1.50 m tall but no more, held a shiny black box on his chest. He moved heavily in all directions, within a radius of 3 m; it advanced, stopped, moved, returned. The ride lasted a good 10 minutes. The saucer was about 9 m in diameter. I'll make a sketch for you, based on the photos, which will be easier than a description.

From the disk #2 emitted a faint glow, sometimes orange, sometimes greenish. A buzz similar to that of a transformer characterized the noise of the machine. The cupola, 3 m high, surmounted the machine, itself of a total height of approximately 5 m. The cupola was surrounded by rather close portholes.

I then took, somehow, one after the other, the 7 photos I had left. The man got back into the saucer through a door at the base of the craft, which slid from the inside. Then two other men came out in the same disguise. I note in passing that a bright glow reigned inside the machine. I was very scared and the kid too. One of the two men held in his hands something that looked suspiciously like a submachine gun, the barrel of which flared out. The second was holding a white ball, the size of two fists. They came to the exact place where their colleague had stopped, they turned their backs, I couldn't see what was happening but a luminous blue smoke escaped. The boy, overwhelmed with emotion, ran off through the woods, in the direction of the N.R. He made a lot of noise as he passed over the dead branches. Immediately, one of the portholes in the dome brightly lit up in raw green. A beam swept around the area where the young man was running. I pressed myself against the embankment.

Then the kid squealed. I thought I passed out at that moment. Some 20 seconds later, a powerful whistle and the saucer took off vertically. Michel (the little kid) had one knee on the ground, his head down, unable to get up. His face stung him. Having put him back on his feet, his legs were crumbling, but he walked on and it all went away. Nevertheless we went to the location where the machine was. The grass was scorched and the dirt black and loose like ash, within a radius of 3 m. It was 10:55 a.m. Further on, I found part of the white ball. It was a kind of absorbent cotton, but it was a big surprise when I grabbed it. Heavy as lead. (I weighed it at home, 428 g.) Next to it was also a yellow sulfur-like powder. I salvaged what I could; it was also very heavy, 78 g which I put back in a paper.

But as soon as I got to the car, the paper was melting and my fingers were burning. The next day blisters swollen with water and blood formed. Now everything is healing, but my fingers are still sensitive, the very black skin is back to normal.

We had barely recovered from our emotions when, at 6:05 p.m., nine objects with orange reflections crossed the sky from E to W in a rather pronounced whistling sound which attracted attention. One of them swooped vertically while the other eight disappeared like lightning. According to the clouds, they were at an altitude of 8,000 m. At 100 m from the ground, the machine stopped; we then saw the shape of a disc. Then the glow faded. The hiss very soft and the disc gently descended while rocking. It touched down at the exact place and I insist, at the exact place where eight hours earlier we had already observed the same phenomenon. The orange light became very very pale, with occasional greenish reflections.

Neither the young man nor I dared to approach. We were approximately 200 m away. About ten minutes later, the saucer took off quite gently up to 10 m from the ground, then in a huge orange spray, it rose vertically, the ball quickly became very small and disappeared in the infinite.

Out of seven photos taken, only four are very clear, because I changed the diaphragm several times. After enlargement, one can very clearly distinguish the man, his clothes below the suit are probably black. It is impossible to distinguish the head as well as the hands which are hidden by opaque gloves.

I had the powder and the cotton analyzed by a chemical engineer who was puzzled by these two unknown bodies. But it appears that in the powder enters a large proportion of silver nitrate. These pieces of evidence, I keep them preciously, I will not reveal them because now one always ridicules the witnesses of such encounters; but I would like the public to know that the saucers do exist, this is why I authorize you to publish my account. Whether they are interplanetary or from a foreign power, I do not know, but it is indisputable that this ray is used as a weapon which can have unimaginable consequences; when the kid was stopped, he was more than 80 m from the craft, including 40 m of thicket; conclude.

I'm not crazy. I have all my reason and one day if the need arises, then I will be able to prove what until now the majority of people have believed to be a hallucination.

Raymond R.

Forwarded by P. Salvy, "Les Dépêches", Dijon

[Ref. gab1:] "G.A.B.R.I.E.L." UFOLOGY GROUP:

15) 11/05/1954 La Roche-en-Brénil (Côte-d'Or) 10 h. 30 )

Witness XXX and a 13-year-old boy.

If it is authentic, this observation with "traces", "photographs" and recovery of "extraterrestrial" materials is particularly important. Alas, we only have the narrative by an anonymous witness reported in the newspaper "La Dépêche" of Dijon. L.D.L.N. #125 reproduced the article. A thorough investigation is required.

We will only record that the witnesses observed at length a "Flying Saucer" and its occupants. At one point, the young boy, panicked, ran away noisily. Immediately, from one of the portholes of the craft, a bright beam of green light swept the surroundings. Mr. XXX ducked to the ground, the boy shouted. 20 seconds later, the craft took off. The witness went near the motionless young man, head down and knee to the ground, unable to get up. He had been paralyzed at 80 m. (including 40 m thick brushwood that separated him from the machine).

V.c 329 (Vallée reports a significantly different version).

Although we do not want to make any value judgments about the facts reported in this catalog, we cannot help but share with the reader our "certain doubt" about this affair, which is too good to be true and correct and too nice to be honest.

[Ref. gab2:] "G.A.B.R.I.E.L." UFOLOGY GROUP:

05/11/1954 La Roche-en-Brénil (Côte-d'Or).

Picling felt, paralysis (dubious case).

[Ref. tps1:] TED PHILLIPS:

Scan.

Nov 05, 1954

092

France, La Roche-en-Brenil. Two observers reported seeing an object glowing orange, land nearby.Three occupants in dark suits were seen. One observed ran and felt prickling on his face. Four photographs were taken. A circle 12 ft. in diameterwhere the ground had an ash-like appearance was found (Vallee III)

[Ref. gal1:] CHARLES GARREAU AND RAYMOND LAVIER:

The ufologist Charles Garreau is none other than one of the journalists of "La Bourgogne Républicaine", the newspaper which had received the anonymous letter by Raymond R. about his alleged experience.

In their book, Garreau and Lavier quote the entire letter, and take the opportunity to request form Raymond R... or Michel to contact them if they read the book. They also point out that by an extraordinary coincidence, 20 years after, in November 1974, prospectors discovered the evidence of an important uranium layer at the precise place where this alleged experience occurred.

[Ref. prn1:] PETER ROGERSON:

510 5 November 1954 1010 hrs

LA ROCHE EN BRENIL (France) Raymond R saw a craft making a noise like a large transformer giving off an orange light land in a pasture. Three men in dark coveralls were standing nearby. One was holding a box which "emitted a beam of light 3m long". the other two held objects which looked like weapons, another witness fled and felt pricklings on his face, Four photos of the scene were taken. A white substance and a circle 3m diam. where the ground had an ash-like appearance were found (M315)

[Ref. agd1:] ALAIN GAMARD:

Scan.

Case # Date Time Locality Department Witness(es) name
071 05/11/1954 10.10 La Roche-en-Brenil. 21 Raymnd R... (+).

[Ref. jjn1:] JEAN-LUC JORION:

[...]

The second part of the curve consists of a single case located at 80 meters. This exceptional testimony (case of La Roche-en-Brenil, Côte d'Or, France, 11.5.1954) (1) seems to denote an abnormal behavior of ufonauts in response to an unforeseen event.

[...]

Jean-Luc Jorion.
(DETECTOR SIDIP)

Ed.: We leave Jean-Luc Jorion fully responsible for his assertions as to the proof of an original structure in the spatial distribution of paralysis phenomena around a close UFO.

We would like to specify for our part that the number of cases studied is too small to lend itself to a significant statistical analysis. Therefore, the results obtained are certainly tainted by an appreciable error that this researcher seems to neglect.

It would be necessary to have a few dozen other cases of paralysis and to check whether they confirm or disprove the proposed model. Only then can an original structure (if it exists?) be highlighted.

[Ref. tbw1:] TED BLOECHER AND DAVID WEBB:

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1954 Corrigenda

(Humcat #339)

Nov. 5, 1954 1010 La Roche-en-Brenil (Côte-d'0r), France Type B

The following abstract should replace the original one.

M. Raymond R. and a 13-year-old boy noticed a gray object on the edge of the woods; they approached through the woods to within 130 ft of it. It was about 30 ft in diameter and a total of 16 ft high; it had a 10-foot cupola in which was a row of portholes. It made a humming sound like a transformer. A man no more than 5 ft tall stood near it; he wore a transparent suit, apparently made of plastic, with black clothing beneath it, and a dark-gray helmet that rested on his shoulders. On his back, beneath the suit, was something that gave him a humped appearance; on his chest was a small shiny black box. Moving heavily, he walked about near the saucer. Mr. R. took 7 photographs, only 4 of which came out well. The man returned to the UFO tnrough a door at its base; then two others came out, in the same costume. One of the men carried a sort of pistol with funnel-shaped barrel, the other a white ball as large as 2 fists. They vent to the place where the first man had been, turned their backs, and did something that produced a blue-luminous smoke. At this point the boy, frightened, ran off through the woods toward a nearby road, immediately one of the portholes of the cupola became green-luminous, and a beam swept the area where he was running. Some 20 seconds later, with a loud whistling sound, the saucer took off vertically. R. found the boy paralyzed, but this quickly passed off. At the site where the UFO had been, the grass was burnt and the earth blackened and strewn with a sort of cinders, over a radius of 3 m. M. R.

Scan.

found also a part of the white ball, which vas a cottony substance but as heavy as lead, and a yellow powder resembling sulphur, which was also very heavy. Soon after collecting this powder in a paper, his fingers began to burn, and next day they were blistered and blackened. The powder was later analyzed and found to consist largely of silver nitrate ("lunar caustic".) At 1805, 9 orange-luminous objects crossed the sky, and one of them landed in exactly the same spot, with a soft whistling sound. The witnesses were 600 ft away and dared not go closer. After 10 minutes the UFO took off again, with a burst of orange light.

Investigator;

Source: Witness's account in LDLN #125 (May 1973), pp. 22f.

[Ref. fru1:] MICHEL FIGUET AND JEAN-LOUIS RUCHON:

The two authors indicate that on November 5, 1954 at La Roche en Brenil, close to La Croix-de-Molphey, Raymond R. and Michel XX, aged 13, made the observation of a gray saucer 9 meters in diameter and five meters height including a three height meters dome surrounded by close-together port-holes.

The profession of Raymond R... obliges him to work in nature and he is at the edge of N6, in the meadows which border this road. A 13 year old young man, the young Michel, is in his company and points out to him an enormous, gray mass, at the edge of the wood, which is detached clearly on the yellow leaves. The witnesses rush in direction of the object; after having crossed 100 meters, they see orange lights all around the machine. R. returns back to take a towel containing a 6 X 6 camera and, with Michel, they run through the wood to avoid being seen.

At this point in time in their eyes a scene appears which they will remember a long time. Being in the wood, within 40 meters of the saucer which is in the meadow, they can observe a being which is within 5 meters of the craft. The man moves heavily in all directions, in a radius of 3 meters; he advances, stops, moves, returns. This lasts ten minutes. A weak gleam escapes from the disc, sometimes orange, sometimes greenish. A buzz is heard, similar to that of a transformer.

R. then takes 7 photographs in a row; the man regains his craft by a door located at the base. At this time, two other beings come out, one carrying a kind of weapon, the other a white ball. The being measures 1 m 50 approximately, wearing a colorless suit of plastic appearance. His shoulders were very developed. Under his suit, in his back, there was something bumpy; he carried a dark gray helmet of a diameter of 40 cm which started from the shoulders.

He held a box of a brilliant black on his chest. The second being wore the same outfit, and held in his hand a kind of weapon which strangely resembled a machine pistol of which the gun was widening. A third being in the same outfit and holding a white ball large as two fists in his hand.

A luminous blue smoke escapes. The child, at the top of emotion and astonishment, leaves running through the wood and does much noise while passing on the dead branches; immediately one of the portholes of the cupola becomes very luminous with a green color.

A ray swept the trimmings where the youg Michel ran. R. lies down against a slope. Then, the child utters a sharp cry and R. feels he would faint. Twenty seconds later, the saucer takes off with a powerful whistling sound, vertically.

The young kid has a knee on the ground, head hang low, in impossibility standing up. His face tickles. Put on his feet, his legs "collapse", but after having walked, it all dissipated.

The two authors note that at 06:05 p.m., nine objects with orange reflections crossed the sky from East to West, causing a rather marked whistling sound. One of them suddenly dove vertically while the eight others disappeared at the speed of lightning. Within 100 meters of the ground, the craft became motionless. It had the shape of a disc, its gleam becomes pale, the whistling sound became very soft, and it went down gently while swinging. It touched the ground at the exact place where eight hours earlier, the craft had been posed, the light was very pale, with greenish reflections at times. Neither the young man, nor R... got close.

Approximately 10 minutes later, the saucer rose gently up to 10 meters of the ground, then, in a huge orange sheaf, it went up vertically and disappeared very quickly.

On the seven photographs taken, only four are very clear, because the witness had changed aperture several times. It would be well the first time that a landing scene is photographed... hence a careful reserve.

The chemical engineer who analyzed the powder and the "cotton" remained perplexed in front of these two unknown stuff, but it appears that there was a large proportion of silver nitrate in the powder.

The authors note that the craft has a cupola higher than its body, and a ray for paralyzing purposes which comes out of the dome that reminds them of the case of Quarouble. They note that the beings reinstated their apparatus by the lower part like those of the second meeting of Quarouble.

They indicate that there are traces, the ground was burned, the grass blackened; moreover, the ground was soft as ash, on a radius of three meters, they note that there is a substance comparable with a kind of absorbent cotton whose witness says that it was part of the ball which the being held. Grabbing it, the witness realized that it was heavy as lead (428 grams). Besides, a yellow powder remained, resembling sulphur; he recovered 78 grams of that which he put in a paper. But hardly arrived at the car, he realizes that the paper was corroded and that his fingers burnt. The next day, blisters full of water and blood had formed; the skin was black. Then, all healed.

They quote as sources the Vallée catalogue, case n° 329, and Lumière Dans la Nuit#125, pp 22-23-24, as well as the book of Garreau and Lavier, on page 52. At no time do they specify that the case has as primary source only an anonymous letter to a newspaper.

[Ref. bbr1:] GERARD BARTHEL AND JACQUES BRUCKER:

These two authors, in their book published by Nouvelle Editions Rationnalistes (New Rationalists Publishers) wrote that nothing happened, arguing that them and Michel Monnerie after a long investigation found a Raymond R. in this city but he was deceased since, and that in the city they did not find other witnesses, and that they found a young man who could according to them be the second witness but that he told them that he had not been witness of a UFO.

[Ref. via2:] "VIMANA 21" UFOLOGY MAGAZINE:

54 11 05 / LA ROCHE EN BRESNIL / 07:09 p.m. / CE3 / P Ec /

Two witnesses observed, on the ground, a craft around which several humanoids were busy. One of the witnesses, in panic, was paralyzed as he fled with a ray from the craft. Photographs were taken.

(Source: Bourgogne républicaine 1972, ADRUP investigation)

[Ref. via3:] UFOLOGY BULLETIN "VIMANA 21":

This magazine listed this case:

54 11 05 19H09 RR3 La Roche en Bresnil

[Ref. lgs2:] LOREN GROSS:

November 5th. La Roche en Brenil, France. (10:10 a.m.)

Some Frenchmen discovered an orange glowing object resting in a local pasture giving off a hum. Three figures wearing dark colored coveralls were spotted close to the mysterious craft. One of these strange figures was seen directing a beam of light for some unknown reason, the beam being emitted from a sort of box-like affair. The other two figures carried in their hands something the witnesses were afraid were weapons so the Frenchmen ran away. As one French man fled, he recalled experiencing a prickling sensation on his head. An investigation of the incident discovered a circular area about nine feet in diameter covered with an ash-like substance. 27.

[Ref. cnu1:] "C.N.E.G.U." UFOLOGY GROUP:

18 F/00121/54 11 05 (01)
La Roche en Brenil (21)
hoax?

[Ref. rre1:] RAOUL ROBE - CNEGU:

Case nr. 18:

On Friday, November 5, 1954, at 10:09, 3 km from the town of La Roche-en-Brenil (21) a man working in the country and his young helper discovered a flying saucer (domed disc with portholes and landing sphere, 9 m in diameter) placed on the edge of the wood. Hidden, they see a humanoid 1.50 m tall dressed in a colorless (plastic?) suit with a dark gray helmet extending from the shoulders (wide) and having a bump in the back. A shiny black box is observed on its chest when it moves heavily and in all directions within a radius of 3 m around the craft. The witness took 7 photos of the scene. The strange character goes up through a trapdoor under the craft while two others come out armed, one with a kind of submachine gun, the other with a white sphere. A luminous blue smoke escapes which frightens the kid who fled noisily. A beam is fired from a porthole towards the fugitive through the woods which reaches him and puts him down. The F. S. takes off with a whistling sound. The witness rescues the teenager whose face itches and his legs are shaky. On the spot, they discover traces of burned grass and blackened earth on a 3 m radius. In addition, part of the white sphere was found on the ground and recovered (heavy as lead) by the witness. At 6:05 p.m., 9 orangeish-colored flying saucers cross the sky from east to west, whistling. One of them dives vertically, slows down while swinging and lands in the same place, stays 10 minutes and takes off in an orange spray to move away permanently.

Explanation: dubious case: no one has ever been able to find the witnesses despite successive investigations.

Sources: an anonymous letter signed Raymond R. sent to the newspaper "La Bourgogne Républicaine" in 1954; Cf. Garreau "Face aux Extraterrestres" Delarge (1975) pages 47 to 52; ADRUP investigation; investigation by M.Monnerie, Barthel and Brucker; OURANOS nr 1 (special) page 4; J.Vallée "Chronique des apparitions ET" Denoël (1972) page 317.

[Ref. jsr1:] JEAN SIDER:

Ufologist and author Jean Sider indicates that on November 5, 1954, at 10:00 am, in La Roche-en-Brenil, Côte-d'Or, an anonymous child was the first to notice the presence of a gray mass on the edge of a wood in the area of La Roche-en-Brenil. An anonymous adult decided to take a closer look but preferred to go get a camera first. The man and the teenager ran through the woods not to be seen. From the woods, they could see a saucer in the adjoining meadow, and nearby, a human being who moved heavily in a small radius, a merry-go-round which lasted ten minutes. The adult then took seven photos in quick succession. The being returned to his craft but two others beings came out, one seeming to carry a weapon, the other a white ball. They were about 1.50 m tall and wore a colorless (sic) plastic jumpsuit with a dark gray helmet extending from the shoulders. The child, very moved, ran away. One of the saucer "windows" lit up and a beam swept over the location of the teenager, who cried out and fell. Previously, the adult was lying behind an embankment. The craft then took off vertically, emitting a loud whistling sound. The child was groggy, shocked, and his face tingling. He got up and gradually the numbness in his legs disappeared after a few steps.

Later in his book, in the form of a "catalog of effects", he adds for this case that the traces left by this UFO landing showed calcinations of earth and grass, the ground being loose as ash on three meters. The adult had discovered a substance like cotton wool, ball-shaped and weighing 428 grams. There was also a yellow sulfur-like powder and 78 grams of this product was picked up, but on reaching his car, the witness saw that the yellow product was starting to dissolve and his fingers were burnt. The next day, blisters formed and the hurt skin turned black. Then everything healed. Sider indicates that it is also necessary to note the momentary paralysis of the kid, touched by a beam of light emitted by a disc posed on the ground at the edge of a wood, as well as the impression of bites on his face.

Sider gives as sources "Figuet, p. 207-209", and "A letter from the witness, signed Raymond R" published in LDLN #125, p. 22-23, which he reproduced. (D.O. 70).

[Ref. jsc1:] JOHN SCHUESSLER:

1954/11/05 FRANCE, LA ROCHE-EN-BRENIL

Source: Official UFO, Feb. 76

Two witnesses saw a landed circular UFO in a field. Three figures were standing near the object. One held a box which emitted a beam of light. When the witnesses ran away, one felt pricklings on his face.

EFFECTS:
Prickling
Light beam

[Ref. jbs1:] VICENTE-JUAN BALLESTER-OLMOS, "FOTOCAT 1954":

(82)

DATE: 5 November 1954
LOCATION: La Roche-en-Brenil, Côte-d'Or (France)
FORMAT: Picture
PHOTOGRAPHER: Raymond R.

EXPLANATION: Non-event

REFERENCES: Jacques Vallée, Passport to Magonia (Henry Regnery, 1969), page 242, case #329.
Lumières Dans La Nuit, 125, May 1973, pages 22-24. Ouranos, Number 9, 4th quarter 1973, page 8.
GABRIEL. Charles Garreau and Raymond Lavier, Face aux extra-terrestres (Jean-Pierre Delarge, 1975), pages 47-52.
Michel Figuet and Jean-Louis Ruchon, OVNI: Le premier dossier complet des rencontres rapprochées en France (Alain Lefeuvre, 1979), pages 207-210.
Gérard Barthel and Jacques Bruker, La Grande Peur Martienne (Nouvelles Éditions Rationnalistes, Paris, 1979), pages 40-45 and plates.
VLJ, April 1985, pages II-III. Jan Heering.
Eric Maillot.
Loren E. Gross, UFOs: A History. 1954: November-December Supplemental Notes, 2002, pages 10-11.
For a complete overview of this episode, see: http://ufologie.net/1954/5nov1954larocheenbrenilf.htm (Patrick Gross).

REMARKS: UFO landing and humanoid presence. The French UFO group GABRIEL qualified the case as "a doubtful affair". Jan Heering found a discrepancy in the report from the Vallée's summary to the larger Garreau/Lavier's text on the source of the paralyzing beam of light. In a personal communication, Eric Maillot informs that the alleged witness Raymond R. "seems not to have ever existed" and that "(none) has ever seen this photograph".

[Ref. hct1:] HERVE CLERGOT:

The second deposit was found on Friday, November 5, 1954, near La Roche-en-Brenil, after the observation of a UFO and its occupants. The witnesses went to the site after the departure of the craft to notice that, in addition to the fact that the grass was burned at the location where the object was, and that the earth had become black and loose like ash over a radius of three meters, there was a few steps from this trace, part of a white ball, which had been held by one of the occupants of the craft. This ball looked like a kind of "hydrophilic cotton", but of a much higher weight. The witness weighed it at home, noticing with amazement that this ball weighed 428g. A yellow, sulfur-like powder was also recovered from this site. Its weight was also quite high (about 78g). The powder and the "cotton" were analyzed by a chemical engineer who was puzzled. However, it turned out that the powder contained a large proportion of silver nitrate.

At first glance, it is interesting to note that the chemical elements entering into the composition of the contributions left by supposed UFOs, are found in our environment in significant quantities. This therefore does not provide any material proof of the arrival on earth of a civilization outside ours.

Although I am not at all a gardener or a farmer, I nevertheless notice that certain chemical compositions mentioned above, are largely used in the composition of fertilizers. Thus, in the case mentioned above, it is a question of silver nitrate. Indeed, nitrates are used as fertilizer by farmers. Indeed, nitrates act by supplying nitrogen (N) to cultivated plants.

[Ref. emt1:] ERIC MAILLOT:

e/ La Roche-en-Bresnil The author does not say that this account comes from an anonymous letter nor that all the investigations to find the characters (by their profession and other details) in the locality have failed. No one has therefore been able to verify the real existence of this silver nitrate, easily produced on earth. Come on, let it be! A UFO brought it.

Where Olivier Clergot pushes the envelope is by confusing silver nitrate with fertilizer (ammonium nitrate!). Silver nitrate is used to burn warts... Funny fertilizer, isn't it?

[Ref. goe1:] GODELIEVE VAN OVERMEIRE:

1954, November 5

FRANCE, La Roche en Brenil (Cote d'Or)

At 10:10 a.m. Raymond R. saw a craft that made a noise like a big transformer and emitted an orange light, landed in a pasture. Next to it were three men in dark overalls. One of them held a box that emitted a beam of light three meters long. The other two were holding objects that looked like weapons. Another witness felt tingles in his face as he ran away. Four photos of the scene were taken. After the departure of the object there remained on the ground a whitish substance and a circle of three meters in diameter where the ground had the appearance of ash. (Jacques Vallée: "Chronique des apparitions ET" - DENoeL 1972 - COLL. J'AI LU - p. 291, 292) (GARREAU and LAVIER: "Face aux extra-terrestrials" - DELARGE 1975, J'ai Lu, p. 50 to 55) IN REALITY: a long investigation carried out by MM. Barthel, Brucker and Monnerie revealed: that no one remembers anything happening in the village, that the only person who could be Raymond R. is dead, that a young man responding to the young man's description was found, but that he does not remember having seen a UFO (Erich ZURCHER: "Les Apparitions d'Humanoïde" - ed. Alain Lefeuvre 1979, p. 185,186)

[Ref. tps2:] TED PHILLIPS:

Ted Phillips listed the case as a "top" case in his "preliminary list of top cases":

Report 11/5/54 La Roche-Brenil, France: multiple witness, orange object lands, humanoids, human effects, 12 ft ring, ash-like appearance.

[Ref. rlt1:] RENAUD LECLET - "LES MYSTERES DE L'EST":

Renaud Leclet lists cases that he thinks have "similarities with helicopters", including this one:

SIMILARITIES WITH HELICOPTERS:

05/11/54 la Roche-en-Bresnil (21) At 1O:09 a 9 m gray saucer with a dome and portholes, then several beings.

[Ref. jdn1:] JEAN-PHILIPPE DAIN:

Ref. UFOTO : 0375
05 NOV 1954
Location : Roche en Brénil, Côte d'Or (FRA) / Author :

[Ref. ars1:] ALBERT ROSALES:

223.

Location. La Roche-en-Brenil Cote-d'Or France

Date: November 5 1954

Time: 1010A

M Raymond R, and a 13-year old boy noticed a gray object on the edge of the woods; they approached through the woods to within 130 ft of it. It was about 30 ft in diameter and a total of 16 ft high; it had a 10-foot cupola in which was a row of portholes. It made a humming sound like a transformer. A man not more than 5 ft tall stood near it; he wore a transparent suit, apparently made of plastic, with black clothing beneath it, and a dark gray helmet that rested on his shoulders. On his back, beneath the suit, was something that gave him a humped appearance; on his chest was a small shiny black box. Moving heavily, he walked about near the saucer. Raymond R took 7 photographs, only 4, which came, out well. The man returned to the UFO through a door at its base; then two others came out, in the same costume. One of them carried a sort of pistol with funnel shaped barrel, the other a white ball as large as 2 fists. They went to the place where the first man had been, turned their backs, and did something that produced a blue luminous smoke. At this point the boy, frightened, ran off through the woods toward a nearby road. Immediately one of the portholes of the cupola became green luminous, and a beam swept the area where he was running. Some 20 seconds later, with a loud whistling sound, the saucer took off vertically... R found the boy paralyzed, but this quickly passed off. At the site where the UFO had been, the grass was burnt and the earth blackened and strewn with a sort of cinders, over a radius of 3 meters. Raymond found also a part of the white ball, which was a cottony substance but as heavy as lead, and a yellow powder resembling sulfur, which was also very heavy. Soon after collecting this powder in a paper, his fingers began to burn, and next day were blistered and blackened. The powder was later analyzed and found to consist largely of silver nitrate. At 1505, 9 orange luminous objects crossed the sky, and one of them landed in exactly the same spot, with a soft whistling sound. The witnesses were 600 ft away and dared not to go closer. After 10 minutes the UFO took off again, with a burst of orange light.

Humcat 1954-35

Source: LDLN # 125

Type: B

[Ref. lhh1:] LARRY HATCH - "*U* COMPUTER DATABASE":

4364: 1954/11/05 10:10 10 4:11:00 E 47:22:00 N 3333 WEU FRN CDO A:8

S/La-ROCHE-en-BRENIL,FR:9M SCR/GND:3 MEN:BOX EMITS 3M BEAM:7 FOTOS:>W/1805h

Ref#194 LUMIERES dans la NUIT.(LDLN France) Issue No. 125 : FARMLANDS

[Ref. lgs1:] LOREN GROSS:

5 November. La Roche-en-Brenil (Cote-d'Or), France. (10:00 a.m. & 6:05 p.m.)

A far-out story.

According to our source:

"M. Raymond R. and a 13-year-old boy noticed a gray object on the edge of the woods; they approached through the woods to within 130 feet of it. It was about 30 feet in diameter and a total of 16 feet high; it had a 10-foot cupola in which was a row of portholes. It made a humming sound like a transformer. A man not more than 5 feet tall stood near it; he wore a transparent suit, apparently made of plastic, with black clothing beneath it, and a dark-gray helmet that rested on his shoulders.

On his back, beneath the suit, was something that gave him a humped appearance; on his chest was a small shiny black box. Moving heavily, he walked about near the saucer. M. R. took seven photographs, only four of which came out well. The man returned to the UFO through a door at its base; then two others came out, in the same costume. One of the men carried a sort of pistol with a funnel-shaped barrel the other a white ball as large as two fists. They went to the place where the first man had been, turned their backs, and did something that produced a blue-luminous smoke. At this point the boy, frightened, ran off through the woods toward a nearby road. Immediately one of the portholes of the cupola became green-luminous, and a beam swept the area where he was running. Some 20 seconds later, with a loud whistling sound, the saucer took off vertically. M. R. found the paralyzed, but this quickly passed off. At the site where the UFO had been, the grass was burnt and the earth blackened and strewn with a sort of cinders, over a radius of three meters. M. R. also found a part of the white ball which was a cottony substance but as heavy as lead, and a yellow powder resembling sulphur, which was also very heavy. Soon after collecting this powder in a paper, his fingers began to bum, and the next day they were blistered and blackened. The powder was later analyzed and found to consist largely of silver nitrate.

"At 1805, nine orange, luminous objects crossed the sky, and one of them landed in exactly the same spot, with a soft whistling sound. The witnesses were 600 feet away and dared not go closer. After 10 minutes the UFO took off again, with a burst of orange light." (xx.)

(xx.) HumCat case #339. Witness's account in LDLN #125 (May 1973), pp.22f.

[Ref. bti1:] "BETA TAURI":

[... other cases ...]

The second deposit was found Friday, November 5, 1954, near La Roche-en-Brenil after the observation of a UFO and its occupants. Witnesses went there after the departure of the machine and noted that, besides the fact that the grass was burned at the location where the object had been, and the soil was dark like ash within a radius of three meters, there were at a few steps from the trace part of a white ball, which was held by one of the occupants of the craft. The ball looked like a kind of "cotton wool", but a very much higher weight. The witness weighted it and noted in amazement that this ball weighed 428g. A yellow powder, similar to sulfur was also recovered from this site. Its weight was also quite high (about 78g). Powder and "cotton" were analyzed by a chemical engineer who was perplexed. However, it appeared that the powder was in large proportion made of silver nitrate.

After describing somes cases of materials deposits, and briefly showed their chemical composition, it is now necessary to find a meaning to these deposits, although it can only be relative. At first glance, it is interesting to note that the chemical elements in the composition of deposits left by alleged UFO is in our environment in significant quantities. This thus provides no physical evidence of the coming to earth of a civilization from outside our own.

Although I am not really a gardener and not a farmer at all, I still live in a fairly rural area and noted that some chemical compositions mentioned above, enter largely into the composition of fertilizers used in agriculture in particular.

[... other cases and discussions ...]

[Ref. tps3:] TED PHILLIPS:

11/05/54 France, La Roche-Brenil: multiple witnesses observe an orange object landing. The witnesses moved to within 130 feet, of the device. The object was 30 ft in diameter, 16 ft high, with a 10 ft dome with ports. A humming sound could be heard. Humanoids were seen near the object. The grass was burnt, the soil blackened and covered with cinder-like material in a circle 3m in diameter.

The witnesses found a part of a white ball, which was a cottony substance but heavy as lead, and a yellow powder which was also very heavy. Soon after collecting the material the witness noticed his fingers burning; the next day they were blistered and blackened. The powder was analyzed and found to be mostly silver nitrate.

[Ref. jbu1:] JEROME BEAU:

Jerome Beau indicates that on Friday November 5, 1954, at 10:10 in La-Roche-en-Breuil [sic], in France, Raymond R. saw a machine making a noise of big transformer and emitting an orange light, posed in a pasture. At its side were three men in dark combination, one held a kind of box which emitted a ray of light of 3 meters length, the two others carried objects that resembled weapons. Another witness felt tickling on the face whereas he ran away. Four photographs of the scene were taken. There were traces, a whitish stuff and a circle 3 meters in diameter where the ground had the appearance of ash.

[Ref. rbr1:] "LA GAZETTE DE COTE-D'OR" NEWSPAPER:

[... Other cases ...]

The La Roche-en-Brenil encounter - Novembrr 5, 1954, La Roche-en-Brenil

Were there humanoids in La Roche-en-Brenil that 5 November 1954? All begins with an anonymous letter sent by a certain Raymond R. to the director of La Bourgogne Républicaine. In this handwritten mail (our image) the witness reports detail of the scene which he said he witnesses in company of another witness. It is 10:10, Raymond works in a meadow with his young 13 year old apprentice. They then notice at the edge of a wood "an enormous mass". They approach within less than forty meters and there, surprize! A flying saucer. Raymond provides a detailed description: "The saucer was approximately 9 meters in diameters [sic]. A weak gleam came out of it, sometimes orange, sometimes greenish (...) The three meters high cupola surmounted the machine, itself a total height of 5 meters". At side of the vehicle three men in "colourless outfit are busy", helmeted and not taller than 1 meters 60. One of them holds between his hands a kind of luminous box, the two others seem armed. The young runs away as fast as possible. Located, the kid is paralysed (temporarily) by a beam emanating of the machine. The saucer immediately takes off vertically leaving the two witnesses stunned by what they had just seen. Raymond R. affirms to own four photographs of this encounter and several samples taken on the spot. Though, the famous Raymond, fearing to be called crazy, prefers to remain anonymous. The investigations to find the two protagonists yielded nothing. The investigators did find one Raymond R... but deceased.

As of the so-called evidence, they never surfaced again. So, hoax of a mythomaniac or authentic account? To date the mystery remains.

[... Other cases ...]

[Ref. uda1:] "UFODNA" WEBSITE:

The website indicates that on 5 November 1954, at 10:10, in La Roche-en-Brenil, France, a craft giving off an orange light, landed. Three men in dark coveralls were standing nearby.

The case was explained as: a planet.

The website adds that Raymond R. saw a craft, which made a noise like a large transformer and gave off an orange light, land in a pasture. Three men in dark coveralls were standing nearby. One was holding a sort of box, "which emitted a beam of light three meters long." The other two were holding objects that looked like weapons. Another witness fled and felt pricklings on his face as he ran. Four photographs of the scene were taken. Traces: a whitish substance and a circle three meters in diameter where the ground had an ashlike appearance.

The website comments that "An object was observed and photographed. Physiological effects were noted. Traces found. One orange ball, about 20 feet across, was observed by two male witnesses in a pasture for ten minutes. An electric sound was heard. Three humanoids, each wearing a dark coverall, were seen."

The website further adds that "M Raymond R, and a 13-year old boy noticed a gray object on the edge of the woods; they approached through the woods to within 130 ft of it. It was about 30 ft in diameter and a total of 16 ft high; it had a 10-foot cupola in which was a row of portholes. It made a humming sound like a transformer. A man not more than 5 ft tall stood near it; he wore a transparent suit, apparently made of plastic, with black clothing beneath it, and a dark gray helmet that rested on his shoulders. On his back, beneath the suit, was something that gave him a humped appearance; on his chest was a small shiny black box. Moving heavily, he walked about near the saucer. Raymond R took 7 photographs, only 4, which came, out well. The man returned to the UFO through a door at its base; then two others came out, in the same costume. One of them carried a sort of pistol with funnel shaped barrel, the other a white ball as large as 2 fists. They went to the place where the first man had been, turned their backs, and did something that produced a blue luminous smoke. At this point they boy, frightened, ran off through the woods toward a nearby road. Immediately one of the portholes of the cupola became green luminous, and a beam swept the area where he was running. Some 20 seconds later, with a loud whistling sound, the saucer took off vertically...R found the boy paralyzed, but this quickly passed off. At the site where the UFO had been, the grass was burnt and the earth blackened and strewn with a sort of cinders, over a radius of 3 meters. Raymond found also a part of the white ball, which was a cottony substance but as heavy as lead, and a yellow powder resembling sulfur, which was also very heavy. Soon after collecting this powder in a paper, his fingers began to burn, and next day were blistered and blackened. The powder was later analyzed and found to consist largely of silver nitrate. At 1505, 9 orange luminous objects crossed the sky, and one of them landed in exactly the same spot, with a soft whistling sound. The witnesses were 600 ft away and dared not to go closer. After 10 minutes the UFO took off again, with a burst of orange light."

The sources are indicated as Webb, David, HUMCAT: Catalogue of Humanoid Reports; Bowen, Charles, The Humanoids: FSR Special Edition No. 1, FSR, London, 1966; Vallee, Jacques, Computerized Catalog (N = 3073); Vallee, Jacques, A Century of Landings (N = 923), (in JVallee04), Chicago, 1969; Schoenherr, Luis, Computerized Catalog (N = 3173); Phillips, Ted R., Ted Phillips investigation files; Phillips, Ted R., Physical Traces Associated with UFO Sightings, CUFOS, Chicago, 1975; Delaire, J. Bernard, UFO Register Volume 7 (1976), Data Research, Oxford, 1976; Hatch, Larry, *U* computer database, Author, Redwood City, 2002; Figuet, M; Rosales, Albert, Humanoid Sighting Reports Database.

[Ref. jbs2:] JUAN-VICENTE BALLESTER-OLMOS:

This Spanish ufologist launched a project of a catalogue of French UFO photographic cases. This cases appears in his table as:

Date 11.05.1954
Approx
10,1
Non-event (landing and humanoid)
OK
La Roche-en-Brenil, Côte-d'Or (France)
Nation FRA
21
Film PHOTO
CE
Raymond R.
Media
Media
Duration
Book
Jacques Vallée, Passport to Magonia, Henry Regnery, 1969, p. 242. Lumieres Dans La Nuit, 125, May 1973, pp. 22-24. Ouranos, 9, 4th Qtr 1973, p. 8. GABRIEL. Charles Garreau & R. Lavier, Face aux extra-terrestres, Jean-Pierre Delarge, 1975, pp. 47-52. Michel Figuet & J-L. Ruchon, OVNI: Le pemier dossier des rencontres rapprochées en France, A. Lefeuvre, 1979, pp 207-210. Gérard Barthel & Jacques Brucker, La Grande Peur Martienne, Nouvelles Éd. Rationnalistes, 1979, pp 40-45 and plates. SVLJ, April 1985, pp. 2-3. J. Heering. Erick Maillot. http://ufologie.net/1954/5nov1954larocheenbrenilf.htm Patrick Gross [*]. Loren E. Gross, UFOs: A History. 1954: November-December Supplemental Notes, 2002, pp 10-11.
November 5, 1954

[*] is the old URL of this web page. My website moved from ufologie.net to ufology.patrickgross.org.

[Ref. prn2:] PETER ROGERSON:

November 5 1954. 1010hrs.

LA ROCHE-EN-BRENIL (COTE D’OR: FRANCE)

Raymond R saw a craft, which made a noise like a large transformer and gave off an orange light, land in a pasture. Three men in dark overalls were standing nearby. One was holding a sort of box that emitted a beam of light 2m long. The other two were holding objects that looked like weapons. Another witness fled and prickling on his face as he ran. Four photographs of the scene were taken. A whitish substance and a circle 3m in diameter, where the ground had an ash like appearance, were found. Considered a hoax by Monnerie, Barthel and Bruckner.

Vallee Case 329 citing “personal” sources.
Alain Gamard.

[Ref. nip1:] "THE NICAP WEBSITE":

*Nov. 5, 1954 - In La Roche-en-Brenil, France at 10:10 a.m. Raymond R. saw a craft that made a noise like a large transformer and gave off an orange light, land in a pasture. Three men in dark coveralls were standing nearby. One was holding a sort of box, "which emitted a beam of light three meters long." The other two were holding objects that looked like weapons. Another witness fled and felt pricklings on his face as he ran. Four photographs of the scene were taken. Traces included a whitish substance and a circle three meters in diameter where the ground had an ashlike appearance. (Sources: Jacques Vallee, Passport to Magonia: A Century of Landings, case 329; Michel Figeut & Jean-Louis Ruchon, OVNI: Le Premier Dossier Complet des Rencontres Rapprochees en France, p. 445).

[Ref. tai1:] "THINK ABOUT IT" WEBSITE:

Location: La Roche-en-Brenil Cote-d’Or France

Date: November 5 1954

Time: 1010A

M Raymond R, and a 13-year old boy noticed a gray object on the edge of the woods; they approached through the woods to within 130 ft of it. It was about 30 ft in diameter and a total of 16 ft high; it had a 10-foot cupola in which was a row of portholes. It made a humming sound like a transformer. A man not more than 5 ft tall stood near it; he wore a transparent suit, apparently made of plastic, with black clothing beneath it, and a dark gray helmet that rested on his shoulders. On his back, beneath the suit, was something that gave him a humped appearance; on his chest was a small shiny black box. Moving heavily, he walked about near the saucer. Raymond R took 7 photographs, only 4, which came, out well. The man returned to the UFO through a door at its base; then two others came out, in the same costume. One of them carried a sort of pistol with funnel shaped barrel, the other a white ball as large as 2 fists. They went to the place where the first man had been, turned their backs, and did something that produced a blue luminous smoke. At this point they boy, frightened, ran off through the woods toward a nearby road. Immediately one of the portholes of the cupola became green luminous, and a beam swept the area where he was running. Some 20 seconds later, with a loud whistling sound, the saucer took off vertically?R found the boy paralyzed, but this quickly passed off. At the site where the UFO had been, the grass was burnt and the earth blackened and strewn with a sort of cinders, over a radius of 3 meters. Raymond found also a part of the white ball, which was a cottony substance but as heavy as lead, and a yellow powder resembling sulfur, which was also very heavy. Soon after collecting this powder in a paper, his fingers began to burn, and next day were blistered and blackened. The powder was later analyzed and found to consist largely of silver nitrate. At 1505, 9 orange luminous objects crossed the sky, and one of them landed in exactly the same spot, with a soft whistling sound. The witnesses were 600 ft away and dared not to go closer. After 10 minutes the UFO took off again, with a burst of orange light.

Source: LDLN # 125; Magonia 329

[Ref. ubk1:] "UFO-DATENBANK":

This database recorded the case 10 times instead of one:

Case Nr. New case Nr. Investigator Date of observation Zip Place of observation Country of observation Hour of observation Classification Comments Identification
19541105 05.11.1954 La Roche France CE III
19541105 05.11.1954 La Roche France CE III
19541105 05.11.1954 La Roche Brenil France CE III
19541105 05.11.1954 La Roche Brenil France CE III
19541105 05.11.1954 La Roche Brenil France CE III
19541105 05.11.1954 La Roche Brenil France CE III
19541105 05.11.1954 La Roche Brenil France CE III
19541105 05.11.1954 La Roche-en-Brenil France
19541105 05.11.1954 La Roche-en-Brasil France
19541105 05.11.1954 Brenil France CE III

[This database recorded the same case 10 times instead of one!]

[Ref. prn3:] PETER ROGERSON - "INTCAT":

November 5 1954. 1010hrs.

LA ROCHE-EN-BRENIL (COTE'D'OR [sic]: FRANCE)

An outdoor worker, Raymond R and his 13 year old assistant Michel were working in the fields, when their attention was caught by a grey round object in the woods. They approached within 100m and saw lights around it. Thinking it was a "flying saucer" Raymond went back for his camera. The two then crept through the woods to within 50m of the machine. It was a disc, 9m in diameter with a cabin with portholes on top and three spheres underneath. About 5m from this object was a being about 1.6m tall dressed in a colourless plastic suit, with a sort of hump on the back and a dark grey helmet about 40cm in diameter. This being kept pacing back and forth for about 10 minutes, walking heavily and never going more than 3m from the machine. During this time Raymond took 7 photographs. The machine emitted a red-green light and a faint hum. The being entered the object but then two more emerged, one holding a white sphere, the other something like a submachine gun. At this sight, and that of blue smoke coming from the craft, Michel fled, breaking branches as he did so. At this a green beam came from the craft, the boy screamed and Raymond almost fainted. The machine then took off with a hissing sound. Raymond found Michel down on one knee unable to move. When he got him to his feet, the boy was still unsteady. At the site there was a 3m diameter area of blackened grass, and a ball of what looked like cotton wool but turned out to be very heavy, as was a yellowish powder found at the site also. Raymond put this in a paper bag, but it ate through the bag and burned his hands. Just after 1800 that evening Raymond saw 9 objects flash across the sky from west to east. One came down to 100m, and then slowly descended to the landing site. This took off again 10 minutes later. The two were too afraid to get closer than 3km this time.

Gross 1954 citing letter from the witness to La Bourgone Republicain [sic]+ Lumieres dans le [sic] Nuit 125 p23 citing letter to Les Depeches + Figuet and Ruchon 1979 p207 + Barthel and Brucker 1979

Alain Gamard

Evaluation - The only source for this story is a letter or letters from the anonymous witness. A drawing supplied by him is clearly that of Adamski's fake flying saucer, the alleged photographs never turned up, there are mysteries in the chronology, investigations by Michel Monnerie concluded that this was a hoax

Note: "Gross 1954" is supposed to reference my web page; no link is provided and it does not reflect its content.

[Ref. jbo2:] JUAN-VICENTE BALLESTER OLMOS:

Date Approx UFO Nation Photo Film Media Duration Blue Book
11-04-1954 10.10 Non-event (landing and humanoid) OK La Roche-en-Brenil, Côte-d'Or (France) FRA 21 PHOTO CE Raymond R. Jacques Vallée, Passport to Magonia, Henry Régnery, 1969, p. 242. Lumières Dans La Nuit, 125, May 1973, pp 22-24. Ouranos 9, 4th Qtr. 1973, p. 8. GABRIEL. Charles Garreau & R. Lavier, Face aux extra-terrestres, Jean-Pierre Delarge, 1975, pp 47-52. Michel Figuet & Jean-Louis Ruchon, OVNI: Le premier dossier des rencontres rapprochées en France, A. Lefeuvre, 1979, pp 207-210. Gérard Barthel & Jacques Brucker, La Grande Peur Martienne, Nouvelles Ed. Rationalistes, 1979, pp 40-45 and plates. SVLJ, April 1985, pp 2-3. J. Heering. Eric Maillot. http://ufologie.net/1954/5nov1954larochef.htm Patrick Gross. Loren E. Gross, UFOs: A History, 1954: November-December Supplemental Notes, 2002, pp 10-11. November 5, 1954

Explanations:

Map.

Some comments might be useful:

Barthel and Brucker are seemingly using this kind of logic: if one does not find a witness named "Raymond R", it means that no UFO was seen. If one finds somebody who could be the witness but that this somebody is now deceased, it implies that he did not see a UFO. If somebody makes a point of remaining anonymous, it appears to them in this case all the same probable that he must be a resident of the city near the UFO landing, where he signs his anonymous letter using his first name and the first letter of his name without fearing that it may allow his identification. If one finds an unspecified person who could "match" the description of a witness who however remained anonymous, and if this person says he has not been witness of a UFO, it implies that this is indeed the witness but that there was no UFO. Also, Barthel and Brucker seem to consider that if a witness does nothing more than send an anonymous letter to a newspaper, then the residents of his city must have witnessed the UFO also, otherwise it implies there was no UFO. Lastly, they seem to consider that if a witness says "my profession obliges me to work in the nature" then necessarily the witness must reside in the city nearest to the observation's location.

The above remarks do not imply at all, however, that the account corresponds to actual facts.

The rational ufologist will be satisfied to note that the witness having remained anonymous, the case must be noted, as a simple testimony whose reality is yet unverified; it is not advisable to quote it as proof of the existence or non-existence of the UFO phenomenon, and even less legitimate to make use of it to support any explanatory theory for UFOs. The rational ufologist will stick to the principle "testis unus, testis nullus:" one witness only is not enough.

The first hypothesis which comes me to mind is that of a story invented by its anonymous author. This assumption will be quite fair if I present elements such as:

And, indeed:

Let's also note that the author of the letter is familiarized with the "flying saucers" according to his own words, and that the letter surfaces in 1973, without precise indication on its real dating.

One can then consider that a person invented this story, not to obtain material benefits from it, not for publicity, but for example to perhaps note the possible diffusion of the account taken as true account, for the personal satisfaction of having fooled the press. This is not proven, but this is a possibility that cannot be discarded, until proof of the contrary.

The assumption of an invented account would be obviously slightly weakened if other testimonies were available, which would be in agreement with the account. (The assumption of the invention obviously would not be completely refuted in this case; nothing prevents a tall-teller from grafting his fable onto other accounts, more verified or also invented.)

And indeed:

It is noted in the introduction of the letter published into the magazine "Lumières dans la Nuit:"

"Following our preceding published articles these last days in our columns about the flying saucers which landed on the territory of the village of La Rock-en-Brénil, on November 5, 1954 at 10 A.M., and 06:00 P.M....

It seems obvious that the publication of these other articles on this event is not by "Lumières Dans La Nuit:" this magazine started in 1957, it is not daily but monthly, its preceding number does not contain any such articles at all. I deduce that it is in the newspaper "Les Dépêches" for November 1954, that these articles were published.

A further step to undertake to improve the relevance of this file is thus obviously to search for these articles and to evaluate their content. In the meantime, let's already note that it is quite intriguing that the newspaper seems to indicate exactly that there were too landings there, one at 10 A.M., and the other at 06:00 P.M. These articles are thus key data, one question being whether the witness is Raymond R. or whether there were other witnesses.

To be continued...

Keywords:

(These keywords are only to help queries and are not implying anything.)

La Roche-en-Brenil, Côte-d'Or, Raymond R, Michel, object, saucer, manoeuvers, occupants, men, man, suit, transparent, traces, effects, sulphur, silver, nitrate, ashes, blisters, blackened, ray, paralized, photograph, landing, orange, pale, dome, portholes, door, green, grey, luminous, cotton, heavy, weight, circular, uranium

Sources:

[----] indicates sources that are not yet available to me.

Document history:

Version: Created/Changed by: Date: Change Description:
0.1 Patrick Gross April 16, 2003 First published.
0.2 Patrick Gross July 21, 2007 Conversion from HTML to XHTML Strict.
1.0 Patrick Gross December 23, 2008 First formal version. Additions [jbu1], [uda1].
1.1 Patrick Gross January 17, 2010 Addition [jp1].
1.2 Patrick Gross February 14, 2010 Addition [tps2].
1.3 Patrick Gross June 24, 2010 Addition [jsc1].
1.4 Patrick Gross July 22, 2010 Addition [rbr1].
1.5 Patrick Gross July 8, 2013 Additions [bti1], [jbs2].
1.6 Patrick Gross August 15, 2013 Addition [prn1].
1.7 Patrick Gross September 13, 2014 Addition [lgs1].
1.8 Patrick Gross October 19, 2014 Addition [nip1].
1.9 Patrick Gross November 22, 2016 Additions [ubk1], [lgs2], Summary.
2.0 Patrick Gross January 12, 2017 Addition [tai1].
2.1 Patrick Gross December 8, 2018 Additions [prn2], [gab2], [lhh1], [prn2], [gab1], [jjn1], [cnu1], [via1].
2.2 Patrick Gross February 14, 2021 Additions [via3], [rre1], [rlt1].
2.2 Patrick Gross September 19, 2021 Additions [tbw1], [jsr1].
2.3 Patrick Gross November 6, 2021 Additions [jbo21].
2.4 Patrick Gross March 24, 2022 Addition [jve8].
2.5 Patrick Gross May 5, 2022 Additions [ldl2], [tps1].
2.6 Patrick Gross June 4, 2022 Addition [agd1].
2.7 Patrick Gross June 26, 2022 Addition [goe1].
2.8 Patrick Gross July 3, 2022 Additions [hct1], [emt1].

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